UK PonyCon 2018, Monday: One Last 'Spoons

Saying goodbye to Nottingham

I got plenty of sleep on Sunday night, since there was no need to get up early on Monday morning. I'd arranged with Hawthorn that we'd go to the 10am farewell breakfast that had been advertised at the Company Inn. You can guess who runs this pub, can't you? :P I finished tidying up my room and checking for anything I'd left behind, then said goodbye to it and went to check out. The staff member on the desk was excellent and apologised for Saturday night's noise even though it wasn't his fault.

I lugged my bags down to the lobby and looked up to see that Ialyrn and Bearpaw were coming down the stairs. I hadn't seen them much during the weekend as they'd been doing other things, so it was really nice to run into them now. A couple of minutes later Hawthorn appeared with his (much lighter) baggage and the four of us decided to set off for the pub together. Sadly this was another day of thin, cold rain, and although the walk only took 10-15 minutes it wasn't a pleasant stroll.

Derpy at Derby: Muffin Horse looks out at the rain-soaked platforms

The Company Inn is housed in an old canal warehouse, but inside it looks like most other 'Spoons, though a little roomier than some. There were several people there already, including Jowy – who was, as he tends to be, drawing! Sadly Daft Night and a couple of others weren't able to join us before catching their trains, but Alliminaro and BBQ did make it, as did Hawker Hurricane, who I hadn't met in person before. Being the unoriginal person I am, I ordered a straight-up fried brekky and coffee.

We chatted away about this and that for a while, and I even got to talk fanfic briefly, having an interesting little discussion with BBQ on the subject. I didn't really want to leave, as this was the last truly social con experience I was going to have this year, but as the clock ticked around to noon I felt I had to get a move on and catch my train. Alliminaro came with me and we found our way through the gloom (it was still raining) to the station where we parted company.

The Last Muffin (of con weekend)

My journey back to Birmingham was pretty uneventful, and I spent most of it listening to EileMonty tracks on my phone. I didn't see anyone else who'd been to the convention, or at least anyone else who cared to acknowledge the UKPC 2018 T-shirt I was now wearing. At New Street, I made sure the piano got a few bars of the Crab Rave tune, then headed for Muffin Break one last time. It was tempting to go for their regular apple and cinnamon flavour, but orange won me over.

I walked through the by now rather harder rain to Moor Street station, smiling slightly at the trams I saw, which probably made anyone who saw me think I was very, very odd. (They weren't wrong!) My bags were too bulky to allow me to do any real shopping, and combined with the weather and my much lighter wallet than on Friday I decided not to pick up any pony plushies at Tokyo Toys. Once again my train journey was smooth but uneventful, and I was home by late afternoon.

Britannia is not allowed to let you back into the building

And that was my UK PonyCon 2018. It felt odd to be going back to my own house, rather than to a hotel room, even though I'd only been away since Friday. I was tired, and the first signs of con crud were making their presence felt, so I did only minimal unpacking of my purchases that evening. Still, I felt satisfied. This had undoubtedly been a hugely enjoyable and successful convention overall, with a few small niggles not detracting from the overall experience. If I can make the 2019 con, I very much want to.

Next time: Merch Haul and Final Thoughts