• WHEN: Saturday October 2, 2004
• WHERE: Shedden Hall Hotel, Torquay
• TIME: Timings To Be Announced
• Guest of Honour: Dave Kendall (Necroscope Comic Artist).
• Other Guests: Dave McDougle (ShadoeWolfe), Nick Austin, (Editor-extraordinaire), Keith Grant-Evans (the Lupine Lord).

For all of you who attended KCI, KCII and KCIII you will all be familiar with most of the information below and how to proceed.

Brian and I are very pleased to announce our new venue this year in Torquay, in the Southwest of England, better known as The English Riviera.

As any new information becomes available you'll find it here. Previous members are on a Con mailing list so you'll receive info as appropriate. As any new attendees pay their membership fee, they will be added to the Con mailing list.

• Programs will be given out at the con.
• Tickets will be mailed approximately two weeks before the con.
• Costumes are not mandatory but if you wish to come in fancy dress it must be one of Brian's characters from any one of his books. There are always a few folks who like to come in fancy dress. (But do remember . certain areas of the body must be clothed ... and you know what they are! No excuses.)
• As usual there will be a prize draw. Draw tickets are 25 pence each. Prizes will be presented by Brian and Silky. Others have also been generous in donating some good prizes to the raffle ... and they have been very much appreciated.
• If I don't know you, you will need to show your ticket in order to purchase any raffle tickets. Tickets will go on sale on the Friday night gathering and be sold all day Saturday. About a month before the con I'll send out a post stating that you can pre-order raffle tickets. You tickets will be randomly chosen and put in an envelop with your name on it to be picked up and paid for when you arrive.
• Brian will do a two readings.
• Brian will sign books throughout the time he's there. Usually at the bar gatherings.
• There will again be two discussion panels. Topics to be decided closer to the time.
• There'll be a cash bar and for a time there will be a two free drinks.
• Also, anyone staying at the hotel Friday night is welcome to join in for a social session just like the previous cons.
• Preliminary programming will be sent out to attendees approximately 1 to 2 weeks before the con.
• New members need not feel left out. You'll we warmly welcomed and before long you'll be just one of the ever increasing KeoghConian family.

Once again we plan on having a whole day event. We plan on organizing discussion panels during the day. Later a post will go on the MessageBoard with panel subjects and we'll ask for volunteers for the panels. The panels will consist of five panelists and one moderator. Each panel will last for 45 minutes to 1 hour. There'll be several topics to choose from. The panels improve each year around and the two panels we had at KCIII were knock-outs. I know more folks will be interested now that they have seen how panels operate. So we'll be able to have different subjects.

UPDATE! The Panels and panelists for this year are as follows :

- Afternoon Panels -

Desert Island Books: Moderator: Tom Shearer Panelists: Paul Stephen, Keith Grant-Evans, Deb Alton, Dave Kendall, Andy Rixon

Most Deserved Death:Moderator: Keith Thomas Panelists: Keith Grant-Evans, Peter Clarke, Natasha Girvan-Curley, Andy Rixon, Tom Shearer

- Evening Panel -

Most Poignant Scene: Moderator: Dave McDougle Panelists: Nick Austin, Peter Clarke,
Natasha Girvan-Curley, Sharon Smith, Keith Thomas

The daytime programming will be the panels. There'll be two readings, one in the afternoon programming and the other in the evening programming. Short breaks will be inserted so folks can have a chance to do whatever they need to do without missing out on anything. When the afternoon panels are finished we'll close the room down in order to set up for the evening events. In the evening will be a reading, buffet, money goes behind the bar for free drinks, and the last event of the evening is the raffle. Now, with our new venue, we will have the option of staying in the function room and/or expanding into the residents lounge and bar.

Due to the adult nature of the convention and volume of alcohol being consumed, this is for adults only. No one under the age of 18 may attend.

Membership is limited to 38 paid attendees only. You can apply for your membership now. Note to regular attendees: in order to avoid disappointment be sure to get your fee paid  ASAP. 

Membership Fee: £30.00 per person.

