Last Day in Dublin (sob)

Monday meant having to leave Ireland, which was sad. Very sad.

First, there was PACKING. This is interesting, when you have 9 books, one jar of honey, some jewellery and a poppet more to take home, than you had when you arrived. Not that I didn't want all those things, just that they all take up space.

Then, pausing only for pancakes and tea, we headed out to Blackrock to visit Louisa at her beautiful bookshop, Raven Books. For me it was a very fleeting visit, as I had to get to the airport to catch my flight home, but it was never the less a fun morning.

We got a train out there, and spent a long time browsing the shop (and I found a copy of Gail Carriger's 'Changeless', which is a Good Thing)

Louisa met octokitty, and then we went for lunch. And did I mention that Anabek gave me a handful of eyeballs, to make up for the fact that unlike the others (and Finn) i would not be going on a Ghost Bus  for the evening.


My Octocon Swag!

I was fortunate enough to have a smooth (if ltime consuming) jouney home And oh,so very tired!

I haven't posted all my pictures in the blog but if you want to see more the full flickr set is  here .

Oh, and did I mention the glorious steampunk earrings and Cthulhu pendent I bought, from Ukapala. Nice, aren't they?

Octocon - Books and Ninja Gig

In my memory, Dublin  seems to include a lot of interesting meals at odd times and places. Saturday night we went out for a quiet meal with Catie Murphy, which turned out to be a not-so-quiet meal with dozens of people (although I'm pretty sure I *saw* Catie, across a crowded restaurant... 

George RR Martin

 On Sunday, it was a very very late lunch  (or possibly, I suppose, a very early supper) at a place named Green 19, with Lorraine, and Brian, and Nathalie, Hellie and Anabel., which was lovely, and leisurely and relaxed. 

We got back in time to attend the Octocon closing ceremony, during which many, amnypeople were thanked, and George RR Martin was given a lifetime achievement awardin the form of a rather nice steampunky pistol, or possibly blaster.

I cannot now remember what we were pkanning to do after that, but what we actually did was make it as far as the comfy chairs in the lobby, and then stop.

C.E.Murphy, Fabulous Lorraine, R.F.Long

I seem to remember tea. and then later we bribed Lorraine with tea and hobnobs and footrubs until she agreed to play her fiddle for us. It was wonderful. And I also loved that she was able to sit down in the corner of the hotel lobby (bearing in mind the Con didn't have the whole hotel. Therre were *normal* people there too) and play, and no-one turned a hair. Maybe they have random ninja violin gigs in the lobby all the time. it wouldn't surprise me at all.

I think it was around this time that Catie Murphy turned up and gave us lots of books. Don't you love when that happens? I have a huge big stack of shiny new books (including a copy of 'Hands of Flame'  which unexpectedly starts on p.33. I asked whether Catie could summarise what was missing and she said "stuff happens" . So that's clear, and, I am sure, accurate. But I think I shall go and buy another copy, too. Maybe one which does have those first few pages, even if it lacks the author's signature.

Oh, and a certain small skeleton boy was spotted...

I think that it was round about this point that sleep deprivation really kicked in, as although I'm sure there was conversation and interesting things I don't remember any of it very clearly. I know I was enjoying myself, though.

I'll leave you with a random Octokitty picture.

I think Octokitty made a lot of friends.

In Which There Are Panels & Writers

Tragically, the cake cafe where we had breakfast on Saturday doesn't open on Sundays, so we couldn't hve breakfast there. We ended up in the Boulangerie RF Long and her family,m which was a consolation.

Then, as there was some sort of convention going on at the hotel it seemed reasonable to go to a panel or two...

I started with "Ethics in YA Fiction"; the panel included Michael Carroll, author of the 'Quantum Prophecy' series, Peadar Ó Guilín (the author of 'The Inferior', which I belive involves teen cannibals) Siobhan (who is a knitter and linguist, and may well have other qualifications I know not of) and Clare Hennesy

The panel started with discussions about what can and cannot go into books marketed for children, Michael Carroll explaining that on the basis of concerns about the sensibilities of some parts of the USA, he has had to excise the occasional "damn" or "Bloody" from the books, and has therefore invented his own expletives. There was also some discussion about age banding and labelling and how libraries are (at least in part) trying to cater to those parents who don't know what might be suitable for their child, rather than trying to censor books.

