In Which There is a Dalek

After watching Neil unveil and officially open 'his' road, I spent some time navigating the one-way systems of Portsmouth in order to park near to the Guildhall, where his evening event was taking place.

Portsmouth Guildhall

Fortunately the Guildhall is not difficult to spot!
The Guildhall has a handy, and surprisingly affordable 'VIP' option which lets you sit inside eating cheese and biscuits and drinking wine, rather than queueing outside, which made for a relaxed start to the evening, with my new friend Kelly. (I do like meeting new people, especially at Neil's events when all the people are so interesting!).

Once inside the auditorium, however, the relaxed atmosphere was slightly marred by an unexpected extra guest on stage...

Mercifully, we made it through  the evening without anyone being Exterminated, although I feel that the fact that Portsmouth Guildhall seems to have a Dalek on staff is perhaps something which should be looked into while there is still time..

Neil was interviewed by Dom Kippin, and talked a little about his roots in Portsmouth, and about the road naming, Doctor Who and Dalek mythology as the earliest mythology he learned about, and about  the the books (Make Good Art, Chu's Day) which have come out this year. He told us that Chu's Day was written out of a determination to get a picture book published in China, after being told his previous picture books were not acceptable as they showed children knowing better than their elders, being disrespectful, and at times being naughty but not being punished. He also mentioned that there is a sequel!

Neil also answered questions from the audience, giving his recommendations for reading aloud to children (Diana Wynne Jones, The Mary Poppins books, Narnia, but not E.Nesbit because of the long, Edwardian sentences..), talked about his appearances in Arthur and The Simpsons and of course about The Ocean at the End of the Lane and how although the family is not his family, and the events not true events, the viewpoint of the protagonist is very much the viewpoint of 7-year-old-Neil.

Neil finished by reading part of Fortunately, The Milk which sounds as though it will be lots of fun, and then we were all threatened with the Wrath of the Dalek if we didn't queue properly for the signing...

I was lucky enough to be seated in one of the first 2 rows to be called forward, which meant I was able to get Vol. 1 of my Absolute Sandman signed (given the 2 hour drive home, I had already decided I wouldn't be able to stay and queue for very long) and to hand over a small box of flapjacks and muffins, as the ones I made last time seemed to be appreciated (and although  didn't know it when baking the ones i took to Bath, flapjacks made from porridge oats and blackberries are particularly appropriate for The Ocean at the End of The Lane)

I got home just after midnight, which so far as I could tell when I checked twitter this morning, was probably about an hour before Neil finished signing..

Al Reynolds and Doctor Who

My friend Cheryl is at Finncon this week, so she offered me her ticket to see Alastair Reynolds at Toppings in Bath, on Tuesday night.

He was there to celebrate the launch of his Doctor Who novel, 'Harvest of Time'

I've heard Alastair speak before, at BristolCon, so I wasn't surprised to find that he was entertaining and very approachable.

The novel features the Third Doctor (as played by Jon Pertwee), his companion Jo Grant, and The Master, and Al  explained that he had jumped at the opportunity to write a Doctor who novel, and was delighted to find that no-one had yet 'bagged' the 3rd Doctor!

Alastair read a short extract from the book, then spoke a little about it before reading a second extract, and taking questions.

He confirmed that he'd love the opportunity to write an episode for Who, were it to be offered, and that he did try to make the hard science - the helicopters and oil rigs, realistic.

There was a slight disturbance as a drunk tried to get into the shot while Alastair was reading, but other than that it was a fun evening, and I got the impression that it was fun or Al as well as for the audience.

Fun Weekend

This weekend should be fun.

On Friday night I have a ticket to see 'The Tempest' in Bath, Saturday is the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who, and on Sunday Russell Brand is in Bath doing a live show prior to a new tour, which should be fun.

I'm guessing that housework is going to take a back seat again this weekend.

I'm feeling fairly relaxed about that.

Bristol Comic & Small Press Expo

So, after my mini-blog this morning, I thought, as one does, that I had plenty of time to run an errand or two, and so of course I almost missed the train I'd planned to catch.

However, I did catch it, and managed to do a couple of other errands in Bristol before heading to the Ramada to register and then to look around.. 

The Con is spread over two hotels - the Comics Expo in the Ramada, and the Small Press Expo at the Mercure, which is just around the corner; they have a symbiotic relationship but are not, I believe run by the same people.  The first things I saw  in Reception at the Ramada were a pair of Imperial Stormtroopers, and guy dressed as Batman, and three slightly bewildered  hotel guests checking out.

always a reassuring sight!

After looking around, and managing to not buy any comics, I headed over to the Mercure. They keep all their conference rooms on the 5th floor, but there was a familiar looking blue box in the reception area, which gave me confidence that I was in the right place!

There were lots of comics (unsurprising, at a ComicCon, really, I suppose), lots of writers and artists, and a small number of panels.

I only went to one panel - 'Women, Politics and cartooning' - this was moderated by  Jasper Bark, and featured  Blue Lou, Kate Evans and a third artist (unfortunately I didn't make a note of her name, and it's not written in the programme). It was very interesting, with discussions about activism, motherhood, guilt, politics and politicians, viciousness, and breastfeeding. Later in the day, in the bar, I had the opportunity to chat further with Lou and Jasper, and to look at more of her artwork. I recommend it. Go look at her site.

I then met up with Cheryl and we went out for lunch in a dodgy pub, where we had some not-very-good beer, and some decent fish & chips, and where we were accosted by a random drunk enquiring as to whether we were east German Stasi. (No, we couldn't quite work that one out either...)