Membership includes the Saturday evening buffet, at least two free drinks at the bar, and all programming on Saturday.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If for some legitimate reason you can't make it to the con after you have paid, your money will be returned up to September 4, 2004. That's a month before the con. At this time we have to let the hotel know the numbers ... once we give the numbers we are required to pay. After that time there can be NO REFUNDS for any reason. But if you can't attend you will be sent your goodie envelope. (Note: At the World Fantasy and World Horror Cons, once you pay your membership fee, that's it. No returns for any reason. So we are lenient here in our refund policy.)

For membership contact the tickets@ address through the link in the Contact section -- you will then receive further details.

Method of Payment: Within UK: Cash, Check or Postal Money Order, or PayPal.*

Outside UK: Any US attendees will be given a US address to send their money to. Cash or Money Order. Or you may alternatively use PayPal.* You will be given PayPal* details upon request and you will receive notification of your payment being received.

PLEASE DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY SEND FEES. Please continue to use the tickets@ address.

*Membership fee online via PayPal. It's fast, secure and you don't even have to move from the computer ... it's also more convenient to pay from the US! Please note that membership fees for paying online are £31 (UK) or $58 (US). The slight increase is to cover the charges made to Goth Girl by PayPal (incorrect memberships fees will be rejected). (The US price also takes into account the current exchange rate.)

To send your membership fees via PayPal, please contact Goth Girl first at the tickets address and she will then send you payment details. 

All PERSONAL checks must be received by September 11, 2004. This allows time for the check to clear.

From September 14-25, 2004. Only cash or a postal money order will be accepted.

ALL fees must be received no later than Tuesday, September 28, 2004. Any payments received after that cannot be processed in time, and cash would be required at the venue. Tickets would then be picked up on Friday night or Saturday morning at the con.

The cut-off date for receiving PayPal payments is September 18, 2004, two weeks before the Con. Any payments made after that date will be rejected, and we will request an alternative form of payment.

We are very fortunate that the hotel has a website which you'll be able to go to and check things out. It also gives you a map once you get to Torquay. You'll get all the info you need here about deposits, check-in check-out and all that other interesting stuff.

Brian and I have been there and spoken to the owners and we are quite pleased, and we expect that everything will run according to plan. These folks are very easy to work with and are pleased to accommodate us.

In the main lounge you get a great view of Tor Abbey Sands beach and across the bay to Paignton and Brixham. 

The rooms are standard and small ... but they all have the necessary bed, and they are all en-suite. There are coffee/tea making facilities in all rooms as well as a TV. Breakfast is included in the price if you so desire to make use of it.

We won't have our own private bar but the hotel bar is only approximately 40 feet away from the function room. The function room will also be smaller but will still accommodate us. And once again we will still have a finger buffet which will be set up right outside the function room as before.

There is a small room with a pool table for those of you who decide to stay up until the wee small hours of the morning.

Also, the owner has said that she would be pleased to keep the bar open provided there are enough folks wanting to buy drinks. Now I don't think there'll be a problem of not buying enough drinks, do you?

And there is free parking for hotel guests.

You will now need to contact me personally for the rates and hotel info as they will not be posted on the site. Use the coninfo@ address through the link in the Contact section.  Once I give you the rates you can contact the hotel quoting KeoghCon. You should have no problems what-so-ever.

Note of Importance: It is suggested that if you know you are definitely attending book your room as quickly as possible! This is the information given to me by the hotel. They are a coach hotel and at that time of year they still book up. Right now there is plenty of room but the longer you wait you may end up being left out ... they do want to accommodate all of us but at the same time they can't hold rooms in the hopes that a month before the event you decide to book.

So ... unfortunately, if you snooze ... you may lose and we don't want that to happen. You don't want to end up in a bed and brecky half a mile away.

The hotel sits nicely atop a hill with a great view of Torbay. 

Walk outside the hotel and make a left and you've a 10 minute walk (or two minute drive) to the multi-storey car park. Take the lift down to ground floor, you'll see the back of McDonalds on one corner and The Whitehart Pub on the other. Walk up that little street and you are there. You've got Bitz, S-Mart, BHS, SuperDrug, Spar, Three Cooks, McDonalds and the Sandwich Cafe and Boots.