The panel then moved towards issues which I found more interesting - some of the ideas and presumptions that may be found in (some) books - one example given being that in the Harry Potter books, there appears top be the idea that 25% of wizards are evil, based on selection at age 11. I had to leave at this point which was a shame, as it felt that the panel was just getting on the area I found interesting...

My second panel was Lorraine's panel "Neil Gaiman: Behind The Curtain" - which sadly clashed with Brian's horror panel, which I should also have liked to attend. Lorraine talked about her job, and answered questions from the floor, Including revealing that she had initially said No to Neil doing "13 Nights of Fright" (Because he didn't really have time), but relented when he explained he had always wanted to come out of a coffin....!)

I thought it went well, although the room had a bit of a problem in that it seemed to have only two possible settings as far as heat was concerned - very stuffy & overheated, or frigid. . .

I stayed on for the next panel, which was about invented and inventing languages, and worldbuilding, which was fun - wandered on  into issues of Irish accents/language on TV.

As if to make up for no panels yesterday, today was pretty busy. Straight after  the language panel was a panel about the Care and Feeding of writers, which featured Lorraine (of course), Parris, (GRRM's partner) Pat Fanning (R.F.Long's husband) and Ted Lee (C.E.Murphy's husband). Topics covered included The Importance of Feeding Your Writer,  Socialisation and Human Contact, lots of anecdotes  -very interesting to hear about the writing habits of different writers. I think for me one of the most amazing was Ted saying that Catie wrote her first book while on trains commuting to and from work. How impressive is that?.

Parris spoke with feeling about how absorbed and un-distractable George can be - she once got fed up and went in to tell him that that the tyrannosaurs were invading and  the volcanos erupting, and  got a "good...." and "fine, in a minute" reply. . .
I noticed a number of nods of recognition from the other panellists!

Crypts and Bog-Bodies and Fiends (Oh My)

Today started well, with a wander down to the canal to admire the swans and the skeleton-on-the-wall, followed by pancakes for breakfast at the wonderful  cafe where we had lunch yesteday, in the company of Lorraine, Nathalie and Anabel. 
We then went to the Octocon opening ceremony, where Lorraine, and George RR Martin, and the other guests were introduced. I have to confess I have still not read any of GRRM's books, but I can report that he has a magnificant beard!

Then out to explore Dublin!

We started by visiting Christ Church, because, as Lorraine so rightly says, it has a wonderful crypt. The cathedral on top is pretty nice, too.

We spent more time in the crypt, though. There was tea.

It turns out that Tea in a Crypt is, indeed, an ideal way to spend a Dublin morning!

It turns out also that there is a food market on Saturday morning at Temple Bar, where one can buy all sorts of cheeses (If one didn't have to worry about packing or customs)  and breads, and delicious, freshly baked blueberry scones the size of your head. 

Not that I stole any of Lorraine's scone, obviously. I would never do that.

Then, as 2/3s of the party missed out on the Bog Bodies yesterday, we went to the museum. We saw no more grafitti warning of the dangers of toast, on the way but there was other street art...

At the museum we acquired Hellie, (slightly sleep deprived) and went to look at bog bodies. I can't begin to compete with Lorraine's flawless description and archeological expertise. So you should just go and re-read her blog here .

Those people got bogged alright. Also they all had red hair.

And as well as the bog people they have other stuff in the museum. Viking and Celtic jewellery (and, for some reason, buckets).  And then there was the whole zombie arm. They said it was a reliquary for some saint's arm, but you only have to look at it to see it's really the remains of some cyborg zombie. Be very careful in dublin. Who knows wht else there may be here.

As well as mummies and zombie arms and bog bodies, they have a tea shop in the museum. I like that in a museum.

Visiting culteral sites and artifacts such as crypts and bog-bodies is wearing . Some of us found a taxi and headed back to the Con, where Q scheduled a new panel, located in the hot tub and entitled "getting bogged with Fabulous Lorraine" It was a small but perfect panel. With bubbles and hot jets. More conventions should consider scheduling hot-tub based panels.

