Not feeling grand this morning… Ah well.
Holiday:
Friday was also sunny. Jack & I spent a good long while building a large sandcastle with a moat. Eve nearly helped. I got rather burnt, as was evident the next day at the comics convention in Bristol. Jack & I set off with dad early in the morning (he was off to the Fruit & Veg market to stock up). The veg market was quite fun for Jack as well – it’s a vast area of wholesale sellers. We had breakfast in a little porta-cabin as the main cafe seems to have closed down – shame. We then were dropped off by The Watershed in Bristol where I assumed the convention was to take place (as per last year). Should have checked really – ah well. Anyway, as it was rather early Jack & I wandered round a bit in town waiting for the start time. Picked up a couple of records I’ve been looking for, for a while in a decent independent record shop – that sort of thing. Then off to the convention itself, when the true location was found. I did not enjoy the convention, but I will be lazy & not repeat myself, merely repeat a mail I sent round the Bugpowder mailing group:
sigh
I’m very glad that nick had a good time. I’m home now from my hols that incorporated a most pleasant break at my parents, but have to admit my day in Bristol was the Nadir of the holiday. My Yahoo mailbox is full, & Nick’s mail on the subject is all that I have – I do not want to bother with looking at the web for the group replies direct. I want to mutter on for now.
I apologies for not hanging around for the small press talk. I should have, there were only 20 more minutes, but if you are somewhere you don’t want to be, then 20 minutes is irrelevant.
The whole set up reminded me of an old TUC building comic mart. It was not a convention. It was a crowded, hot sweaty room of people selling comics of which I felt distant to. The fact that there was a good small press presence there couldn’t get over the fact that my whole mind set was disengaged by all the crap. Is this my problem
well..
after scant consideration i deny that this is a problem that I should get over.
This convention seemed to pride itself on the fact that it was family friendly, but it was not even vaguely friendly. It was oppressive & my son was keen to leave as soon as he arrived. I concede he may have picked up on my unease, but he is smart enough to make up his own mind. There were small oasis for him – like R2D2 – which was about his height.
Again I declare this was no convention.
For those of you staying in hotels, you had that part of the day to be social, but where was the social area at the event? There was no space!
If it were not for the fact that they had decided at the train station that day to check everyone coming & going on the platform had a train ticket, then there would have been very fine bar there we could have gone to. I’m not saying that a license for alcohol is needed at the event, but areas nearby where socialising would be possible would be good. Somewhere separate from the general mass would be good. A pleasant accessible nearby pub a bonus.
What I’d really like to see a move away from though is the grid of tables stacked with boxes of comics as the focus of any ‘convention’.
You go to record fairs & mart for that stuff. It does nothing to change the public’s view that comics are shite for that to be so central It’s just a lack of imagination.
I came home with a total of 3 comics, & only one of those I could call a ‘small press’ thing. This is very bad as there were many many comics that I have not seen before, & it’s in my nature to want them all – to explore all – naturally I can’t afford such things, but I feel ZUM! taking a wider & wider orbit in the small press world. At the moment there’s little I can do really. I cannot spend the time I want to write reviews organise & even gather the comics. I lament & hope for the future, with a wistful wish that I could have someone help me with it… but pragmatically, I will just have to continue to lament. I have never liked ‘ignorance is bliss’ though. On personal level it gnaws at my soul.
OOP
drifted off topic into the area I might have briefly bemoaned at the talk so – anyway – can we have it a little more ‘people’ orientated next time?
I wish I could go to caption – but I can’t afford – It’s not practical.
hey ho
wishing for a better world
paul
<sigh>
I wonder if I should comment further on this? Jack’s response to the
whole event was to get away. He was taken with the idea of going to start with & he liked the venue of last year’s event. They’ve been doing redevelopment work down at The Watershed & there are some interesting features like fountains & a big silver globe. The comics convention site was by the train station. As we arrived there were a couple of storm troopers, Bobba Fett (or was it Jango Fett? – I don’t really know, but he did have a considerable beer gut & bad trainers) & Darth Vader. They had fake guns & Jack did not like that. We have no toy guns in the house, but other kids around have them. In those circumstances he knows that they are toys, I guess… I don’t think he expected adults to play with such guns. A brief reassurance got him past. He was pleased on getting in to have a gnasher badge, which seemed to be the “I’ve paid to get in” badge. He did not really like the crowds of people much. He liked the Metaphrog people as John gave him some leaflets for his bag & spoke to him & was a pleasant fellow. We met Darryl, which was a very nice surprise. He gets him confused with my brother a bit, but then he gets my brother confused with Darryl. Dark hair angular face is about as far as the similarity goes. He was keen to be out of the crowded heat of the ‘main hall’. I lost sight of him once, which panicked me. We spent a while outside, but eventually went back in again. There were a couple of rows of Playstations, cubes & Xboxes set up for people to play on like an arcade area & Jack leapt up to them to have a play. He had little idea what he was doing & I had only marginally more (too many buttons). After a while swishing a light sable around, piloting an uncrashable space plane & making spiderman jump around at random we finished with that. Jack was then keen to leave again, & I was in wholehearted agreement. I was due to be on the small press talk though. It was only half an hour away. I checked the room in which the talk was to take place & ‘Little Room’ was a very good description. Realising that it would be even more hot & sweaty & probably akin to torture I went to the bloke who I think organised it, made my apologies & then scarpered.
Anyway – getting home was not a great success either. I left in the hope of catching a specific train & asked which train & time it might be when buying a ticket. I did not think to double-check, & if I had thought about it properly I would have. I was pointed at a train that was later than the one that I should have caught… so I did not have any time to correct the mistake when I realised the error – so Jack & I had to wait a good while longer for the next train. I suspect it was over an hour, but I don’t care to recall.
