Still Not Enough Rice Pudding

I got to the museum in plenty of time on Wednesday to take over the evening storytelling shift while David went off to appear in Wuthering Heights. Five minutes later, my first audience came in...

It went well. My two young actress volunteers improvised their way through Elizabeth Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg's story and it was different every time. They were enthusiastic and creative and had fun... I hope!

The last group had a few kids, including one who was all 'yeah, yeah, I'm bored, this isn't scary'... and we managed to get him to shut up and listen. YES!

Sadly, the BBC didn't come to film us as they couldn't get permissions to film everything they wanted, so they went to another part of the tour instead. Boo.

I made sure the girls were back safe at rendezvous point in the library, where I learned the tours were running about 40 minutes late. So, no trek to the pub for all the tour lot then. But I still had to go to see how my comedy night was doing... and the answer was, not so well. Lessons learned there, I'm afraid. Still it was lovely to talk to Pat Burtscher and Will Marsh.

I also made sure I got to see James Acaster, David Trent and Jake Moore doing their thing this week, as it was the last chance for me as we have diary clashes elsewhere. So funny! I was super-cold in the club, though, and a bit head-achey, so I think this weekend some lurg-fighting TLC is required.

I was super-glad that with very careful budgeting last month, despite the fact I didn't get a full wage, I managed not to go overdrawn. That's a couple of beers' worth of money transferred to the wedding/convention/Christmas budget. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of booking conventions at lower rates like I used to, as well. That will also save money.

I'm also getting more editorial work coming through now, which is great. The future is on its way.

So, it's the start of the month. Here are some goals:

Health and fitness - hope I can build up to going swimming later this month. I've also volunteered to marshal at parkrun until I'm well enough to run it again.

Wedding - I need to book the venues in Gretna and Northampton.

Conventions - Sci-Fi Weekender - deposit is sent. Just need to make sure we have a full caravan now.

Creative ideas - I'm performing poetry at a Christmas Lights switch on in December and there are merchandising possibilities... make a CD? What would go down better, I wonder... a general poetry CD or a Christmas album? Not long to decide.

I've also got to submit a piece for Northampton Science Fiction Writers Group. I might rewrite my 90s nostalgia story, or I already have a novella chapter written and submitted somewhere... but a crit is only useful if that somewhere is a dead end. Let's see what can be achieved over the next 2 weeks.

I've got to finalize the line-up for the Christmas Cabaret at the Racehorse. Exciting stuff! We have punk-jazz poetry, comedy, burlesque and geek show sideshow magic so far!

Writing comedy material on the joy of crap discos.

Must. Do. More. Knitting!

Leisure time - I'm planning very little in this month: a party on Friday, cinema trip on Tuesday. Frugality rules. Neil and I are planning to make a date to see either a TV film or DVD (old or borrowed) at least once a week. Last week's was Spirited Away, lent to us by a friend a few months back. That's how busy we've been! *Guilt* This week, Princess Mononoke from the same friend. Then we can post them back.

I also intend to read at least 2 books a month for pleasure - as in, not obliged to for a review or work. Am currently enjoying Joanne Harris's The Lollipop Shoes.

Frugality and money - I want to put a good chunk towards the wedding this month - it will probably have to go straight out again on securing the venues, but that will feel like progress. Hopefully Neil will have stuck to budget to get a new freezer.

declutter Kitchen cupboards, your time has come!

Constitution, willpower, finances, immune system.

All of these have taken a considerable battering following a most joyously raucous weekend beside the cold North Wales seaside celebrating SCIENCE!! FICTION!!!!. Yes, it was the SFX Weekender. And yes it was two weekends ago...

We travelled on Thursday to make the pre-Party. Having decided to not be such a girl about these things, I packed light (only 4 pairs of DMs - 5 pairs of shoes if you count the wellies). This was to make room in the car for the fishing rods, lures, catch bucket and car picnic. The car picnic is still evident on the floor of the car (M&S sandwiches - reduced to £1.50).

