I walked past that strange statue in the plaza in centre shot every day during my time in Toronto, and I couldn’t for the life of me tell what it was supposed to be. Whoever designed it clearly had a very specific idea in mind for those who would happen to walk by it, on their way to a British pub or a Japanese restaurant.

This was my fifth year at Furnal Equinox, and I would hazard to say that this was the best instalment yet! There were some down moments, which you will read about in the descriptions to come, but on the whole, having been at the con from start to finish, always in the company of fine friends, old and new, and experiencing great events both within the con and outside, this one caps the lot. As I did last year, while I will briefly summarise my con experience in my monthly journal, the descriptions in these pictures will have a more detailed look at each day of my time at FE. For those in a hurry or sick of my writing, there is a TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) at the bottom. ^__^

Today started before today even began (time zone changes, gotta love ‘em!). I left Port Talbot by coach at just after midnight, and arrived at Gatwick Airport with five hours to spare. This was the first time I had come to the con from my home in South Wales, so it was rather a longer trip than I’m used to, but thankfully all went well. Having already checked in online, I headed for the departure lounge, and then onto the gate once the flight was announced. The plane was one of Air Transat’s A310 aircraft, one which I later discovered was first purchased by Air France in 1988. There are no prizes for guessing why they are being phased out this year, so I felt quite honoured to fly on one.

The flight itself was a long, but safe one. With minimal in-flight entertainment, I resorted to listening to music, reading a copy of a book that a friend had shared with me (watch this space), and generally doing things to keep myself entertained. The plane touched down in Toronto Pearson on time, got off the runway, and stopped. Then inched forward, and stopped. The captain came over the intercom and reported that the nose gear had lost all steering, and we would need to be driven to the gate via a tow truck. So, good start to the weekend! ^__^

Once at the terminal (THIRTY MINUTES LATER), I passed through security with no hassle whatsoever, and took the UP to downtown Toronto before making my way to the Westin Harbour Castle. My roommate, the ever-generous and delightful reported that owing to work constraints he would not be able to arrive until the following day, but that I would be able to access the room and get some well-needed sleep. I access the room no problem, but get some sleep, I did not.

After heading out to The Fox pub for some poutine (SO GOOD!!!), I returned to the Westin to register as a Sponsor for the convention, and then headed down to the volunteer booth to check in, with my registered details having been saved from last year. After wondering around a little, and briefly chatting with the awesome (thank you so much for the itinerary!), I got a notification that volunteers were needed urgently in the Dealers’ Den, where dealers were currently setting up. I was one of the first to arrive, and it appeared that through some delightful management the contractors paid to set up the wiring to the tables that needed power had failed to do so, and so I got to work on powering up a third of the Den with the help of some excellent volunteer staff. You’ll hear more about one of those volunteers later on… ^^

After a good couple of hours, the work was successfully done, and it felt good knowing that I had helped to make a substantial contribution to the dealers’ experience! It was around midnight that my weary head finally hit the pillow. Stay tuned for more of my con weekend, and I hope you enjoyed!

---

TL;DR – Arrived in Canada. Checked into the hotel. Found out roommate wasn’t coming. Went for dinner at the Fox. Came back to volunteer in setting up wiring in the Dealers’ Den. Went to bed.