Day 5 of WorldCon and by this point I was barely functioning!
We decided that we would use the Luas for the last day and it was only a 10 or so minute walk (with frequent eat stops) to the Smithfield station, and we only had a short trip to the CCD, but boy was it packed.
When we got to the CCD we headed straight up for the Library Bards concert and that was amazing, utterly loved it and it was a real highlight of the Con.
After this we had Games for Science with Steve Jackson and Tom Lehmann which was very good, although I was disturbed part was through it because there had been a small fire in our apartment and we were going to have to move room when we got back, thankfully none of our stuff was damaged.
Then I went to a panel on 2000AD the Irish Connection, which I hoped would touch on things like Murphyville, but it mostly just covered Irish artists and writers for 2000AD which was still pretty good.
Then me and Lindsay met up for Holy Forking Shirtballs – The Good Place Panel, and thanks goodness I had an access sticker, because it was a very popular panel, which doesn’t surprise me as the show is brilliant, but me and Lindsay were able to get in which was great.
The we did a two hour shift on the Glasgow 2024 fan table and had many a fan come and offer pre-support or become a friend of the bid, which was great, I have a lot of confidence that Glasgow will win. And I managed to with great difficulty get into the DeLorean for a photo.
And sadly at this point it was time for the closing ceremony, which was very very emotional, amazing speeches and performances and when James handed over the gavel to CoNZealand it put a lump in your throat.
And this we headed away from the CCD for the last time and it felt very sad to leave our home for the past five days and see our little village being dismantled.
We did want to do the Dead Dog Party, but figured we needed to get back and move room plus we couldn’t really afford the drinks.
So instead we headed to O’Connell Street and had a Supermacs for tea, followed by a trip to Dunnes to grab a few bits for people who wanted us to bring them home, specifically Rock Shandy for Paul, Jane and Rob.
Then we jumped back on the Luas and walked back up to Thomas Street, which was very hard and I had to stop a ton of times, but once we got there we saw that the Spar has disappeared during the day, and realised we forgot a present for George, so we walked down to Tesco and grabbed him a bottle of whiskey, before going back to the hotel and moving room, and then we settled down and read before sleeping.
Return to the North East
The next day we managed to sleep in and miss our taxi, but thankfully we were able to get one very quickly, and we getting through security was a breeze, so we had a Burger King for breakfast and then boarded our flight back to Newcastle, which was sadly very uncomfortable for Lindsay.
But we landed safely and were picked up by Paul and Megan, who literally had to be prised off me and Lindsay when she gave us a hug, so we headed home, to find out that there had been a small fire at the BT exchange which means we are without internet again.
I phoned Sky who have agreed to compensate us for a months worth of broadband, plus helped us cut our bill down and moved us onto Sky Q for free as compensation.
So exhausted I headed up and had a bit of a nap, after which we went to the Beefeater for tea before popping into see Megan’s mum who had just had a knee replacement operation.
So action packed few days!
What I am Modelling
Obviously I have been away and my painting had been a struggle before that, but on Wednesday whilst Lindsay was away at Megan’s parents working because we had no broadband at home, I picked up my paintbrushes to try and get myself back in the zone by painting some scenery, these are big chunky bits that’s don’t require detail.
After any long break from painting I find it difficult to get back in the groove because my hands really do get very bad, so stuff like this is helpful.
Anyway I painted a Wall of Martyrs Defence Line and a Wall of Martyrs Imperial Bunker.
What I am Reading
I have a lot of recommendations of books from WorldCon, but first I want to get through The Beast Arises, and have gotten half way through Shadow of Ullanor by Rob Sanders, which is really good so far.
What I am Playing
I haven’t played much at all this week apart from a play test of Cthulhu Dice 2nd Edition and a couple of games of Timeline Inventions, one of which I won and one of which I lost.
What I am Backing
At the moment I am backing Munchkin Parhfinder 3 – Odd Ventures, but I am having to do it in a way that sees the game shipped to a friend in the US for them to forward it on to me as Steve Jackson Games are stopping supporting international backers, which is sad.
We are taking a good look at backing Fiasco and I will be honest, it’s likely to happen.
What I am Cooking
Nowt since I got back from Dublin.
What I am Spending
Apart from a few presents in Dublin, nowt.
- Mood: Missing WorldCon
- Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: 2
- In My Ears: Your So Damn Hot by Ok Go
- Game Last Played: Timeline Inventions
- Book Last Read: Shadows of Ullanor by Rob Sanders
- Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- Current State of Projects: Rest of Killzone Wall of Martyrs on my desk
We managed to get a bus to the CCD reasonably easily, and made it to our first panel which was How To Start A Podcast, which have me some interesting insights which will hopefully let me make improvements to Edge if Empire.
We then got into queue for Polyamory In Theory And Practice which was really good, but it was in a small room and they could have filled it three times over, few little bits I disagreed with, but mostly very good.