We took the opportunity of being by the sea to practice a bit of casting out for mackerel. We didn't stand a chance of catching any. It's February - cod time. Hadn't got the right bait though. N didn't catch anything either. Not even a cold... he'd already got one. I did manage to fall over and whilst I was not hurt I was shocked quite badly, so much of my time on the beach was trying to climb down the rocks using legs shaking like a Yorkshire Terrier wielding a pneumatic drill.

With sloshing wellies we went to Pontins reception slightly early to check in, which is how we managed to only be there for 25 minutes or so. Good job, or we might be missing a few toes to frostbite.

Checked into chalet. Fine. Things worked. We poured our wellies into the available bucket.

This was when we discovered how lightly we had packed. Neil had no other trousers, so we had to dry his jeans out for hours by the radiator before we could go anywhere. Sam and Paul came round and we broke open the alcohol... Del and Kim were still en route, so we'd had a few by the time they got there. It was just like being a student! Suitably lubricated, we went out to find the pub. N put his jeans back on first.

So Thursday night was all about the booze... but with Dutch courage on my side I volunteered to perform comedy during Lee Harris's 'Ready Steady Flash' panel, which he was hosting on Saturday to help occupy the audience while the panellists were writing. In the end I decided that a set more leaning towards comedy poetry might be condusive to the writerly atmosphere of a flash fiction workshop.

It was a very fun panel, with the stories provided by Paul Cornell, Juliette E McKenna, Tony Lee (also a very funny poet as it turned out) and Stacia Kane. I enjoyed doing my bit too... and my could it have been one of my biggest crowds to date? I daresay... there were quite a lot of people there for the whole workshop, but a few more sneaked in halfway through to grab seats for the panel immediately after - The Two Hollies: Norman Lovett and Hattie Hayridge introducing the episode of Red Dwarf where they played Holly and Hilly.

Needless to say, that was my personal weekend highlight, but there were some other stonkingly good things on. For the second year in a row, I've noticed that SFX has so much interesting stuff on that we actually go to panels... several in a row!

I think it was unanimously decreed on the interwebs that Paul Cornell hosting Just a Minute was excellent - and Sarah Pinborough was really funny. Sylvester McCoy was erudite and entertaining, as was Colin Baker. I couldn't get near the Void when Brian Blessed was on, so I went to the pub instead... and I missed Eve Myles who I hear was lovely.

The girls on sticks this year seemed to be lacking the universal all-round talent of last year's troupe and felt they had to make up for this by not adjusting themselves when their leotards (at N's eye level -slap!) had gone up their cracks (Finger and thumb, girls!). I mean, if you were on stilts wearing just your pants and wanted to take a closer look at the Judge Dredd covers, wouldn't you get the stall holder to pass you them or would you bend over at the waist?

...and if anyone thinks I'm jealous, look, I've been 21 and all that. If you wanted to see that much of me back then, it would have taken at least 3 Blastaways... and I always stopped at 2. And a half. And another half. So nuh.

Best thing of all though was the chance to see all my friends and make a couple more. I miss those guys... promises have been made to see each other more often!

Oh and the rapturous joy of everyone dressed in fancy dress for the Saturday night party. Josie Long is definitely right about that. Kim went as Bladerunner's Priss; Paul and Sam went as The Joker and Harlequin; Gareth L Powell donned an Adamantesque facial stripe and Del got lots of compliments for dressing as himself. N went as Uncle Nobby, which confused the two drunk Welsh lads near the shop who were trying to serenade everyone who passed with the appropriate theme tune. If we go next year I'm going dressed as something. Hopefully something sexy that I can get away with in my slightly pudgy years. Jabba the Slut?

Last week was another We are Most Amused at which our mate Mark West's mate Johnny Fields made his comedy debut, and we had some really funny fellas on - including Ben Goddard and Chris le Mottee, who I met at Laughing Horse. Ben not only looks a bit like Simon Pegg, but also turns out to be a brilliant illustrator with a penchant for comic drawing. I cannot confirm whether he has ever drawn a mutant bear with a massive claw, though. Good stuff as always from Birthday Ben Briggs, and from Leon Clifford and Dave Tomlinson.

Then on Saturday, I slammed in Bilston. Did a poem about Top Gear. Lots of great comments, but no place in the semis. All crash, no burn. Another top drawer night arranged by Marcus Moore and Sarah-Jane Arbury of Spiel, Emma Purshouse and the Imperial Banqueting Suite. It gets better and better.

