What I did at the WriterconUK weekend....
My writerconuk weekend started on Friday as I set off to the railway station. Mr Cee was working at home so I got a lift down to the station which was useful as there was torrential rain following a week of glorious very unseasonal sunshine and heat (I'd had to completely rethink what clothes I was taking with me!). I made my way up to London by catching an earlier train which had been delayed but which came onto the platform as I arrived so I thought it was worth catching as my scheduled train was also delayed. A quick hop on the tube got me to Euston from London Bridge station.
At Euston there was a hint that something wasn't right as the concourse was rather full. Sure enough the rain had caused a landslip which in turn had derailed a train. Unfortunately this affected the line between Euston and Coventry and it was touch and go whether I would actually be able to get to the con!
After a rather nail biting 25 minute wait my scheduled train ended up running - albeit about 20 minutes late - and as it called at additional stations I arrived around 30 minutes later than I intended at around 1pm. As usual there was some early birds already in the hotel bar hils, her friend (and writerconuk newbie) txorakeriak (who had both arrived the day before) and ningloreth were already chatting. hesadevil arrived as I booked myself in (having had a delicious sandwich for lunch) and slowly throughout the afternoon more and more attendees arrived to join the fun. We ended up rearranging the whole bar area so we could all chat! It had been a difficult journey for several friends because of the disruption and poor lilachigh had had a nightmare journey on the motorways. Finally though we were up to the full complement of 23 with four newbies joining in the fun including rebcake all the way from the States!
The hotel has had a make over in the main bar and restaurant which meant there were some odd ornaments around the place like these moss pictures and books with plastic foliage in them... (some of the books were attached to the walls):
And the flying pig which I think was a door stop:
There was also weird 'art' with dog heads and human bodies which was just ...... strange.
The main con kicked off at 6.30 with the opening greeting and the quiz which I organised again this year. It seemed to be well received - it was certainly a close call between teams with only one point between the winners and the second placers!At 8.00 the majority of the attendees went across to the next door Lebanese restaurant Aqua for dinner which was really lovely. They were very well organised and I think everyone enjoyed the meal. I had grilled halloumi with peppers to start
After which I had a gorgeous vegetarian 'mousakka' which was really an absolutely delicious aubergine casserole with chickpeas and some lovely subtle spices. Definitely worth a visit again next year! The staff made us very welcome and their timing when serving was impeccable. I forgot to take a photo until the end... LOL!
After dinner we had cocktails back at the hotel (mmmm Sparkling Mojito!), but by 11pm I was really tired and I retired to bed.
Of course I was (as usual) awake early - woken by the smell of bacon cooking drifting up to my room at around 6.00, so I got up and wandered downstairs at 7.30 and bumped into lilachigh at the restaurant and we had a very delicious breakfast together and were joined by shapinglight and rebcake and slowly more attendees arrived over the course of an hour (several breakfasts may have been eaten...).
At 10 the first presentation started with hab318princess discussing 'Processes to Achieve Art' with discussions regarding how writers and artists are inspired and the processes they use. She had lots of useful links for ideas such as putting together a 'mood board' of ideas using One Note or Evernote for inspiration. It was interesting listening to how others work and how they manage their ideas for being creative.
Next up after a refreshment break was my talk about 'Design Styles in Artwork'. I was looking at how you can use elements of art and principles of design when creating artwork. I used quite a few examples from film posters and as usual these provoked some great discussion. There was even an opportunity for the attendees to analyse some artwork for themselves. I think it went OK. I like that I got to highlight Richard Amsel's work and Drew Struzan who are two of my favourite movie poster artists.
At this point we broke for lunch in the hotel restaurant which was very nice.
At 2pm we were back in the conference room for tlanti's talk 'Diversity is Awesome!' in which she discussed some committees she is on and also some new schemes in London to assist people with disabilities (a badge scheme which looked like a very good idea).
There was another refreshment break at this point. It's great to have these breaks between the talks as it makes the whole weekend very relaxed and we get a chance to talk to everyone which is great.
Next up we got all creative and hobbituk had us all making fandom calendars for next year which were so much fun! We got to choose 12 pictures from loads of fandom photos she'd provided and everyone had a great time chatting about fandoms while cutting and sticking. The end result were some really lovely and useful desk calendars! Don't they look great?
My turn to talk came up after this and I had everyone doing some stretching exercises to correct posture and stretch the joints and this was linked to a brief history of belly dancing and how exotic dancing pops up a LOT in The Man From Uncle (LOL!). I even found a fun video.