I think the next thing which happened was the chrity auction where various things, including some of Neil's honey, boks and games signed by GRRM and other authours were autioned off - over 900E was raised, which is pretty impressive.

Then dinner, and a party, with music from th Fabulous Lorraine (on violin) a guy whose name I didn't catch (on guitar) and various rmadom people providing choral singing and interpretive dance. Musically, I think it perhaps lacked that certain something (I'm nearly sure that it traditional to sing & play in the same key) but for sheer fun, it was right up there with the best.

As was the whole day, in fact.

In Which There is Tea, Cake and Kidnapping

We had, apparently, arrranged to meet up with @Nemone7 and Brian J. Showers at 8.30 in order to go tto visit a cemetery, so we had an early breakfast, a which we were  serendipitously joined by @ickle_tayto

We walked to the cemetery,[edit to add - Anabel (@Nemone7) tells me the graveyard is Mt Jerome] where we saw the graves of Sheridan LeFanu, And of the fathers of both Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker, not to mention many wonderfully named scions of Dublin, including one Hercules Ellis. There are many warning signs about hwthe gates are locked at 4p.m. SHARP. And quite a few disturbingly disturbed looking graves, which lead you to wonder whether the gates are locked to keep visitors ou, or to keep somthing else in.

But I'm sure that the little bits of bone were just from rabbits, or urban foxes. and there's a good reason for the crypts to be so securely locked.

We all go out safely, and in our search or coffee (sadly the coffee shop in he cemetery itself was not open) we found a cryptic warning:  I can't speak for the others but I for one am grateful for the warning and intend to be on my guard around toast from now on. It should have warned of tea, though.

Our morning coffee break  was a little marred when the waiitress (who was otherwise lovely) lost control of her tray, and spilled boiling tea all over my foot.

I do not recommend this. I am always open to new experiences, but I feel confident in saying that hot tea should not be used externally. They did bring me cold coke cans to use as a cold compress, and, eventually new tea. and I'm sure the blisters will heal soon. I'm told  I was lucky.Some people get bogged in Dublin, which is more permanent.

Visiting yarn shops in the company of mad knitters is not, as far as I know, a well publicised or common part of the Dublin experience, but it should be.Lorraine was kidnapped for the afternoon by some knitters she met in a pub, and I got to tag along as a spare hostage.

We visited 3 yarn shops, and some countryside, and there was coffee and cake, and Octokitty, who is travelling with Lorraine, got a shiny new eyepatch to cover up his/her/it's bengal-induced eye loss. (Patch provided courtesy of free yarn from The Yarn Shop  and mad knitting skills of Siobhan!)

And then, when we got back, Lorraine was taken away to be important as a con guest, & I got t meet up with Nathalie and Cheryl and to go out for a fantastic Indian meal.

And after that:-

Oh, and I got birthday gifts and Q got kidnapped again, and there were lots of lovely  Irish  people to talk to.

In which I travel to Dublin

I have been looking forward to, and planning, this trip to Dublin to see various fiends and to attend Octocon, for months, but as often seems to happen, it appears to have been a long time in the future for ages, then suddenly it was week away, without any warning!
I spent most of yesterday faffing about with last minute work stuff, as my quiet day in theoffice to ensure everything was up together turned into a lot of firefighting. And then the evening was taken up with packing. I don’t know whether it’s just me, but I always seem to end up in a state of panic in case I have packed the wrong things, or too little, or that I will discover that my choices of clothes etc. are wholly inappropriate to the place, or the weather, or the event. Knowing how foolish this is does not seem to change anything. *sigh*

Still, I did manage to be quite restrained when it came to packing books, on the basis that if one is attending a Science Fiction/Fantasy convention in a major city the chances of being unable to acquire extra books if needed are fairly low…

I was disappointed but unsurprised to find my first train of the day was running late (Thank you so much, First Great Western.) Probably just as well I booked the train an hour earlier than I thought was necessary, really….

However, the train did make up much of the time and I arrived at the airport with plenty of time in hand, and was able to go through security with only a minor check (apparently books look suspicious under x-rays, Who knew?) happily, Southampton is a dinky litle airport which, at least on a Thursday afternoon, is not crowded. I actually walked past the entrance to the security without realising it as I was loking for a queue, and had to turn back!

