Time to knock out a quick trippy about the UK's largest furcon now that I'm back on semi-stable internet and am not rushing around like a crazed maniac.

As I mentioned before, the convention was an add-on and incentive for me to book a full-out vacation to the United Kingdom, something I've wanted to do for awhile, but have always lacked the time to do. My spouse and I arrived 4 days into our trip and got our badges and greeted a few folks before heading to the overflow hotel in Leicester, about 15 minutes away. We dropped back by later that evening for dinner and some more conversing before heading back to the hotel for sleep.

My attendance at the con didn't quite go as planned. The con was far enough away from the overflow hotel that getting back and forth proved to be tough. I didn't want to drive since drinking was always an option there. The shuttle bus was a nice service, but it's two flights a day just wasn't enough to accommodate my schedule. My original plan was to spend some time with Tina most mornings and hit up the con in the afternoon and evenings, with Saturday staying all day. That plan hit snags since I was unfamiliar with the roads and areas around Leicestershire. That alone added more time away than I had planned. Since driving around there was proving to be a team effort between Tina and I, I was reluctant to leave her alone to explore the sights while I was gone. This meant I frequently didn't arrive to the con until after 7 pm most nights.

This was also the first con I didn't suit at since my food poisoning-shortened Califur adventure last year. My plan was to leave my suit at the con hotel so I could flip in and out when needed. That proved to be too hard to coordinate in the end. Additionally I was there fo such limited time that I wanted to make the most of it socializing. I was perfectly OK with this, especially since some of my favorite con memories have come from the times before I began suiting. I do realize that disappointed some though and for those folks I'm sorry.

The time I did spend at the convention was nothing short of fantastic! My contention even before the con has always been that European furs "get this" whole thing a bit more than American furs do. What "this" is is hard to quantify, but I belive it means structuring your con so that there is a greater sense of community. At most American cons, it seems to be a large group of furs appear on the scene, then split into their own seperate groups and scenes for the entire weekend. This one was more inclusive, getting pretty much everyone together and targeting socializing as the main con activity. That takes quite a talent and so far there's only a certain con in Connecticut that I think comes close to pulling that sort of dynamic off. This is something the organizers should take great pride in.

This was also a great introductory convention for Tina. It wasn't her cup of tea and she felt awkward just hanging around with me, but she did enjoy what she saw. I took her into the art show (yes, even THAT area of the art show!) and she was really impressed with some of the pieces on display. She expressed interest in maybe taking up suit building and she certainly has the tailoring talent to make that work if she pursues it. I introduced her to a few artists whose works she had some prior exposure to and she was happy for that, although she felt a bit intimidated. End result is you may see her attend part of a few cons with me going forward, almost certainly FC and she'll probably fly up for a day of Rainfurrest later this year.

Am I going to be back? I do feel like I need a Confuzzled do-over due to my overall lack of attendance so I am looking to target the con next year in Birmingham. I don't think I can do another overarching two week trip, but I can maybe plan a 10 day early arrival/late departure thing without the extensive sidetrips. This'll depend on what I can get time off wise for next year. It is my fondest wish I can make this happen, so stay tuned!

Now I'm back home and reflecting on all the great details of my trip. Missing all the new folks I met at the con and some of the old ones I was reunited with. Hope to see you all again soon. :)