I'll finally be getting back to my FiM rewatch in the next few days. I want to do something about Make Your Mark too, though FiM will take priority at first. Anyway...
UK PonyCon 2022 was a very good con. A very good con. I have not changed from my view that my friend was right when calling it a "solid 9/10", and since there are always little things that might have been different I think that's about as good as it gets. Here's a final summary post about what I liked and what I didn't. The pluses, I'm glad to say, very much outweigh the minuses.
The innovation (for UKPC) of having show guests was a triumph. Both Andrea Libman and Anneli Heed were excellent and really added something. How on earth the convention can match that next year I have no idea! Maybe third time lucky with Kelly Sheridan, maybe not. It'll be a long time until we know. But this year's convention, the Guests of Honour were superb. Even when eating custard creams.
As I've mentioned in passing already, it was nice to get back to a fully normal con, with the musicians back and the Covid restrictions gone. This meant a late finish on Saturday, and in an ideal world I think 10pm would have been easier than 11pm for those of us not staying across the road, but I was definitely pleased the 10am start was kept. That extra hour in the morning means you actually have time for breakfast!
One of the few small disappointments that did make a practical difference: no water cooler this year. Quite a few people mentioned this, and I really hope it's possible to bring it back next year. Yes, water bottles were allowed to be brought in, but the presence of the water cooler in 2021 was a major plus and I'd definitely like to see it return. Hydration is really important.
I've said this for several years now, but personally I'm rather sad at the noticeable decline in families attending since my first UK PonyCon. I have to accept that we G4 people are partly to blame, since it was us who drove the large increase in demand that led to on-the-door sales disappearing from 2015 onwards. But despite the welcome continuing substantial non-G4 presence, UKPC does feel a little less unique than it once did.
Nottingham has gone up in my estimation, possibly because I didn't have to spend much time in it at night. Staying out of town worked brilliantly and I'd consider doing it again. Well, assuming the convention doesn't move. I strongly suspect its roving days are over for good now, and though it's a slight shame I can't deny that the NTU building is an extremely convenient venue, and the committee clearly have good relations with the place.
A few little thoughts... I wonder if the huge 2019-style tombola will ever return? That was so much fun. Great as the concert was, perhaps there could be less very loud music next time. It's probably an enormous pain rights-wise, but another film showing (Rainbow Rocks, say) would be brilliant. The con book was the best I've seen from any UK convention. And in the end, UK PonyCon remains a great event which deserves continuing success.