We then had a wander round the hucksters room and saw the DeLorean kitted out as the one from Back To The Future and had lunch, Lindsay had salmon pho and I had a cheeseburger.
After that I went to The Evil of Gaming and got Tom Lehmanns autograph, and well it was obviously a very timely panel!
We then went to see The Doubleclicks in concert which was absolutely amazing, I have wanted to see them for years, and I am so so glad that I have finally done so and crosses something off my bucket list.
And then we were able to get a selfie with Laser, and I think I have managed to help convert Lindsay into a fan of theirs.
Then I attended a panel on Patreon: The Evolution if Supporting The Arts, which was moderated by one of my favourite authors Jaine Fenn, which was very helpful for 
So instead I wandered through the hucksters room and then took a walk across to Point Square for George RR Martins autograph, as a person requiring access I have no complaints as I was allowed to go to the front of the queue and didn’t have to wait long at all, I only had 30 seconds which him, but he seemed very nice.
I then did a panel on Audio Dramas and Radio plays, with Phil Foglio which has really got me interested in doing some short audio dramas, cause I have ideas, but just have always never thought I could do it, but to hear how people are saying that anyone can do it, well it has me inspired!
At this point me and Lindsay went to help out set up the Glasgow in 2024 party, where there were Tunnock’s Caramel Waffers and Teacakes, samples of various whiskys (a very limited supply) and Irn Bru.
Day two was better in many ways than day 1, primarily because Lindsay didn’t get a migraine, yay!
We missed Accessible Yoga sadly, but I arrived int one to get into line for signups to Kaffeklatchs, but I missed out on the one I really wanted to do by one space, because the git right in front of me signed up his friend despite it being only one signup per person, so was very annoyed by that, especially as the people manning the signup tables shrugged their shoulders when I made them aware.
Then we got into a panel on the Representation of Marginalised People in Gaming with Laser Malena-Webber from the Doubleclicks, and Tanya DePass which was brilliant, I am very passionate about representation in games, because the same white European troops get very dull in games, and I am really desperate to see games with big influences from outside Europe.
This was followed by a bit of a let down in Introduction to Grimdark, the discussion was good and interesting, but half the panel had no idea about what Grimdark was with one panelist’s having never heard of the term before, and the moderator had no voice, which meant that the panel was a bit unfocused, but still the discussion and book reccomend and the were good.
Then had my best event of the day, Romance Plot or Not, which was a blast, we were supplied with four ridiculous romance story plots and had to guess which one was a fake, and my team finished fifth which was cool, and as a result of that Lindsay wants to read a book featuring a bad boy biker, who just happens to be a werehedgehog!
Then we had to rush off for the bus back to the hotel and we ordered in a spice box for tea, which was really good, and then at about 01:20 we went to sleep utterly exhausted!
Me and Lindsay flew out to Dublin on Tuesday for WorldCon, which is the convention of the World Science Fiction Society, and is a pretty big deal, it’s also where the Hugo Awards are handed out.
We then went straight to Bewleys for lunch, which is an amazing tea house on Grafton Street, we had mushroom and tarragon soup, I had mine with an open sandwich and Lindsay had here with a scone and it was a most delicious lunch when paired with a cup of Irish Afternoon tea.
We had a pizza for tea, a large one with sausage, egg, bacon and mushrooms on it, after popping into Lidl for some supplies to make sarnies with.
When we reached O’Connell street we went to Supermacs for our lunch, we both had 5oz bacon and cheese burgers, Lindsay had hers with curry cheese fries, I had mine with garlic cheese fries, and it was really nice, much nicer than a McDonalds.
The we walked down to Bewleys for an afternoon tea and then to Dunnes to pick up some Rock Shandy, Taytos and Cadbury’s Mint Crisp to take home to the UK, then back to the hotel where we chilled out, even popping up to the roof top terrace where Lindsay attempted to do some of her daily exercises and we had nesi goreng from Lidl for tea.
The next day we made our way to the CCD by bus and began the day with some Accessible Star Trek Yoga, which is a lot harder than it sounds. After that we attended a panel on Liking Problematic Tings and then a workshop on an Introduction to Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, which I have yet to play properly.
And I also got to playtest the next edition of Cthulhu Dice with Steve Jackson, who also signed my autograph book and copy of Munchkin Warhammer 40,000, so I squeed a bit at that!!!
Next Tuesday me and Lindsay fly off to Dublin to attend the 
On Tuesday I played Arran in a game of 40k, he was playing his Salamanders, and he brought a very powerful list with a couple of Sicarans, a Typhon and a Fire Raptor, it was a ever so slightly illegal list but I am not bothered by that personally.
This week the two expansion decks for Paranoia arrived, Mutant Explosion and More [Redacted] Societies, looking through the decks there are a lot more options for the game now and they will add a lot of fun to an already fun system.