It is kind of unusual for me to go to two genre conventions within three weeks of each other.
What is more unusual is getting evacuated from both hotels in the middle of the
night. I'm getting a dab hand at leaping out of bed in the early hours and
legging down fire escapes while still pulling my pants up. I seem to be becoming something of a convention fire
tourist. Sadly I can't really compare and contrast the sleepwear of SF
con-goers to that of fantasy con-goers, because Bristolcon's version was a
little earlier, at midnight, when most of those staying at the hotel were still
in the bar. Still, it has to be said, it is one freaky kind of coincidence.
Anyway,
the con itself: Marvellous. It is only a single day but they do seem able
to pack all kinds of good stuff into it. There are a lot of art threads at
Bristolcon, which keeps Sarah happy. There was a superb art show, and one of
the best panels was that of Ian Whates talking to GoH Anne Sudworth, who is
maybe my second-favourite artist (after Sarah, of course). There were panels on
colonising the Solar System, on Steampunk, and there was a useful panel on
avoiding making a twit of oneself on social media. Lets see how long it takes
me to forget all the useful tips I heard at that one.
It was
also good running into lots of old friends and bumping into a few new ones that
I'd only previously spoken to online. Bristolcon is like that; it is small and
friendly and if there's someone there you know you don't have to look too hard
to find them.
Anyway,
I'm here in Bristol, and I can't leave without taking a look at the Clifton
suspension bridge. Never seen it before, and since I'm researching Brunel for a novel right
now it seems fitting to come down and take a look, even though the bridge
itself isn't in any way relevant to the WIP. And look at it! How impressive is that?
