Back from exile (again)

In article <XYF+vlDqeFfAJA5N@menageri.tele2.co.uk>,
Harry Payne <Harry.RemoveThis@menageri.org.uk> wrote:

>After a suggestion from the wonderful Rafe Culpin at Concourse over the
>week-end (and he really, really didn't deserve me snapping at him)

I gather that concourse was somewhat "interesting" for Chinese values
of the word. (I had no intention of going in the first place. Hmm, that's
the 4th or 5th Eastercon I've missed since 1979; and the 3rd with deliberate
intent. I can feel Gafia creeping up on me....)

>I had
>another bash at accessing Usenet via news.individual.net. As you can see
>from this, it succeeded, and the Firedrake can relax for now.
>
>Woo. Not to mention, Hoo.

Indeed. Welcome back, have some TS and a truffle or eight, and tell us
what you've been up to (if you like).

Best,
Chris.

--
[Knight Rider] Poetic justice for me would be to see the rusting wreck
turn up on the pile at Scrapheap Challenge, and for a team of maddened
Bolton bikers to turn it into, oh, I don't know, a device for repeatedly
firing Britney Spears into a wall. Or something. -- JoeB on ASR
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

In <20040413225016.778001560903252.TakeThisOut@firedrake.org> Firedrake R wrote:

>In article <BCA21C7A9668AE779.TakeThisOut@192.168.1.23>,
>Chris Suslowicz <armageddon.TakeThisOut@heresiarch.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>I gather that concourse was somewhat "interesting" for Chinese values
>>of the word.

>And of course because there was no "con hotel", just a bunch of hotels
>and guest houses and flats all over Blackpool; and because nobody wanted
>to be in the Wintergardens in the evening; the con disintegrated when
>people went out to dinner and (as far as I can gather from anecdotal
>reports) ended up fragmented through the hotels - just the same way
>Glasgow's Worldcon did in 1995 (and will do again next year). If you
>guess wrong about where the people you want to see are likely to be,
>you have all the fun of negotiating the highest density of
>drunk-and-nasty people that I have seen since... um. In fact I don't
>think I've ever seen such a high density. In human form I'm reasonably
>tall and give the impression of being able to look after myself, but
>I'd have hesitated to try to get through that; were I in any way
>looking like a victim (female, infirm, elderly - as many of our people
>are) I'd have been seriously scared.

I didn't at all like the idea of one of our elder females leaving on her
own at just after 11pm to walk back to her hotel: she's small and looks an
easy target. Luckily two large male members of the Village were leaving
and going in the same direction she was at the same time, so I didn't have
to insist on her finding an escort or alternatively pretend I was going her
way. I was getting all ready to open my mouth and ask which way she was
going when the problem was resolved. I can't believe that she was the only
person I would have been unhappy about, either, but I was only there for
two days and one evening in between them, so I only noticed on the one
occasion I was leaving after dark. Had I not been with something large, I
would not at all have enjoyed the gauntlet of drunken yoof. I didn't anjoy
it even with escort, but without I would have been actively afraid of
trouble happening (and it is so embarrassing having to explain that someone
got Broke and I didn't mean to Sergeant but he hurried me....).

>Add to that that there were only about half the usual number of people
>there, and it wasn't really very much of a con. But I did get the chance
>to talk with a bunch of people whom I don't often see at other times,
>which is what it's really about for me, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

That applies to me as well.

>>(I had no intention of going in the first place. Hmm, that's
>>the 4th or 5th Eastercon I've missed since 1979; and the 3rd with
>>deliberate intent. I can feel Gafia creeping up on me....)
>Bah!

Look, gubbins, you're one of the people see paragraph above: if too many of
the ones like you gafiate, the whole thing will unravel like old knitting
when the elbows have gone through and Eastercon will die rather than being
assassinated by morons.

Which were the other two? Glasgow at the Hostility Inn and with the
Sorenson Anti-Hotel Anti-Liaison Policy and? Or were you at that one?

Beetle

Cartographer, Bombardier, Weather Witch and Village Storekeeper
Selling atonal apples, and amplified heat, and Pressed Rat's
collection of dog-legs and feet. Coffee mornings a speciality.
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 22:12:10 +0100, Harry Payne
<Harry RemoveThis @menageri.org.uk> wrote:

>After a suggestion from the wonderful Rafe Culpin at Concourse over the
>week-end (and he really, really didn't deserve me snapping at him) I had
>another bash at accessing Usenet via news.individual.net. As you can see
>from this, it succeeded, and the Firedrake can relax for now.
>
>Woo. Not to mention, Hoo.

