Yesterday, the one-day Griffish Isles convention – which takes place this coming Saturday in Ardwick, Manchester – published its schedule. As many of you will know, I'm going to this con, so I was more than interested to see what would be happening on the day! As in 2018, the events will be split between two venues. The daytime events at St Thomas Centre will run from 10am to 5pm, while the evening events at the nearby Powerleague venue will run from 7pm to midnight.
That represents a slight change to last year's schedule structure, and it's one that has a significant effect on me personally, but I'll get to that later. First, I'll say that the events list looks about what I'd expect for a small convention. I'm definitely interested in "MLP and the Meaning of Life", and of course Lee Tockar's panel. Not sure about "History of MLP", so I may play that by ear. The same goes with Ali Milner's voice call, though Ember's VA is certainly a nice addition.
Talking of playing things by ear, I'm very happy to see karaoke sessions listed! I may not have the opportunity to sing myself if other things clash or the room is oversubscribed, but I've had the chance at other cons so I don't mind too much. I'm not all that excited by a plushie-making class, and I'm not an artist, so I'll probably skip the creative sessions. I don't play the CCG either. The vendor hall is a must, though: I know several creators I admire will be there. And "Pony Museum"? Intriguing!
As always at conventions, finding time to eat without missing too much will be an art form in itself. I'll make sure I have a good breakfast, though it remains to be seen whether I can find any fellow attendees to eat with. That might be too much of a long shot this time. Lunch may have to be a sandwich run to the nearby petrol station, since there's not a lot of space in the timetable! Evening food will be easier, given the gap between daytime and evening sessions.
In all honesty, I find the two-hour gap between daytime and evening sessions rather puzzling. While I appreciate that people will want time to have some food without rushing too much, do we really need that much time? The two venues are five minutes' walk apart. I can only guess that perhaps the organisers are assuming we'll go all the way back into the city centre for refreshment. The Ardwick area is a bit of a food desert, after all, with very few outlets within walking distance.
Which leads me to my one big personal disappointment. For non-fandom reasons I'll have to catch a train from Piccadilly at a little after 8pm, so there really isn't much point in my going to the evening venue. Last year, at the same venue, its doors opened two hours earlier at 5pm, and I was expecting something similar this time. If that had been the case I'd certainly have gone. The rejigged schedule also means I'll miss my beloved pub quiz – I could (just) have done it on the 2018 timetable.
So my Griffish Isles experience looks like consisting of Friday's pre-meet and the daytime portion of the convention itself. I may be back home in Worcestershire before BassPon3 has even begun his set. Not ideal, but circumstances have somewhat conspired against me. Despite this, I certainly don't regret committing to this con. I want to support it and I'm still intrigued to see what it's like. I will, of course, be reporting on my trip at some point next week!
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