The flight was short and uneventful. I was disappointed that low cloud meant I couldn't see much.

Then Dublin, and a long bus ride brought me to the hotel.Several very friendy and helpful Dubliners ensured that I got off the bus in the right place, and shortly after checking in I met up with Lorraine and her Spirit Guide, @Nemone7. (Check out Lorrraine's blog to see what they'd been up to all day - way more exciting than my uneventful journeying!) for dinner and chat and plaanning of nNew Fun Stuff to do tomorrow. I believe graveyards will be invovled. And maybe tea. 

Also, unfortunately, Early Rising.

Mostly Grumbling.

It's been a funny old week. Lots of stress at work, and (probably in part as a result)  have not been sleeping well.

And I have been feeling very sorry for myself over the weekend. Sometime I wish I believed in Creationsim - it'd be nice to have someone to blame for the joys of female biology, sometimes, and one cannot really get a proper rage up against evolution. . .

Still, at least I have something to look forward to  - Thursday will see me off to Dublin for Octocon and, even more importantly, seeing the Fabulous Lorraine, and Nathalie and Louisa and Hellie. And hopefully to meet others, too.

If I can just get through the next three days.

Which is mostly about family

Last weekend saw me driving  down to Essex, for a family party.One of my uncles turned 60 last month, and decided to celebrate in style. It was lots of fun.

The party was on Saturday evening, which meant that there was time to hang out with family first. It was great - I don't see these particular cousins very often, and it is always startling to realise that the person you remember as a bump (he was born the year I went to university) is about to turn 18, and is planning his own university applications...

The party itself was good fun - lots of E&T's friends, plus family, food, live music, dancing, champagne...

And  then having shared a hotel room with No1 sister and her other half meant we got to have baklava for breakfast, as some people have relatives who return from Turkey bearing baklava.

Then Sunday involved more family socialising, including listening to my mum & two of her sisters discussing their childhood, and different memories and perpectives of the same events. Very interesting.
Most enjoyable.

Then this week came news from my cousin's husband, that my cousin has had her (first) baby - a beautiful baby boy (6lb 12oz)

VERY happy news.

In Which There Is Art, and I Am Made Very Happy

It's late September again which means the Bath Festival of Children's Literature is here again. This year I shall miss most of it, as I am away next weekend, which is a little sad, as I was going to have gone to see Michael Morpurgo, and Michael Rosen, and Cornelia Funke, but as I still haven't mastered bilocation it can't be done.


Robin Etherington, Garen Ewing nd Dave McKean



Tonight, however, was  this event, which made me go all fangirl  squee when I first saw the programme - Dave McKean, Garen Ewing and Robin Etherington talking graphic novels. To be honest, Dave McKean is the only one of the three I'd heard of, but I am a huge fan of his work and the thought of getting to see him & maybe get some of my books signed was too good to miss.



I was at Bath Guildhall in plenty of time, having spent some considerable time earlier in the day deciding (a) how many books I could legitimately take with me in the hope of getting them signed, and maybe even doodles, and (b) which ones. On browsing the bookstall in the foyer I found that 'Slog's Dad', the new book by David Almond and Dave McKean is now out, so I had to buy that, and I was also tempted to by the first two volumes of Garen Ewing's Rainbow Orchid graphic novel, as I like the look of them.

The Etherington Brothers books are aimed more at children and I did manage to resist 'Monkey Nuts' although  suspect for the average 7-11 year old child it would have vast appeal!

The event was very interesting, all three panellists talking about their latest projects;

 Robin Etherington works with his brother, Lorenzo - Robin does the words and Lorenzo the pictures, and they have the Monkey Nuts books, and a new one called 'The Baggage', about a lost-property worker trying to reunite a very old bag with it's owner - it sounds as though will be good, and more suited to a slightly older reader.

Garen Ewing is working on the third volume of The Rainbow Orchid trilogy, which is set in the 1920's and inspired by adventurers and adventure writers, such as Rider Haggard and Jules Verne - and which he  both writes and draws. The style of his art is linge clair (clear line) , which means that his comics have a familiar look , as it is the style Herge used for the Tintin adventures - I have to admit that it was that similarity which attracted me when I saw the books!