Welcome back. I was thinking of you and Omega this weekend as I was
browsing the aisles of the local BJ's (warehouse store---everything
from electronics to really good meats) and came across a cute DVD. It
was called something like, "Kermit: The Swamp Years". It made a good
hit with the 5 year old nephew at Easter. Actually kept him out of
the kitchen long enough for his mom & I to get dinner on the table.

Jackie
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 22:26:23 +0000 (UTC), anon2765.RemoveThis@firedrake.org
wrote:

>In <20040413225016.778001560903252.RemoveThis@firedrake.org> Firedrake R wrote:
>
>>In article <BCA21C7A9668AE779.RemoveThis@192.168.1.23>,
>>Chris Suslowicz <armageddon.RemoveThis@heresiarch.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>>I gather that concourse was somewhat "interesting" for Chinese values
>>>of the word.
>
>>And of course because there was no "con hotel", just a bunch of hotels
>>and guest houses and flats all over Blackpool; and because nobody wanted
>>to be in the Wintergardens in the evening; the con disintegrated when
>>people went out to dinner and (as far as I can gather from anecdotal
>>reports) ended up fragmented through the hotels - just the same way
>>Glasgow's Worldcon did in 1995 (and will do again next year). If you
>>guess wrong about where the people you want to see are likely to be,
>>you have all the fun of negotiating the highest density of
>>drunk-and-nasty people that I have seen since... um. In fact I don't
>>think I've ever seen such a high density. In human form I'm reasonably
>>tall and give the impression of being able to look after myself, but
>>I'd have hesitated to try to get through that; were I in any way
>>looking like a victim (female, infirm, elderly - as many of our people
>>are) I'd have been seriously scared.
>
>I didn't at all like the idea of one of our elder females leaving on her
>own at just after 11pm to walk back to her hotel: she's small and looks an
>easy target. Luckily two large male members of the Village were leaving
>and going in the same direction she was at the same time, so I didn't have
>to insist on her finding an escort or alternatively pretend I was going her
>way. I was getting all ready to open my mouth and ask which way she was
>going when the problem was resolved. I can't believe that she was the only
>person I would have been unhappy about, either, but I was only there for
>two days and one evening in between them, so I only noticed on the one
>occasion I was leaving after dark. Had I not been with something large, I
>would not at all have enjoyed the gauntlet of drunken yoof. I didn't anjoy
>it even with escort, but without I would have been actively afraid of
>trouble happening (and it is so embarrassing having to explain that someone
>got Broke and I didn't mean to Sergeant but he hurried me....).
>
>>Add to that that there were only about half the usual number of people
>>there, and it wasn't really very much of a con. But I did get the chance
>>to talk with a bunch of people whom I don't often see at other times,
>>which is what it's really about for me, so it wasn't a wasted trip.
>
>That applies to me as well.
>
>>>(I had no intention of going in the first place. Hmm, that's
>>>the 4th or 5th Eastercon I've missed since 1979; and the 3rd with
>>>deliberate intent. I can feel Gafia creeping up on me....)
>>Bah!
>
>Look, gubbins, you're one of the people see paragraph above: if too many of
>the ones like you gafiate, the whole thing will unravel like old knitting
>when the elbows have gone through and Eastercon will die rather than being
>assassinated by morons.
>
>Which were the other two? Glasgow at the Hostility Inn and with the
>Sorenson Anti-Hotel Anti-Liaison Policy and? Or were you at that one?
>
>Beetle
>
>Cartographer, Bombardier, Weather Witch and Village Storekeeper
>Selling atonal apples, and amplified heat, and Pressed Rat's
>collection of dog-legs and feet. Coffee mornings a speciality.
>
>
This was very sad to read and makes me wonder if I should scrap my
plans to try and save lots and lots of pennies before August 2005.
I'm not a "nervous nellie" totally, after all I got lost in the 14th
street area (the "red light district) of Washington, DC without any
trouble but I like "friendly cities", not that there are many of them.
I like people to smile and say hello, and preferable not ask for spare
change. Guess I'm an old fashioned girl (one of my favorite books
when younger).

Jackie
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

In article <20040413232623.665041546410979 RemoveThis @firedrake.org>,
Beetle (who ought to be in bed at this time of night) wrote:

I wrote:

>>>(I had no intention of going in the first place. Hmm, that's
>>>the 4th or 5th Eastercon I've missed since 1979; and the 3rd with
>>>deliberate intent. I can feel Gafia creeping up on me....)

The firedrake went:

>>Bah!

And Beetle continued:

>Look, gubbins, you're one of the people see paragraph above: if too many of
>the ones like you gafiate, the whole thing will unravel like old knitting
>when the elbows have gone through and Eastercon will die rather than being
>assassinated by morons.
>
>Which were the other two? Glasgow at the Hostility Inn and with the
>Sorenson Anti-Hotel Anti-Liaison Policy and? Or were you at that one?

