I had a lot of fun at OctoCon it was a brilliant event. I started Friday by waking up late and having to get breakfast elsewhere, I ended up having a Burger King. I then wandered around a bit and sound Games Workshop, where I bought a Lord of Plagues for my AoS Chaos army and an Intercessor Squad.

I then went down to the hotel where I waited for the con to start, I had enquirer about helping to set up, but my crippling social anxiety kicked in and I found myself stuck to the spot and too scared to go and speak to anyone to offer my services.

So I just hid in the toilet, but I was eventually able to come out where I had a cup of tea before I attended the opening ceremony.

That evening I attended a few panels, A Good War Story, which was about the pull of the war story and was really interesting, then there was one on psykers and psychics, which was fascinating as the Irish have a lot of supernatural stuff in their culture, such as the description of “the cure” by Dave Rudden.

And finally I attended a panel on the legalities and ethics of colonising Mars, which was quite deep, and considered a lot of points I would never have ever thought of.

Then I made my way back to the hostel and slept, and I managed to wake up on time for breakfast on Saturday, but it wasn’t worth it, as breakfast consisted of cornflakes, wheatabix or toast, not exactly what I would call a continental breakfast!

I ended up getting a breakfast roll from a shop near the hotel, but the lady serving had a really thick accent that was part Thai and part Irish, which I struggled to understand, and when I thought she was saying butter or margarine, was actually butter or mayo, so I had mayo in my bacon sandwich, which was different.

I then attended Civilisations in Decline which looked at why we are so fascinated by dystopian societies in fiction, and then there was a panel called Hero for our Times which looked at hero’s in fiction which reflect the times we live in and was a lot of fun.

Then I attended Who Guards the Galaxy which a panel in which Dan Abnett discussed his work on Guardians of the Galaxy and that was brilliant, a lot of insight into how he put the team together and made it work, and thus how we ended up with the movies on our screen.

After lunch was the Guest of Honour interview and it was really cool, Dan and Nik Vincent-Abnett are really nice people and they were able to get across what they do and how they work really well.

Afterwards they did a signing session and I was able to get both of their scribbles in my autograph book, I wish I had been brave enough to approach other people to add their scribbles, there were loads of cool people there like Diane Duane, Michael Carroll and Peter Morwood, but my shyness prevented me from just approaching them. I really need to get a handle on that, it’s really spoiling my life sometimes.

Then I attended a panel on space exploration called How Far We’ll Go, followed by a Kaffeklatsch on Rick and Morty which was a lot of fun, difficult because it was a small group and I couldn’t disappear into a crowd but it was cool. And then finally I attended a panel on horror in gaming called Plug into Fear, which was one of my favourites as it explored how game developers and scriptwriters get people scared in video games and that was really very informative.

I decided to then go home, I couldn’t handle the Monsters Ball, my anxiety was just too high and I was really struggling at that point, so I went home via a Persian kebab restaurant called Zaytoons which was really really good. I love Persian food and the saffron flavoured chicken shish kebab was to die for.

I then took a slow walk back to the hostel and the area was quite cool, I quickly realised with all the fancy bars and restaurants, it was Dublin’s answer to Shoreditch, and it was actually a ice atmosphere and there was some amazing street art.

Sunday morning I had a little lie in and then got my breakfast from the same place as Saturday, only this time making sure I got butter!

I then attended a panel called Deadlines will keep us together which was about how couples work together and was quite nice, the two couples, Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent-Abnett and Diane Duane and Peter Morwood had a lot of good stories about how couples collaborate on their work and how two voices can sometimes produce a much better piece of work.

After that it was another space exploration panel, followed by lunch and then a panel with Dan Abnett and Michael Carroll on writing for 2000AD which was brilliant, I mean two of the best comic writers together in one room was just mind blowing and I was brave enough to ask a question, which was about how the culture differs between British comic publishers and US comic publishers.

Then I did a panel on armour which was cool as they had some examples of armour which was made in the same way as it would have been made in the past, and a timeline of helmets which was really cool, and my final panel was Horror in Contrast which was all about the different psychological tricks that different media’s have to use to convey horror, and that was very enlightening.