He spoke about his interest in research, for instance, getting the languages right (for a  single frame showing an ancient greek manuscript), and getting things like the appearance of the Natural History Museum in the 1920s accurate, and getting a friend to build a scale model of the bi-plane he chose to use so he could draw this correctly, also. 

Dave McKean spoke about 'Slog's Dad'  by David Almond, which is just out, about the 'The Rut' " exhibition just finishing in London, (and which he confirmed is going to be made into a book, too, which I shall look forward to) and about the other projects he's currently working on - a film (which he didn't give any details about) and the book he is working on with Richard Dawkins, called 'The Magic of Reality' which will be an illustrated book answering questions (such  as why does the sun shine), starting with myths and fables and ways in which people have tried to explain the world, and then giving the scientific explanation.

Dave had some slides of some of the art for the book, which looks amazing; I can't wait to  see the finished article.

All three were asked about getting started, Both Garen and Robin had started with self-publishing and with putting their work up online, and Dave talked about pitching work with Neil Gaiman ("to this day, I'm not sure we had an appointment")

There were then some time for questions from the audience - in response to the 'what advice would you give someone wanting to be you?'

Dave recommended going to art school to (among other things) have time to broaden your horizons and to learn about things  which are not immediately obvious to you, and three seemed to be giving the same advice which is to do what you love, and what is important to you, and to keep doing it, bit by bit. Garen and Robin both also talked about putting work online to get it out there.


I was able to ask about collaboration, and whether there was anyone whom any of them would (in an ideal world) like to work with - Garen talked about the possibility of working with Philip Pullman (and I have to say I think his style would work well if Philip Pullman's 'Sally Lockhart' books were adapted into graphic novels.

Dave McKean mentioned that he and Neil Gaiman were both interested in doing a stage show or musical together, and that he wanted to work more with actors, in lice theatre, and also mentioned wanting to work with Harlan Ellison, and Robin said he wanted to work with Garen Ewing and Dave McKean..!

And there was a certain amount of discussion about the validity of monkeys and zombies in comics.

It was a shame that the event was only an hour long, I would happily have sat listening to the conversation for much longer.

All three were signing afterwards, so I  queued up, and ended up not only with a lovely sketch of Julius Chancer in my copy of  the rainbow Orchid, Vol. 1, but also beautiful drawings by Dave McKean in 'Slog's Dad and 'The Graveyard Book'

I think these are so beautiful in their own right, but I was also mesmerised watching Dave draw them, and make such vivid pictures with so few pen strokes.  It's so unfair that anyone should be so talented *and& such a nice person.

While queuing and watching the artists draw we were also talking, one of the subjects being how most adults will see they can't draw, or make things up, but all children will say they can, and considering when and why that changes.

I am just so happy that I was able to go. 

Which Features Mr Mitch Benn, Rock Star

Last night found me in Bath once again, even though it was a work night and I was knackered and feeling somewhat battered, due to my visit to the Chiropractor on Wednesday (of which more later)

I was in Bath because the fabulous Mr Mitch Benn was there, performing at Komedia. I haven't been to Komedia before. I've previously seen Mitch at the Rondo Theatre, which is a nice but tiny theatre on the edge of Bath - a bit like a pub with tiered seating.

Komedia is a converted cinema, all red and blue and gold and fancy plasterwork, and an echo.

And Mitch Benn is a comedian and singer, and if you don't know him and all his works, you should. Go here and look, go here and download. You know you want to.

Anyway, I had fortified myself with a nice half of Bellringer Beer and some rather disappointing potato wedges at a pub down the road (Memo to the Westgate Pub - please check the definition of 'crispy' as it applies to bacon, and do not raise expectations which you cannot satisfy) and so was already beginning to de-stress by the time I got to Komedia.

Mr Benn certainly competed the de-stressing process! Having been to several of his gigs before I knew pretty much what to expect . There were lots of songs I was familiar with - 'Sing Like an Angel', 'Size Zero', 'African Baby' 'Now He's Gone' & IKEA.

There was the wonderful 'Macbeth'

Mitch commented that if you hang around with Thespians, then sooner or later, one of them will come out with the old chestnut that if Shakespeare were alive today, he'd be writing Eastenders. Mitch's comment was that no he bloody wouldn't (Doctor Who, maybe, "he's been in it, after all, and Neil' s doing it, so Shakespear can't be far behind" )

Macbeth is his take on what Shakespeare might, in fact, write if he were around now. And it's Awesome!