Hmmm, maybe it's more than 5?

<Thinks>
Yorcon III (1985) was run by Anal Dorey (shitlisted due to Seacon 84)
Eastcon (1990) - Looked like a disaster (venue cancelled), so ditched it.
Confabulation (1995) - clashed with something essential at work. (Site move.)
Helicon 2 - Certain of the committee were (are) on my _permanent_ shitlist.

2Kon (2000) - I honestly can't remember - I must have gone, because it had
John Salthouse. It must have been otherwise forgettable....

Concourse (2004) - split site, no con hotel, committee competence visible
only with the aid of an electron microscope.

I seem to have started with Channelcon in 1982, and may have skipped one
of the Albacons, but can't remember.

5 looks to be about right.

Chris.

--
2*3*3*37 : The Prime Factorization of The Beast
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In <BCA231719668FD48D RemoveThis @192.168.1.23> Chris S wrote:

>In article <20040413232623.665041546410979 RemoveThis @firedrake.org>,
>Beetle (who ought to be in bed at this time of night) wrote:
>
>I wrote:
>
>>>>(I had no intention of going in the first place. Hmm, that's
>>>>the 4th or 5th Eastercon I've missed since 1979; and the 3rd with
>>>>deliberate intent. I can feel Gafia creeping up on me....)

>>Which were the other two? Glasgow at the Hostility Inn and with the
>>Sorenson Anti-Hotel Anti-Liaison Policy and? Or were you at that one?
>Hmmm, maybe it's more than 5?
><Thinks>
>Yorcon III (1985) was run by Anal Dorey (shitlisted due to Seacon 84)

No information: I didn't get into fandom until 1986

>Eastcon (1990) - Looked like a disaster (venue cancelled), so ditched it.

Moved to the Adelphi in Liverpool and turned out well in the end.

>Confabulation (1995) - clashed with something essential at work. (Site move.)

Not a bad con because it was small in the runup to the Worldcon. London
Docklands and therefore a cultural and everything else desert, no point
leaving the hotel, a long hike to anywhere and no public transport running.

>Helicon 2 - Certain of the committee were (are) on my _permanent_ shitlist.

I dislike the hotel in the middle of nowhere and therefore no food for
miles apart from the overpriced-for-what-it-was hotel provisions, but it
wasn't too bad a con.

>2Kon (2000) - I honestly can't remember - I must have gone, because it had
> John Salthouse. It must have been otherwise forgettable....

Memorable for the sheer level of *dirt* in the hotel: I don't think they
owned a hoover, I think they went out and borrowed one when any glass got
broken, because it took them three hours to clear it up when we told them
about broken glass on the stairs -- which was there when we arrived. The
carpets in all the public areas were so dirty that anyone who walked
barefoot for ten minutes needed surgical spirit to get the black stickiness
off their insteps, and if one touched the bannisters on the main staircase
one stuck to them and had to pull free with a little *squck* noise. Oh
yes, and I cut my foot in the bedroom because there was broken glass on the
floor by the bathroom and I didn't see it. Glasgow, and all that implies
in the way of wanting to go outside the hotel.

>Concourse (2004) - split site, no con hotel, committee competence visible
> only with the aid of an electron microscope.

Be fair: *one* of the committee was doing a reasonable job, from what I
saw, and made no major mistakes in the run-up.

(Which is just as well, because I *think* he is involved in the Worldcon.)

Now that I think about it, apart from this recent event the three
conventions I have least enjoyed have all been in Glasgow. There was the
dirty one, and there was the one with the actively-hostile hotel, and there
was the Thing at the SECC. All nightmares, for different reasons.

Beetle

Cartographer, Bombardier, Weather Witch and Village Storekeeper
Selling atonal apples, and amplified heat, and Pressed Rat's
collection of dog-legs and feet. Coffee mornings a speciality.
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

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<mjriley48.RemoveThis@earthlink.net> wrote:

> Welcome back. I was thinking of you and Omega this weekend as I was
> browsing the aisles of the local BJ's (warehouse store---everything
> from electronics to really good meats) and came across a cute DVD. It
> was called something like, "Kermit: The Swamp Years". It made a good
> hit with the 5 year old nephew at Easter. Actually kept him out of
> the kitchen long enough for his mom & I to get dinner on the table.

So it is good then? On account of daughter and son have been lobbying to
get this and having not yet seen it I was a bit hesitant. Still, if it
keeps them out of trouble for a couple hours, it is well worth the
price.