After this we had more cocktails!!
hils then led a discussion about 'Fandom that changed my life' in the break out area as the staff were setting up for the banquet. It was interesting hearing how people have gained so much from their interest in fandom. Personally I love how I have made so many new friends that I now see in RL and have become good friends. I also love my 'virtual' friends and I wasn't alone in considering some of my online friends as very good friends who I really care about even if I have never actually met them (frenchani and desdemonaspace I am looking at you amongst many others!).
Then we all adjourned to dress for the banquet which was held in the conference room. I hate to inject a small low point, but this was actually a bit disappointing this year. I'm not really sure what went wrong, but mostly this was a logistical issue with items coming upstairs late (such as the bread rolls to accompany the soup), but some of the food was just not up to the usual high standards that we are used to at the hotel. I am hoping this is a glitch, and I did enjoy what I ate - especially the pea and watercress soup and desserts which were delicious. I did feel a little sorry for the one member of staff who was trying to get everything upstairs for us who could really have done with some help (I'm sure in past years there have been several staff helping).
However, this small low point really didn't dampen the atmosphere and the rest of the evening was spent chuckling over the silliest things in the break out area (which is still such a nice bonus at the Ramada) until my sides ached and tears filled my eyes until bed time.
The next day started early for me again and I was the only person in the restaurant at 7.30! LOL! I had a lovely, lovely breakfast though and I was soon joined by others.
At 10 ningloreth looked back on 10 years of various fandoms. I love her talks which have statistics ('cos I'm a geek!) and she had analysed the popular fics/pairings in various fandoms which was so interesting. It was great and we even got a handout (with a magnifying glass as some of the fonts were very small) :)
Next came the AGM - ningloreth remains as committee chair, and hab318princess as treasurer. tlanti and I will share the secretary role for next year and gillo and hab318princess will liaise with the hotel as they both live nearby. The 11th Event will be around the same weekend next year by agreement and some attendees have agreed to speak next year already! Yay! I got some nice prizes in the raffle (an action figure of Wesley and a Hellblazer graphic novel!).
Then came the sad part as people started to leave and drift away. I sat down in the reception area with curiouswombat and we put the world to rights before I had to leave for my train (she and speakr2customrs were staying an extra night in the hotel before going home the next day).
Fortunately my journey home was uneventful and I got back around 4.20, tired but happy to have attended the con again. It's lovely to see everyone and meet new people. Although I did eat too many jellybeans....
Lookit the swag from the goody bag and the raffle!
Overall - the 10th anniversary event went well and the committee did an excellent job of organising everything. I shall definitely be going again next year as it's just too much fun not to! Do consider joining me - you won't regret it!!
At Euston there was a hint that something wasn't right as the concourse was rather full. Sure enough the rain had caused a landslip which in turn had derailed a train. Unfortunately this affected the line between Euston and Coventry and it was touch and go whether I would actually be able to get to the con!
After a rather nail biting 25 minute wait my scheduled train ended up running - albeit about 20 minutes late - and as it called at additional stations I arrived around 30 minutes later than I intended at around 1pm. As usual there was some early birds already in the hotel bar hils, her friend (and writerconuk newbie) txorakeriak (who had both arrived the day before) and ningloreth were already chatting. hesadevil arrived as I booked myself in (having had a delicious sandwich for lunch) and slowly throughout the afternoon more and more attendees arrived to join the fun. We ended up rearranging the whole bar area so we could all chat! It had been a difficult journey for several friends because of the disruption and poor lilachigh had had a nightmare journey on the motorways. Finally though we were up to the full complement of 23 with four newbies joining in the fun including rebcake all the way from the States!
The hotel has had a make over in the main bar and restaurant which meant there were some odd ornaments around the place like these moss pictures and books with plastic foliage in them... (some of the books were attached to the walls):
And the flying pig which I think was a door stop:
There was also weird 'art' with dog heads and human bodies which was just ...... strange.
The main con kicked off at 6.30 with the opening greeting and the quiz which I organised again this year. It seemed to be well received - it was certainly a close call between teams with only one point between the winners and the second placers!At 8.00 the majority of the attendees went across to the next door Lebanese restaurant Aqua for dinner which was really lovely. They were very well organised and I think everyone enjoyed the meal. I had grilled halloumi with peppers to start
After which I had a gorgeous vegetarian 'mousakka' which was really an absolutely delicious aubergine casserole with chickpeas and some lovely subtle spices. Definitely worth a visit again next year! The staff made us very welcome and their timing when serving was impeccable. I forgot to take a photo until the end... LOL!
After dinner we had cocktails back at the hotel (mmmm Sparkling Mojito!), but by 11pm I was really tired and I retired to bed.