I had thought I might go to one of the 2 o'clock panels but Cheryl led me astray we wandered into the bar, first, where Cheryl introduced me to Paul Cornell and later we wandered around the Expo, and I bought a copy of Alice In Sunderland, in which Bryan Talbot drew me a beautiful Mad Hatter.

Later again I found myself back in the bar, (perfectly sober, but in need of a comfy chair and a cup of coffee) and had lots of interesting conversations - this was when I had the opportunity to chat with BlueLou and Jasper, and with a writer/reviewer named Mark, and Paul Cornell again, and various others whose names I failed to note. 

Conversations wandered from subject to subject - some SciFi / Comics related - Which Doctor Who Episodes deserve to win Hugos, whether Superman and Clark Kent were either or both ever American Cctizens in the first place, how quickly trade paperbacks of comics should become available, and what the chances are of fielding a cricket team entirely made of Doctor Who writers are; Some not - babycare and breastfeeding, government cuts, the tendencies of large organisations to become reactionary, and the excessive cost of coffee in the hotel bar.

I enjoyed the afternoon.

Photo stolen from @MrTonyLee http://yfrog.com/gydxhmvmj

I stayed on in order to watch Neil Gaiman's episode of Doctor Who -  The Doctor's Wife. It wasn't the optimum  viewing experience - the TV was in ne corner of the hotel bar, but there were a lot of people in the bar who were not watching Doctor Who, and so there was a lot of noise - it took a while before we were able to get subtitles up, and of course subtitles are not as good as being able actually to hear the dialogue, but even with those disadvantages it was a great episode (and good company!)

Once Who was over, I headed back home (where I watched the episode again, with sound, this time, and also watched the 'Confidential' - both very good. A nice end,  to an interesting day.

I had bought a ticket for the full weekend but having a lie-in on Sunday morning meant I left it too late to get to Bristol in time to see the 'Just a Minute' game, which was the main attraction, to my mind, so I didn't go back. Maybe next year.

(EDITED TO ADD: the 3rd cartoonist was Vicky Stonebridge. Thanks to Aldous Russell for pointing that out, over at lj)

What I'm Doing Today

Today should be interesting. I will shortly be heading off to Bristol, to the Bristol Comics Expo - I had vaguely thought of going last year, but left it too late, and all the tickets were sold out, so this year I booked early, and then (as no updates are sent) forgot all about it until people in my timeline started tweeting about it...

I know that a few people I have heard of / seen before such as Paul Cornell , Tony Lee and Bryan Talbot are all going to be there, as is my friend Cheryl,  but other than that I am not sure what to expect.

I suspect that around 6.30 this evening there might be a sudden exodus to the bar, or wherever else a large TV can be found...  I don't suppose that the BBC deliberately scheduled Neil Gaiman's episode of Doctor Who to coincide with the Con, but you have to admit, it's good timing...

In Which There is a New Bed, and Daleks

I've been meaning to blog for a while, but there seems to be a shortage of round-to-its at the moment..My lovely new mattress arrived on Saturday - the delivery time was "7 a.m. To 2p.m." and so I was up early on the basis that pyjamas are not really suitable wear for taking deliveries, even (or maybe particularly) bed-related deliveries.

Besides, they were going to be taking away the old mattress!

The new mattress is LOVELY! And so much fatter than the old one. I likes it, I does. And if I can only persaude my neighbours and their drunken friends that there are better times and places to have a loud argument than the middle of the street at 3a.m, I might even get some decent nights sleep, now!

The mattress men arrived just before 9, took away the old one, brought in the new one, all very efficient. A gold star for you, John Lewis, with your non-pushy salesman and your cheery mattress deliverers.

Having admired my new mattress from several angles, I obediently left it to air for a few hours before trying it out, as insttructed, and while I was waiting, I wandered into town to pop to the library. I had forgotten that there was a special event going on, to encourage children to read and write, and specifically to read and write science fiction.

I had been planning to pop in in order to drop of some books (both borrowed and being donated) and pick up some light reading for the weekend. I was not expecting Daleks.

But then, who does expect Daleks?

As well as the Daleks , R2D2 was there, scurrying around the place, there was one adult and one child-sized Star Wars Storm Trooper, a Sontaran,

and, sitting quietly outside, a certain Blue Box....

I arrived not long after the library opened and the place was absolutely packed, mainly with children.

I think that the event was part of a much wider 'summer reading challenge' across (at least) the county, but clearly the staff here had gone above & beyond in order to make it really interesting and appealing. Many of the staff were in costume (remember those clockwork robots from 'the Girl in the Fireplace'?)

One thing whch made me happy was seeing this lovely poster .

(photo stolen from @CherylMorgan)

Not becasue it's a great poster (although it is) but also because this poster and I have a history.

Last year, you see, Mr Lincoln (who designed the poster, which features Mr Billy Bones) sent me a couple of these, after I admired them, one for me, and the others for display in my local library or bookshop.

I took the poster down to the library and asked the Friendly Librarian whether they would like it, to display. "Yes please" he said, "but I won't put it up today as it doesn't fit with our current disply"

Fair enough. For the next few months, each time I went to the library I would look to see whether it was up, and each time, it wasn't. eventually I asked about it, and the (different) librarian whom I spoke to denied any knowledge of it, and told me that they wouldn't have kept it that long so it had probably been thrown away.

And I was sad, as it seemed such a waste.

But it seems that it had not been thrown away or forgotten, rather, the Friendly Librarian had lovingly hoarded it until exactly the rght moment to put it up.

So I am happy again.