After this there was a brief run though of future conventions, and then the closing ceremony.

There was after that a meeting of volunteers for Dublin 2019, but I kind of ducked out very quickly after Simone asked my name, my anxiety just took over, so I quickly escaped to the Persian restaurant and had another meal there before going to the hostel where I had an early night.

The next morning I was up early as I had an early bus, but I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, despite all the Ireland fans travelling for the World Cup Qualifier in Cardiff.

I made sure I had a nice Irish snack for my flight back, which consisted of a pack of Taytos, a Cadbury’s Mint Crisp and a bottle of Club Rock Shandy.

When I got to Newcastle I was briefly questioned by the police, turns out saying your 95 on the plane whilst tapping the counting app worried the chap next to me!!!

Anyway I got the Metro to Heworth where Paul and Megan picked me up and Tom me home, and in the evening to celebrate my birthday we went out for a Smashburger.

Trip to Hull

This weekend we are off on our annual October getaway, we have rented a cottage just outside Hull with a hot tub and it’s been lovely.

On Friday we came down early so that we could visit The Deep, a place I have always fancied visiting, and it was amazing, I have never been to an aquarium before but it was amazing.

The tickets work like Beamish so we can use them again anytime in the next 12 months and I really think we will be, it was brilliant, and of course Lindsay loved the penguins.

When we go to the cottage we chilled out had Pizza and watch some Big Bang Theory, before relaxing in the hot tub.

On Saturday we took a quick run out to grab some dishwasher tablets and cream cakes, and then spent the day playing games and generally chilling.

Paul joined us in the evening for the rest of the weekend, we had som burgers and then went in the hot tub before relaxing in front of the TV and some classic Red Dwarf.

What I am Modelling

I haven’t lifted a paintbrush this week, but I did build a few things. I built 6 guys to add to an Intercessor Squad with Bolt Rifles to bulk them out to 10 men and I built another 4 Intercessor with Stalker Bolt Rifles to add to the Anniversary Sgt.

And I also built my Y’Vahra, which is a beautiful model, I know most people have one because it’s really powerful on the table, but I just really like the model.

I also put together a Firestorm Redoubt I picked up recently for the Heresy Weekender.

On Tuesday I plan to prime all the models I have built recently.

What I am Reading

I finished up The Emperor Expects which was a very good book and I am going to start reading Ruinstorm when I get home and can load it on my Kobo.

I also finished up the audiobook of Lorgar – Bearer of the Word, which was a very enjoyable book, very different to the other Primarch stories and was a really good listen, Gav Thorpe did a brilliant job building up the world of Colchis and really brought it to life.

What I am Playing

Being away on our annual relaxing trip, we have played quite a few games.

We have today played Unspeakable Words, which I surprisingly won, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past, in which I was the villain and I lost.

We then played three games of Math Fluxx using Plan C and I won two games and lost one, and finally a game of Love Letter: Batman which Megan won.

What I am Backing

Absolutely nowt this week!

What I am Cooking

I did get cook dirty rice this week, although I managed to add a lot more Cajun spice mix than I intended.

I am loving dirty rice, I have made it with lots of veg and it’s lovely, I do want to try it with mushrooms at some point.

What I am Spending

As I said earlier I bought the Lord of Plagues and Intercessor Squad in Dublin’s Games Workshop.

I want the ability to take my recording equipment places so I have invested in a bag to carry my mixer in and some spare XLR cables. I also bought a power cable for my headphone amplifier, I can’t justify buying another for the mobile setup, and pulling all the cables out when taking it on the road will be a huge pain in the arse.

But a second power adapter will allow me to simply unplug it and take it with me. That said the revised model of the amplifier I have is very nice looking, and I won’t lie, I was tempted by it!

  • Mood: Relaxed
  • Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: 7
  • In My Ears: A Little Respect by Erasure
  • Game Last Played: Love Letter: Batman
  • Book Last Read: The Emperor Expects by Gav Thorpe
  • Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Red Dwarf
  • Current State of Projects: Grand Master Voldus stalled!