(no subject)

[tamaranth]

Eastercon was not at all relaxing, mainly for good reasons (e.g. lots that I wanted to do, including but not limited to programme attendance). I do feel as though I need a holiday now ...

I also proved that I am quite capable of enjoying myself without drinking
-- in fact, given a strange new allergic reaction, more capable of
enjoying myself without drinking. (Anyone who saw me looking like a boiled lobster: this is why).

Friday: chauffeured by the lovely ladymoonray, we
arrived around 7pm, checked in, crashed out, and made it to 'I'm Sorry, I
Haven't an SFing Clue', compered by the incomparable swisstone. Highlights included a Swannee Whistle rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by the indescribable the_magician (OK, enough with adjectives now), which caused complaints from the Serious Lit-Crit Panel in the next room.

Then to the Spanish Hall, to marvel in slack-jawed wonder at the decor. SMS maintains that the four cities (one in each corner) represented
Gormenghast; the setting of The Prisoner; somewhere-or-other-beginning-with-M from Doctor Who; and Cair Paravel (Narnia). However, 'Gormenghast' bore a strong resemblance to Helm's Deep, as seen in The Two Towers. I'm sure I recognised that curtain wall. No elves, though: and no laser cannon either, despite SMS's best efforts.

Sleep.

Saturday Breakfast at the Imperial Hotel featured vegetarian
sausages (for the first and only time, unfortunately). ladymoonray and I wandered along the promenade, admiring the empty
beach and a decorative Guest of Honour (frostfox) found draped over a railing. Made it to the con in time for something-or-other, possibly a sit-down: then back for swim / jacuzzi at hotel: then back to the Winter Gardens for Tesla demonstration in the Ballroom: then Chris Priest's Guest of Honour speech. One thing he said that stuck in my mind: he took a three-year break from writing after a trip to Australia in the late 1970s. "When I started writing again I was a different sort of writer." While he wasn't writing, he seemed to suggest, the ideas that might have been written were churning in his subconscious, eventually coming out quite differently. (But this may be more my interpretation than anything he said. Bodes well for writer's block and non-writing periods, though).

After that, I sat in the bar dredging up memories of interviewing Philip Pullman for Edward James, who was due to interview him on the Sunday and had been given very little time to prepare. Note to convention committees: it is better to ask people whether they will participate -- preferably well in advance of the event -- than to let them find out from the programme that they will be taking part, like it or not). Most of my memories turned out to be muddled (and this was pre-Bloody Mary) but luckily major_clanger, who has got his T3 working very nicely, was able to provide my original transcript via that Internet thingy.

Meandered back to the hotel for a couple of glorious hours of
self-justification. (Summarised: writing fan-fiction is a valid use of
time, and not just an enjoyable pastime, if I experiment with different
narrative techniques and so on). Then back, again, for Jon-jo and Sharon's splendid wedding disco: of course I dance at most con discos anyway (even to bad Stones covers, yes): but how nice to have a DJ prepared to play the Clash, Billy Idol, Van Halen etc. Back to the bar. Drink. Turn into lobster (not pumpkin).

Sleeeeeep.

Sunday: consumed massive fuel breakfast. Leisurely tram-ride to Winter Gardens, leisurely wander around the dealers' room (I bought nothing), leisurely wander to bar, frantic rush to programme item as I finally registered that a panel on the use and abuse of fairytales in fiction, featuring John Clute, Philip Pullman and Peter Nicholls, moderated by Farah, might be worth going to ...

Pullman quoted from a poem I'd never heard of, "The Changing Light at Sandover", by James Merrill: the line I remember is, of fairy-tales, "a tone licked clean over centuries by mild old tongues". Does the fairytale form suppress narrative voice? What's the perspective, the POV?

Clute and Pullman both talked about a 'strangulation', an inhibitory self-consciousness about the act of story-telling, in modern literature. In response to audience questions they also discussed the difference between telling a story and writing a story.

I felt it worthy of note that in this panel it was 28 minutes before anyone mentioned The Lord of the Rings.

Then lunch. The problem with the split between hotel and convention venue
was that it was difficult to get away from the con without missing swathes of programming. An hour's break wasn't enough to get back to the hotel, and there wasn't really a quiet area to sit comfortably (or, better, lie flat) and read / write / doze. It was nice to be able to buy a toothbrush -- which you can't do within a walking-distance radius of the Hannover at Hinckley -- since I'd forgotten mine. But on the whole I would rather go without a toothbrush than without peace and quiet. Those within breath-range may, of course, differ.

Edward James' interview of Philip Pullman went very smoothly. Pullman talked about his daemon: "a bird of the sort that steals things -- a jackdaw or a magpie, perhaps. They don't distinguish between tin foil and diamonds, as long as they glitter in the right way. I steal from King Lear: I steal from Neighbours." He spoke about the recent stage production: he had little involvement, and turned down the request to write the screenplay, having already written it how he wanted it to be and having since moved on. He mentioned going to rehearsals and being uneasy about the presence of the actors who would play each character's daemon: it made the stage seem crowded and he didn't know where to look. As soon as they donned the masks it was a different matter: "all the expressiveness flowed into the puppet".