Of course I was (as usual) awake early - woken by the smell of bacon cooking drifting up to my room at around 6.00, so I got up and wandered downstairs at 7.30 and bumped into lilachigh at the restaurant and we had a very delicious breakfast together and were joined by shapinglight and rebcake and slowly more attendees arrived over the course of an hour (several breakfasts may have been eaten...).
At 10 the first presentation started with hab318princess discussing 'Processes to Achieve Art' with discussions regarding how writers and artists are inspired and the processes they use. She had lots of useful links for ideas such as putting together a 'mood board' of ideas using One Note or Evernote for inspiration. It was interesting listening to how others work and how they manage their ideas for being creative.
Next up after a refreshment break was my talk about 'Design Styles in Artwork'. I was looking at how you can use elements of art and principles of design when creating artwork. I used quite a few examples from film posters and as usual these provoked some great discussion. There was even an opportunity for the attendees to analyse some artwork for themselves. I think it went OK. I like that I got to highlight Richard Amsel's work and Drew Struzan who are two of my favourite movie poster artists.
At this point we broke for lunch in the hotel restaurant which was very nice.
At 2pm we were back in the conference room for tlanti's talk 'Diversity is Awesome!' in which she discussed some committees she is on and also some new schemes in London to assist people with disabilities (a badge scheme which looked like a very good idea).
There was another refreshment break at this point. It's great to have these breaks between the talks as it makes the whole weekend very relaxed and we get a chance to talk to everyone which is great.
Next up we got all creative and hobbituk had us all making fandom calendars for next year which were so much fun! We got to choose 12 pictures from loads of fandom photos she'd provided and everyone had a great time chatting about fandoms while cutting and sticking. The end result were some really lovely and useful desk calendars! Don't they look great?
My turn to talk came up after this and I had everyone doing some stretching exercises to correct posture and stretch the joints and this was linked to a brief history of belly dancing and how exotic dancing pops up a LOT in The Man From Uncle (LOL!). I even found a fun video.
After this we had more cocktails!!
hils then led a discussion about 'Fandom that changed my life' in the break out area as the staff were setting up for the banquet. It was interesting hearing how people have gained so much from their interest in fandom. Personally I love how I have made so many new friends that I now see in RL and have become good friends. I also love my 'virtual' friends and I wasn't alone in considering some of my online friends as very good friends who I really care about even if I have never actually met them (frenchani and desdemonaspace I am looking at you amongst many others!).
Then we all adjourned to dress for the banquet which was held in the conference room. I hate to inject a small low point, but this was actually a bit disappointing this year. I'm not really sure what went wrong, but mostly this was a logistical issue with items coming upstairs late (such as the bread rolls to accompany the soup), but some of the food was just not up to the usual high standards that we are used to at the hotel. I am hoping this is a glitch, and I did enjoy what I ate - especially the pea and watercress soup and desserts which were delicious. I did feel a little sorry for the one member of staff who was trying to get everything upstairs for us who could really have done with some help (I'm sure in past years there have been several staff helping).
However, this small low point really didn't dampen the atmosphere and the rest of the evening was spent chuckling over the silliest things in the break out area (which is still such a nice bonus at the Ramada) until my sides ached and tears filled my eyes until bed time.
The next day started early for me again and I was the only person in the restaurant at 7.30! LOL! I had a lovely, lovely breakfast though and I was soon joined by others.
At 10 ningloreth looked back on 10 years of various fandoms. I love her talks which have statistics ('cos I'm a geek!) and she had analysed the popular fics/pairings in various fandoms which was so interesting. It was great and we even got a handout (with a magnifying glass as some of the fonts were very small) :)
Next came the AGM - ningloreth remains as committee chair, and hab318princess as treasurer. tlanti and I will share the secretary role for next year and gillo and hab318princess will liaise with the hotel as they both live nearby. The 11th Event will be around the same weekend next year by agreement and some attendees have agreed to speak next year already! Yay! I got some nice prizes in the raffle (an action figure of Wesley and a Hellblazer graphic novel!).
Then came the sad part as people started to leave and drift away. I sat down in the reception area with curiouswombat and we put the world to rights before I had to leave for my train (she and speakr2customrs were staying an extra night in the hotel before going home the next day).
Fortunately my journey home was uneventful and I got back around 4.20, tired but happy to have attended the con again. It's lovely to see everyone and meet new people. Although I did eat too many jellybeans....
Lookit the swag from the goody bag and the raffle!
Overall - the 10th anniversary event went well and the committee did an excellent job of organising everything. I shall definitely be going again next year as it's just too much fun not to! Do consider joining me - you won't regret it!!