We also had some newer songs; such as the topical "The Pope Wants Vicars" (Which won my heart by rhyming 'Saint Thomas Aquinas' with 'scared of vaginas', and the song which definitely got the biggest cheers of the evening -

"Proud of the BBC" which is a response to all the selfish tightfisted bastards  individuals who begrudge paying the licence fee and want to destroy privatise the BBC.  It ROCKS. And I especially liked the 'FUCKFUCKFCKFUCKStart again' in the second line, although I suspect that may not actually be part of the official lyrics...

Mitch also did his 'write a new song during the interval' party piece - based on suggestions from the audience about topical news stories, which you've got to admit is impressive.

All in all, it was a great evening, and I came home with my very own 'Proud of the BBC' T-Shirt.

Of course, the one small fly in my ointment was that being a Thursday night, I still had to get up & go to work in the morning, but what the hell..

In Whch I am Battered & Bruised

So, about 12 years ago I was involved in a road accident, when someone who clearly saw observation, speed limits, rights of way and and basic common sense as optional extras. It left my suspension bent, my front wing crumpled, and my neck and shoulder rather, well, buggered.

I saw lots of doctors, and physiotherapists, and osteopaths.

I had treatments involving exercises, and treatments involving being massaged, and treatments involving a kind of chinese burn, and treatments involving sitting having soundwaves pointed at me, and one treatment which involved sitting in front of a box having something pointed at me and then being locked in when eveyne went home for the night, although that wasn't strictly speaking part of the treatment. I was stretched and bent by an osteopath and saw several consultants and specialists, and had x-rays and MRIs and all sorts, and in the end, all of them said, one way or another,  "Meh,  You're broken. Learn to live with it"

And I did.  after all, there wasn't any alternative, and once I had learned which things make it hurt. And any way, worse things happen at sea.

Then, last year, a banker in a BMW drove into the back of my car at a junction which obviously caused some immediate prblems, but also aggravated the existing problems, and although since then the more obvious symptoms have settled, my neck & shoulder seem much more sensitive, and hurt more, and sooner, than they did before.

And the doctor I was sent to by the insurance company said he thought that seeing a chiropracter might help. I was sceptical, but willing to give it a go.

Which is why, on Wednesday, I found myself being politely beaten up for my own good.

I was given a series of chinese burns down my right arm, and then some crunching to my shoulder and neck. I'm prettyt sure that he gave me the Vulcan death dgrip at one point, too.

I was left feeling somewhat battered, butI am bound to admit that I seemed to have a little more movement that evening, so I shall go back next week and see whether it helps in the onger term.

Meanwhile....

Ow.

More of Cambridge, Books, Friends and Food

After the fun of Stephen Fry on Friday night, Saturday was devoted to socialising.

R, S & I went into Cambridge and went for a walk through the town and  along the Backs (behind some of the colleges) admiring the Mathematical Bridge,and the more decorative colleges (the picture below is, I believe, Peterhouse College) before walking along towards Grantchester, by the river.

Having arranged to meet up with my friend Em we walked back to be in the city by lunchtime, where  we had coffee. 

R & S then left, to undertake revision and chores respectively, and Em and I went off and had an excellent and adventurous lunch at the Cambridge Chop House, where our meal included a 'squirrel, hare & leek faggot', warm duck salad, and then specialist sausages & mash.

It's not a restaurant to which one would take a vegetarian, but the food was good, and the company excellent.

 Em and I were at university together, and don't see each other anything like as often as I'd like!

After our long and convivial lunch, we may have spent rather a lot of the afternoon, and of our spare money, at the Haunted Bookshop where we both filled in some gaps in our collections, and spotted many more objects of desire...

If only I had happened to have a spare £300 I could have had a beautiful  copy of 'Alice in Wonderland' with illustrations by Arthur Rackham, or some fairy stories with the Edmund Dulac illustrations.

It's a lovely shop. And I think we both enjoyed the afternoon.

I just had time for a cup of tea withh R&S before driving home, to be met by reproaches from Tybalt for havng left him so long.

A most happy-making day.