There was a contingent from Manchester down: Kieren King, Dave Viney, Dominic Berry and Rod Tame, and they were all excellent. They made the semis along with Fergus McGonigal, who won the last slam I went to (also a Spiel) and Lorna Meehan. The probability was that one of the lovely Manc lads, who were all sitting on our table, was going to take the prize. Lorna and Kieren went head to head, but Kieren pipped her to the top prize.

On Behind the Arras, Gary Longden has questioned whether there may be unconscious sexism creeping in to the scoring, there. To be honest, I really don't think so. Kieren and Lorna were both equally brilliant, and there was hardly anything between them points-wise. The Manc lads are committed, seasoned performance poets with very strong writing and a supportive and mutual creative ethic to just go out there and do stuff which clearly pays off... as individuals with a roughly equal number of men to women, the maths would be more arguable, but as a group, the probability bore out in their favour, backed up by material that was fresh and original. Inspirational you might say.

It was a bit weird for me, all in all... this time last year, my mom was with me. Going to Bilston and her not being there was more than odd. A few times during the evening I had to bat away a tear or two. Ah well... it would only have been frustrating if I'd won after this time just when she wasn't there to see.

I am at home, pink-eyed and wire-brained. Doubtlessly some people who gave me gin last night will raise an eyebrow, but no, it's nothing to do with that.
Since before Newcon, I have been suffering from lack of sleep. Many people in Northampton this weekend were witness to me looking a tad pale and grey-eyed, and threatening to keel over at any given moment. I even had to nick a couple of Lydia's lucozade tablets - that's desperation! Sugar!
Now, this may have been due in part to certain people ringing me up in the middle of the night, and then therewas little opportunity for sleep at the con, but I think theremust be something wrong with me. I seem to have acquired a sore throat too. Now I'm sounding like Jack Dee - moan, moan, moan, moan, moan...
I'm not doing a very good job of catching upwith sleep today either. Guilt, worry, parcels being delivered... that's my Shakespeare stuff arriving. Maybe I'm stressing about tonight as I start uni.

Anyway, the con was great, and if I paid for it with my health, then never mind, I'll just have to be ill.
And how many months have I been travelling to Northampton? And I've only just discovered the Guild Hall was designed by Godwin! Ellen Terry continues to haunt me...
That building is beautiful, and I miss it's colourful decor already. Not even the frogs on the stairs in my house can compensate.
I travelled down on Friday with Gabby and Lydia. I was scarce settled in my hotel room when it was time to head off to the Aroma with Ian Watson, and the GOHs, as well as Mr.Whates and Andy from the snappily abbreviated NSFWG. We met sirboodle there - huzzah! The placewas like a cattle market, and the veggie option food was a bit bland, but never mind. Off to the pub! It absolutely peeed it down, and a certain crazy californian housemate of mine got drownded.
Saturday whizzed by in a blur. I went on a hunt for kazzoos,and got whistles for one of the panels, which was cancelled in the end on Sunday. I spent a fortune on designer sandwiches. What was Irish about them, Idon't know. The panels I went to were great - I especially enjoyed Liz William's interview, and was grateful to Cardinal Cox for rescuing me. I think I'd have been okay, but I was knackered and nervous, not my most alert.I also enjoyed the jester's show. My knees are still skinned though from when my crazy housemate dragged me across the floor to take partin some sword fighting. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the crowd. The object of my protest was therefore defeated, but I sat back down anyway.
Saturday night we had an Indian before the ceilidh, which was well funny.I'm sure Mr. Whates has taken some most unflattering piccies.
Sunday, I missed a couple of panels trying to find my brother, who came to town for about ten minutes. Shame - it was almost very nearly his first con!
The bed of nails show was very funny - I still can't believe the jester willingly gave Gabby a mallet to hit him with - this was after Gabby had stood on him as well! Brave man.
My train info off the Internet was, almost predictably, incorrect, so we got to spend a bit longer in Northampton talking to strange people. The meal at Oriental Fusion was good though.
If this entry makes little sense, it is because I still haven't recovered