I hope our miller and his handything are getting email again, I have
sent twice thanking them for the lovely toffees, which Andrea (different
one) and I have been quite enjoying. I was rather surprised to get them
though, as the last I had heard they were still navigating the shoals of
the FDA or some such, trying to get permission to mail them off.

Elizabeth
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

In message <20040414130244.540975706026988 DeleteThis @firedrake.org>,
anon2765 DeleteThis @firedrake.org writes
>
>Now that I think about it, apart from this recent event the three
>conventions I have least enjoyed have all been in Glasgow. There was the
>dirty one, and there was the one with the actively-hostile hotel, and there
>was the Thing at the SECC. All nightmares, for different reasons.
>
We won't see you at ConCussion in 2006 then I take it though they may
have thrashed them into shape with the Worldcon the year before
though...
--
Omega

Village Handything and professional bad influence.
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

anon2765.DeleteThis@firedrake.org wrote:
> Glasgow, and all that implies
> in the way of wanting to go outside the hotel.
>
<snip>
> Now that I think about it, apart from this recent event the three
> conventions I have least enjoyed have all been in Glasgow. There was the
> dirty one, and there was the one with the actively-hostile hotel, and there
> was the Thing at the SECC. All nightmares, for different reasons.

Alas, I feel I should defend my home city as people rarely find it to be
as bad as they expect it to be, but hey.

I do remember one time a friend came up from Yorkshire and when it was
suggested that he joined the group for a night out in Glasgow his
reaction went along the lines of "but I'm ENGLISH! They'll murder me!"

Needless to say he survived the night out.

It is somewhat interesting that most of the large hotels in Glasgow are
situated between an industrial area and the red light district...

Alan Third
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

In <1081964164.10402.0.DeleteThis@demeter.uk.clara.net> Alan Third wrote:

>anon2765@firedrake.org wrote:
>> Glasgow, and all that implies
>> in the way of wanting to go outside the hotel.
><snip>
>> Now that I think about it, apart from this recent event the three
>> conventions I have least enjoyed have all been in Glasgow. There was the
>> dirty one, and there was the one with the actively-hostile hotel, and there
>> was the Thing at the SECC. All nightmares, for different reasons.

>Alas, I feel I should defend my home city as people rarely find it to be
>as bad as they expect it to be, but hey.

I went there expecting it to be a grand place: after all, I am closely
related to a man called Dalglish! [Forename] Baillie Campsie Dalglish, no
less, for the names of two of his ancestors, see Baillieston and the
Campsie Fells... I was disappointed. Three out of three bad experiences
of a place may not be a fair way to judge it, but there are limits to my
patience and I dislike being spat on by drunken beggars in the cnetre of
town.

>I do remember one time a friend came up from Yorkshire and when it was
>suggested that he joined the group for a night out in Glasgow his
>reaction went along the lines of "but I'm ENGLISH! They'll murder me!"
>Needless to say he survived the night out.

But would it have made the front page of the local paper if he hadn't, or
would his unexpected and violent demise only have got mentioned in passing
on about page four?

>It is somewhat interesting that most of the large hotels in Glasgow are
>situated between an industrial area and the red light district...

One of the two I mentioned above was/is in what looked like the centre of a
pedestrian-area food-and-drink-and-shops part of town, the other is in the
railway station.

The SECC on the other hand might for all I know be situated in a small
outcrop of Mordor, if it were not that it is Birmingham that is known to be
Mordor With Underpasses. At that particular convention one of my close
friends died on the second day, rather publicly, and I worked sixteen-hour
security shifts starting when I arrived and culminating with co-driving the
widow (who had no driving licence) about 300 miles home, so I didn't
observe much of the vicinity: that was just the general impression I got of
the bit between the tower-block I was theoretically sleeping in and the
place I was working.

(Yes, Squoire, I know I went to a publisher's party somewhere outside the
SECC at some point: I was taken there in a car, and escaped similarly, and
it was after dark.)

Beetle

Cartographer, Bombardier, Weather Witch and Village Storekeeper
Selling atonal apples, and amplified heat, and Pressed Rat's
collection of dog-legs and feet. Coffee mornings a speciality.
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again) 

In <c5ju83$s0j$1@sparta.btinternet.com> Paul asked:

>> I can feel Gafia creeping up on me....)
>Gafia?

Science Fiction Fandom accronym for Getting Away From It All. One who
leaves fandom of his own accord is said to have gafiated.

See also "He was fafiated", meaning "he made himself so unpopular that he
was obliged to leave" or "his wife compelled him to give up coming to
conventions".

Beetle

Cartographer, Bombardier, Weather Witch and Village Storekeeper
Selling atonal apples, and amplified heat, and Pressed Rat's
collection of dog-legs and feet. Coffee mornings a speciality.
 >> Stay informed about: Back from exile (again)