Well, there's an unexpected development

Let's get this party started!

Excuse my using today's blog post for personal squeeing rather than anything actually useful, but... I'm going to UK PonyCon after all! :D

As recently as a few days ago, if you'd asked me I would have told you that my chances of making it to Nottingham this year were less than 10%. For a long time I wasn't even sure I'd be comfortable going to such a large city for the weekend, regardless of anything else. However, a couple of unrelated longish day trips recently have made me happier about doing that sort of thing.

Then, for a little while I pondered on the logistics of a one-day trip. It's just about workable from where I live, though only on Saturday as Sunday morning public transport is close to non-existent. I'd also have had to leave in the early evening, and so miss a couple of hours at the end of the convention schedule. Not a total deal-breaker, but a bit of a shame nevertheless. So then I got to wondering whether I could justify a full weekend.

Of course, there are drawbacks to deciding this late. One is that I'm having to stay well out of town (as in 15 miles out of town) in order to get a Saturday night hotel that's both available and vaguely affordably priced. Related to that is the fact that going for the full long weekend (up Friday, down Monday) is just too expensive. So I'm travelling out very early on Saturday and coming home on Sunday evening. That in itself means missing the fun on Friday night as people arrive from near and far.

Obviously the Covid situation has a bearing. A few months ago, many people feared things might be considerably worse at this point than they actually are as I type. To be honest I already suspected some of the worst predictions were likely to be off the mark – but although I've been Pfizered up since May, for quite some while I wasn't quite sure enough to commit to an in-person gathering of hundreds of people indoors. In the current circumstances, I now feel quite a bit happier about it.

Right, that's as close as I'm going to get to real-world politics! Back to UK PonyCon itself, which I think you'll agree is a much more interesting topic. Being in the same city and venue as in 2019 will mean I'm not starting from a standstill when it comes to finding my way around Nottingham. It's not my favourite city, especially late at night, but it does have its moments. With rather fewer people in attendance, the venue itself should also feel reasonably comfortable.

I really don't quite know what to expect from UKPC this year. Of course some things will be a bit different to what they were in 2019, but I hope that the essential atmosphere of this convention will remain largely intact. What I do know is that nervouscitement is starting to take over already. Just over a week to go now... and I cannot wait!