Last month, I attended the Anthro New England convention in Boston, MA for the first time, and had an absolute blast of a time! Over the next week, I'll be doing my usual post-convention summary by sharing a photo a day from my time away, while recounting the events of the day on which the photo was taken, exactly two weeks ago:

I had to leave the house by 15:00. At 15:30, I was only just taking the last of the Welsh cakes out of the pan. I carelessly threw them into tupperware containers, zipped them into my bag, dove onto my bike, and scrambled double-time to the train station. I made a 20-minute journey in 8 minutes, and I arrived on the platform with my bike just as the train was pulling in. The guard blew the first whistle just as I was locking up my bike, and by some miracle I made it onto the train just as the doors were closing. Finding a free seat, unconcerned at what other passengers might think of my panting, I splashed out on a cup of tea from the trolley to relax my nerves, repressing the thought that had I missed that train, the whole of the weekend ahead would have been in jeopardy.

My dear reader...Don't. Leave. Things. Until. The. Last. Minute.

After changes in Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads, I arrived at Bristol Airport in good time for my flight. Mine was one of the last flights of the day, and would be on an Aer Lingus ATR-72 taking me to Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland. After essentially walking through a security checkpoint with no line, I stocked up on drinks and snacks for the flight, had some dinner in the departure lounge, and hopped aboard the rather bumpy hour-long flight across the Irish Sea to Dublin. This was my first time setting foot on Irish soil, and with less than 24 hours in the country, I intended to make the most of my visit. After walking out the other side without a passport check (Common Travel Area, dontcha know?), I got the express coach to Dublin city centre to see what the Irish capital had to offer on this chilly night.

My first impressions of Dublin were rather positive - rather like a mix of Cardiff and Amsterdam, with perhaps a bit of Newcastle thrown in. I found a decent looking pub near the City Hall, and had a pint of Irish cider. I then found another pub, and had another cider. Then another. And finally I stopped in a nice pub on Capel Street, and had another pint of cider and a glass of whiskey to finish the evening. Yes, dear reader, I like my drink, but in this instance the practicalities of doing so were two-fold - it would keep me warm, and it would help me sleep through the night in the airport.

After getting the last express bus back to Terminal 2, I found a free armchair near a closed cafe, deposited my bag, plugged my phone into a nearby charger, and settled down to sleep, my woolly hat pulled down over my face to block out the lights above.