Catchup blog! Wednesday 27th - Monday 4th

Well, that WAS an eventful Wednesday to Monday!

My first photos (below) are from Wednesday 27^th Feb. The morning was a bit grotty and depressing, so I waited until the afternoon. It ended up being a good call as the sun started shining in the afternoon which made the world a bit brighter. Unfortunately, I cannot do a full picture of the church due to its size – so I have got the spire. Normal Wednesday evening practise was out of the window as it was time for a meeting of the JQNF! We discussed security in the quarter, events we want to put on and a possible urban “garden”/allotment scheme we would like to do. It’s always nice to see the group as it’s such a meeting of different specialities and interests. There are qualified planners (and those who are incredibly informed on the subject), marketing people, theatre folk, Councillors and the rest of us who have different jobs and interests. I think we complement each other well, as we really do cover all of the bases when it comes to social groups who live in the quarter. I look forward to our meetings (but have managed to squeeze out of taking away too many actions so far – just too darned busy!). 

Thursday was the day of Sci-fi Weekender. Had a lovely lie in (no normal 6:15 get up for us!) and then had to rush around to get the last minute bits done before lift-off (11:30). Of course, lift off ended up being later than envisaged – but we didn’t mind as we weren’t in any major hurry. Once the car was packed and everyone was in situ – we were off! It was a pretty long trip (over 3 hours), but we didn’t hit any major traffic. The roads through Snowdonia National Park ended up making the journey a bit more interesting for Dan and the countryside we passed through was breath-taking. We got to Hafan-Y-Mor Holiday Park in plenty of time to check in and get our stuff unpacked and organised before the evening events kicked off. I have added a bunch of photos below. They aren’t in any particular order, just a few of my favourites from the weekend.

There was so much going on from Thursday night to Sunday that it would take me forever to blog about them all.  Instead,  here’s a quick rundown of the “Best bits”:-

·         Brian Blessed being interviewed by Robert Rankin
·         Meeting Peter V Brett
·         Getting attacked by Pan, Daleks and Darth Vader at various points over the weekend
·         Dancing to Craig Charles’s amazing DJ set
·         Getting hammered with one of my favourite Comic artists ever
·         Listening to a panel on “the apocalypse; how is it going to happen?” and our fascination (as readers) with the end of the world
·         Professor Elemental (there IS always time for tea!)

I could go on… but I’m not going to. If you ever catch me – ask me about Glen Fabry and “the ducks,” still chuckling now!

Heading back to Birmingham on Sunday. The roads that were so much fun on Thursday when awake, excited and sober weren’t quite so appealing when hung-over, tired and suffering. Still, got back without too much drama and did our usual “last push” to get the shopping in, the washing on and the stuff unpacked. It’s always difficult to do – but so worth it when you wake up the next day and everything is in its correct place and no faffing to get everything done.

Monday (yesterday) was a lazy day. We definitely needed it! Had a good long lie in, plenty to eat and lots of fluids to hydrate our bodies as much as humanly possible. I didn’t think the weekend would be so wild – but it ended up being as bad (if not worse) than some of the music festivals we go to in terms of late nights and partying. Still, can’t complain. Got a lot of the calendar to look forward too (including my birthday – Yipppeee!). 2013 is shaping up to be extraordinary.