One of the most interesting things he said was that he hadn't plotted out the (alternate) history of the 'Dark Materials' world:

EJ: "There's no point in asking how Calvin became Pope?"
PP, cheerily: "Not the faintest idea! Sorry!"

He's not interested in worldbuilding, not interested in the details: he doesn't think they're necessary. "The story is the important thing." This is so contrary to what most authors have said (and demonstrated, as per the Silmarilion etc) that it stuck in my mind.

Next up, the Awards Ceremony, nobly compered by John Jarrold. Farah was so sure she wouldn't win that she hadn't washed her hair or brought her contact lenses: she looked remarkably authentic, and was the only BSFA Award winner present to collect. Lovely awards, handcrafted by high-heeled fishlifter (someone else I never quite managed to catch up with). Award acceptors remarkably unhelpful about being photographed.

Then ladymoonray and I collected lproven, who was
just about to get fed, and dragged him off to the Pleasure Beach.
Weakened by hunger, he was unable to protest very loudly, and was
pathetically grateful for some scraps of food (BabyBel cheese, cereal bar) that we used as bait.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach rocks. (And like other things that rock, it may induce nausea). It is the home of the Pepsi Max Big One (Height: 235ft Speed: 72mph G-Force: 3.5g), the world's tallest fastest rollercoaster. Or so it said: in fact it isn't, any more. The view from the top, just before the ride really starts, was breathtaking, especially for those of us who had our eyes open. I did ask Liam (who suffers from vertigo) whether he could see the Isle of Man from up there, but I can't remember what he replied. Something about seeing his life flashing before him instead, I think. After that it was all rather fast and blurry. My hands ache just remembering it. (Luckily I am past the (st)age where I feel the need to pretend to bravery. Yes, it was me who said "we don't have to do it again, do we?")

Back for a rather nasty meal (redeemed by a wonderful frozen strawberry
daiquiri) with swisstone and flyingsauce at the
West Coast Rock Diner. And then The David Wake Play: 'Tartan Restrung',
which started off as an evil conflation of cult Gerry Anderson TV series
Captain Scarlet with cult Wachowski Brothers series The Matrix and, er, proceeded (if that doesn't imply too much causality) from there. Sterling performances from all. I laughed so much I forgot how to work my camera. And my memory: so cannot quote any of the funny bits, of which there were a superfluity.

Bar - Hotel (to change into something less comfortable) - Bar - Hotel. Sleeeeeeeep.

Monday dawned misty (though later turned out even more gloriously
sunny than Easter Sunday). Checked out, then ladymoonray and I went back to the Pleasure Beach to play a bit more. Fascinated though I am by historic monuments, there are contexts in which I do not want to
experience them: so we avoided all the rides with 'Historic Monument'
plaques (apart from the aeroplane carousel, built in (bloody hell!) 1904 -- the only one in the world still running -- which was too much fun to resist).

Back to the con to catch up and say goodbyes: then homeward bound. So many people I didn't catch up with: so many fascinating panels I missed. I wanted to talk more about writing, about new books and old, about
reviewing, about slash, about technology ... even about Real Life ...

Still, there's Plokta.con soon.

CODA: Back in Real Life. It's grim. And it's rushed.

Photos will follow when I have time.

Any omissions in the above may be attributed to having written it in Lotus Notes at 'work', where we now have no internet access at all. Not even the BBC site.

Comments

[green-amber.livejournal.com]

I have seen Pullman go from not having even thought about what his daemon would be (at Lexicon) to having worked out the jackdaw/magpie thing (a few months after L'con at the Edinburgh bk festival). Interesting that something so fundamental had not occurrede to him before.. I think maybe it is his emphasis on narrative rather than worldbuilding which commends him to me whereas normally I am reet put of by fantasy. I am neither geographer nor historian nor role player and I don't CARE if the people in village x have spent the last 300 years making a particular type of chain mail sacred to the goddess Fancipants - I want to want to know what happens next.

[drpete.livejournal.com]

[g] Looks like fun. Must come to next years..

The play's the thing

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Agree totally on the "story over background" point. It can be wonderfully thought-through and detailed but still not work as a narrative. I like books where they don't have huge amounts of exposition, they just throw you in and you learn about the background environment whilst enjoying a decent story. After all, if a book isn't enjoyable/entertaining/interesting/satisfying, what's the damned point?

Re: Pullman. Fascinating to see that he and the Archbishop of Canterbury seem to be in accord! Rowan Williams seems to understand that it's a lot more about repressive organised religion (OK, Catholicism) than it is about theology. I liked Williams's position that it shows how the world and religion would be if we didn't have a loving God, and thinks that the books should be on the national curriculum. This could be the first Archbishop of Canterbury who is sensible, and isn't an annoying pontificating git. Pity that the fundies are taking over the Anglican church. Schism now! You know it makes sense... [as an atheist I feel qualified to suggest this]

And I'll bet he isn't impressed with "The Passion of the Christ", either.