Right across the street from Mickey Dees are two bus stops. Several buses will take you all the way down to The Strand/Seafront. It only takes me 15 minutes to walk down.

As we continue on down, in the Union Street Arcade, you've got Peacocks, QS, Shaul's Bakery, Stokes fruit and veg, Iceland and Somerfield. Walking further on down to the pedestrianized section of Union street, you've got a few more eateries, Dixons, Primark, Woolworths, W. H. Smith and The Hogs Head Pub on the corner. Even further on down, which is now Fleet Walk, you'll find numerous shops (too many to name) and there's a Whimpy, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut. Keep on walking and you're at The Strand/Seafront where you'll find load of shops and cafes to eat and drink.

Walk outside the hotel and make a right. First off: a one minute walk (or 45 paces for Silky) takes you next door to The Heritage Hotel which houses Appleby's (open 11A to 11P) American style restaurant and pub. Second: a five minute walk across the street and on the seafront is the huge Mojo Cafe . And there are several fish & chip shops along the promenade. If you keep following the seafront trail past the Princess Theatre you'll go past the Amusement Arcade at Cary/Vaughn Parade. Here you'll find more shops, pubs and eateries. At the seafront you'll find The London Inn (a J. D. Witherspoons) and Cafe Mambo.

Down at the far end of the seafront is Torbay's newest attraction The Living Coast. And just before Coast is the huge Brewer's Fayre restaurant. And if you really want a classy place to eat you've got The Marina Restaurant, which has really good food, with good views and nice atmosphere.

Everything comes full circle. Either right turn or left turn if you keep walking you'll end up back at the hotel. You won't miss out on anything. And if you aren't up to walking ... everything's just a short taxi ride away.

Town Center Map

(click for full size image)

Torquay town center. Convenient little map I found. The black circle is our hotel, approximately. And it shows some of the shops I mentioned.

Seafront Map

(click for full size image)

This is to the left of the town center map. And once again you'll see our hotel circled. If you notice all the way down in the left hand bottom corner is the Torquay railway station. You'll see two little folks standing there with a suitcase.

Additional Maps ... I have a three page document which I can attach to an e-mail. There's a more detailed map of Torquay roads and surroundings. And there are also route maps. I'd be happy to post these to you upon request at the confo@ address.                       

UK Attendees:

By Air: Not a good idea as the closest airport is Plymouth and you'd have to take a train to Torquay. But of course, that's entirely up to you.

Bus: National Express runs a coach service from London Victoria Station right down to the Lymington Road Coach station in Torquay. http://www.nationalexpress.com. The 501 service has 6 direct runs from Victoria to Torquay and 6 runs from Torquay back to Victoria Station, London.

By Car: If you haven't driven here before I would guess your best bet is The AA route planner:   http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp I checked this out and from the Greater London area to Torquay they state 218.2 miles and 3 hours 58 minutes drive time. About the same time as taking a train. But ... depending on the speed you drive...

By Train: You can contact: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk and plan your trip. We use First Great Western that leaves from Paddington. http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk you can plan your trip on this site as well. I do know that certain times of the day on outward and return journeys that they do have a train that comes direct to Torquay. Otherwise, you have to get off at Newton Abbot station and catch a commuter to Torquay or a taxi.

There will be no smoking in the function room itself, but smoking permitted elsewhere in the hotel.

Be Warned! There will be no gate crashing! No fee - no entry. No disruptions to the bash will be tolerated.

Please to save time, contact the appropriate address for your queries.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the vast amount of spam/junk mail ... be sure to mention "KeoghCon IV" in the SUBJECT line. If you don't you risk being overlooked if your e-mail looks like spam. Subject lines of "hi," "hello," etc. are definitely at risk of being ignored.

For any information relating to travel arrangements, membership fees and tickets tickets@brianlumley.com which will reach Goth Girl.

For any information pertaining to the con itself, hotel and programming: coninfo@brianlumley.com which will reach Silky.