England 2016 - The Con

[gilda_elise]

It's only taken me two months to get this done, which is really good news as I still have posted my trip to Mackinac Island (2014,) or to Georgia (2015.) Must be losing my touch. *g* I'll get around to them eventually. But here, at least, is my trip to England. Enjoy!

Sept 1

My trip started out great, with me being bumped up to business class. It made it easier to get some sleep–which I would need, because a couple of hours after landing Anne and I were off to the theatre to see Martin Shaw in Hobson’s Choice. And third row seats!



Martin was wonderful. He has great comedic timing, and stole every scene he was in, which was most of them. Luckily, the rest of the cast was excellent, too.



Afterwards, we returned to Anne’s house to rest up for the next day when we would travel to High Wycombe and the Lane End Convention Centre for the K/S convention Anne was hosting.

Sept 2-4

It’s a beautiful place, with acres of gorgeous scenery. Perfect for three days of constant K/S.



We had games, panels (one of which I led,) from the history of fandom, to the future of space travel, and a really great vidding workshop.

The Saturday night dinner saw several people dress up for the costume contest. There was a thrall (as in The Gamesters of Triskelion,) an evil Alice, a ST:TMP officer, and the Lights of Zetar, among many. First place went to Rhaegal as the thrall.

Unfortunately, I can’t post any of the pictures of members, but here’s a few of the items I picked up at the con. Some I bought, some like the purple ornament and the calendar, were part of the con bag. And the ornament was created on a 3D printer.



And, of course, the cake!



Monday rolled around far too soon, but I was looking forward to two weeks of traveling all over the country. After breakfast, we packed and then headed off for Grantham.

On to Grantham!

Comments

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

Wonderful trip! I'm glad you had such a good time. :-)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

It was wonderful! I saw places I'd been meaning to see for a long time, not to mention Richard's grave and Martin on stage. Of course, the con was great, too.

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Ooh, what fun to combine fandoms (in a way)--several hits for your buck, as it were! *g* I thoroughly enjoyed "Hobson's Choice" when I saw it in Norwich, so good to hear it continued to be great fun. I really, really love it that K/S continues to thrive. Long may it! And then, gosh, just to be in England! (And to get there in business class-I'm envious of that. *g*)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

While the trip is mostly about seeing things Ricardian, it was great to get to go to a con at the same time. And seeing Martin, of course. He was so wonderful. And K/S is still going strong, which I love.

It was sort of weird. I had been talking on the phone with my husband about how great it would be to be bumped up to business. It's happened one time before, so I knew how much better business makes a trip. So then we hang up, and a couple of minutes later my name is called over the intercom. I go up to the desk, and they tell me I've been bumped to business! I immediately call my husband and ask him if he had done that. Of course he hadn't, but it was some sort of coincidence.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

How fun! And what a great cake! :D

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the cake is often one of the highlights of the con. It's always interesting to see what they've come up with. It was a great time all around!

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

I just wonder what bakery they get to do it! :D

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

It's surprising how many bakeries are willing to do this. As long as you stay away from the straight-laced, narrow-minded types, it's not a problem. :-)

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Excellent. I can imagine that a properly-thinking bakery would be the key!

[hsv-fangirl.livejournal.com]

*love*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

The con was great fun. So much K/S!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Better two months late than never - definitely. *g* How fab to start off with an upgrade too - I think you might be the first real-life person I know who that's happened to! *g* Your con sounds good fun too (and in a gorgeous setting) - and oh, MS on stage! I'm so glad you liked it - he's good, isn't he. *g* I kind of wish I'd given in and gone to see a second performance now, but it was fab to see it once - and yeay you guys, for third row seats! *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

It was the second time I've been upgraded to business. The first time was because the screen at my original seat wasn't working, but this time was a real surprise. I never did find out why it happened.

Lane End is gorgeous, inside and out. A great place for a con.

Yes, Martin was fabulous. He has great comedic timing. Anne talked about seeing it again that day, but I would have had a tough time staying awake, so we went with just seeing him once.

[fansee.livejournal.com]

Great seats to see a great actor. Man, when a stage play is good, it's so very very good. *iz jealous*

Looks like a great meeting, too. I love the souvenirs you collected. Now off to tour England! FanSee

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

The play was great. We laughed a lot. Martin is great with comedy, which was something of a surprise.

The con was fantastic. I wish I could go every time!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

So glad you got to see Martin in his latest play. Your enthusiasm for the places you've visited is almost tangible - I can feel it! - and I'm humbled by your knowledge of English history and the places where it took place. Thanks so much for sharing your trip.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I loved finally being able to see Martin. The timing was always off during my previous visits, so I was really stoked to hear that finally I'd get to see him.

When it comes to things Richard III, yes, I'm all up on that. But many of the places we saw this time I learned things about during the tours or through the guides that I always buy. But I love that, every so often, it turns out that a place does have a connection to Richard, which brings it that must more alive.