UK PonyCon 2022, Saturday 1: Gather in groups and ready your lungs

Ponies at dawn? No, just the River Derwent in Derby

After an excellent, uninterrupted night's sleep, I rose early on Saturday morning. This gave me time for a leisurely shower, a quick check of the bag I was taking, and a similarly quick morning drink. Then it was off to the bus station. This was the big rail strike day, and so there was only a skeleton service running to Nottingham. Instead, I would be using the Red Arrow. Local bus company Trentbarton uses a near-incomprehensible (to outsiders) system of naming its routes – indigo, i4, my15, comet – so I was fortunate that mine was easily memorable!

I reached the bus station just in time for the 6:50am service. Trentbarton has a handy Zigzag ticket, which is valid all day for £7. I handed over my cash (yes, cash!) and settled back. The advertised USB ports were present but not working, something that proved to be a persistent niggle with the Red Arrow. Some on the other side of the aisle were working, but I couldn't be bothered to shift. The bus was more of a coach really, and very pleasant for the half-hour trip into Nottingham. As I was starting so early, traffic wasn't a problem at all.

Nottingham Victoria Bus Station is not the most appealing terminus the public transport world has to offer, but it did the job. Because I was so early, even the mighty Wetherspoons wasn't yet open, and so I wandered off to find a coffee shop. Caffe Nero (again) came up trumps, although the branch I chose was rather cold and not as pleasant a place to unwind as had been yesterday's branch of the same chain. I then did head for Wetherspoons, this time the Joseph Else. I was expecting to eat alone, and so I did – but a couple of friends did unexpectedly arrive halfway through my meal, which was a lovely surprise.

But look at us, we're brave and strong and weird and clever

I wasn't entirely sure how long to leave it before heading to the convention venue. UK PonyCon had kept the 10am start from the 2021 con, something I appreciated as it made for a much less rushed morning. However it had been trailed that 800 people were expected, up from 500 last year, so... in the end I headed up about quarter past nine, from memory. This turned out to be just right, as the queue wasn't very long... but was twice the length ten minutes later! The weather was kind, so it was pleasant enough to stand around and make Pony-related small talk, admire cosplays, etc.

Here we are at paragraph five, and finally the doors are opening! Bag checks are a necessary evil I suppose, but I doubt anyone is going to say they love them and they do make it even more important not to be stuck at the back of the queue. However, the lack of Covid checks and (for all but a few) masks this year made things quicker, and the staff at Nottingham Trent University tend to make it as painless an experience as possible. I was pleased to be sent down a lane overseen by a truly excellent guy, someone who I remembered from 2021, who took a real interest, asking about my Fluttershy plushie and suchlike. Once through that, actual con registration was a fast, efficient breeze. Bronze Sponsor badge acquired, I was in!

The first thing to do was of course to pick up the con book, together with its lovely cover art of con mascot Britannia by Beatlinked. This went along with a little insert programme for the "Musical Celebration" (ie concert) on Saturday night. As you can see on here, this year's UKPC theme of "The Gothic" was nodded to on both. The picture of Britty on the concert programme is by Avui; like Beatlinked, they're not new to this game and have been drawing stuff for this convention for several years now. I like con books as a rule, and this year's seemed to be a particularly nicely put together example. Ooh, 60 stalls this year! I think that's an academy UKPC record!

Fluttershy seems less than interested in Vylet Pony's "My Letter to the Princess"

The actual convention day began with a fairly gentle singalong at the Mane Stage, followed by a sensibly brisk run through the essentials at the Opening Ceremony for those who hadn't attended the con before. After this, it was off to a panel. A panel, you say? At a convention? Whatever will they think of next! This was "Transport Ponies with Ace and Zenfox", in which those two gave some helpful tips on travelling, especially by train or plane and double especially to conventions. While they did this, their friends lightly heckled them about the fact that their promise of cake at this panel had not materialised. I may or may not have been one of said friends. It was an entertaining way to start the con.

I decided to skip "Dr Pony" (aka Dr Ewan Kirkland)'s panel on the Gothic in MLP as it was pretty similar to the talk he gave that I was present for last year. Instead, it was off to the karaoke room! My Little Karaoke is a very polished game these days, and the room was fairly well filled. I hadn't done any karaoke in 2021, so this year I needed to change that! I picked something a bit different to try: the Wasteland Wailers track "Step Around", which I've always liked. In spite of its huge mid-song instrumental section, I think I did quite well. :) I wasn't sure whether to go again, but Dodj invited me to join an angry mob and, well, how could I turn down an invitation like that? Fantastic fun!

After this, although I did keep half an eye on the cosplay contest, I decided that a bit of shipping shopping was called for. My budget this year was very tight, but it was enjoyable enough to wander down the aisles of ponies and wonder whether I would ever be able to reliably tell my Wysteria from my Sparkleworks. G4 was still dominant in the art'n'plush arena, with Sewpoke's excellent plushies in high demand, although G5 had started to make some inroads. Having had a bit of an accident with the tombola in the morning (the barrel didn't lock fully and some tickets fell and had to be picked up by yours truly) I decided not to go for that again this time.

Let's cross a new aisle, let's flash a new smile

I had bought the 2022 con T-shirt, which was striking and well drawn, though graffiti/street art isn't my favourite style. (The VIP shirt for Gold/Silver sponsors was lovely, but reasonably enough that one was restricted to those ticket-holders.) I'd also dashed out to the world's busiest McDonald's for the inevitable Big Mac. I had to eat outdoors, but fortuntely the weather was kind. The venue café isn't bad, but it doesn't go beyond sandwiches, cakes and drinks so hot meals do necessitate a five-minute walk into the city. Ah well. I needed to be very sure I was back in plenty of time for half past three, however, as a major highlight of UKPC was approaching...

Next time: Especially when they're screaming loudly