Silky
December 2nd, 2002, 06:31 PM
KeoghCon Two from a Goth perspective…
The whole KeoghCon Two weekend started for me early on the Thursday morning, when Dark Crystal and Lady Louise (Keith and Sarah) collected me for our drive up to Manchester. Great start, but disaster loomed... this vacant Goth managed to leave her handbag in London (for handbag read world ... money, credit cards, phone ... you get the idea!). I was distraught, but my two Towers of Strength, the aforementioned Keith and Sarah, got me through, for which I can't possibly thank them enough. I was to be reunited with my possessions the next day. The rest of Thursday passed smoothly enough ... Brian and Silky arrived at the hotel shortly after we did, and a few others turned up later. Thursday night was a trip into town for those of us around ... several drinks and entertainment provided by Tom and a couple of locals ... 'nuff said!
Friday morning saw me in possession of my handbag again, thanks to the magic of Keith, PWC and my mother-in-law. I had money and my phone ... all was well! Friday afternoon was cool ... it was really nice to relax in the bar and see more familiar faces turning up. And after a delightful evening meal with Brian and Silky, it was time for the Friday night schmoozing to commence! There were quite a few of us by then, and we'd commandeered our usual corner of the lounge bar. New faces and the usual suspects ... it was a great mix of people and lovely catching up with everyone, some of whom I hadn't seen since the previous Con. Ahhh, a great evening ... time flew and before we knew it, the hotel staff had closed the bar for the night. We weren't impressed but Mazrah came to the rescue ... as if by magic, she produced a bottle of red wine ... hurrah! That kept us going a while longer ... I think I finally fell into a coma-like sleep about 2am!
Saturday ... the day ... KeoghCon Two day. Several months of planning and it had finally arrived! To keep myself calm, I spent the morning with a 'real life' friend ... even dragged her to the hotel to prove that I do have a few 'non-Net' friends! By the time she left, and I'd showered and changed, it was 2pm ... time to start! Nervous ... me? I was shaking like a leaf while waiting for things to get underway, I so much wanted things to go well. But once events got started I was a lot calmer. Although I must have blushed as pink as my hair when Brian presented me with a magnificent framed set of Paul Stanczykowski artwork miniatures, one of only six that exist ... WOW!! The only thing more impressive than the artwork was how hard I had to fight to hang onto it ... from 'friends' too, shocking! Anyway, onto the events of the day...
First up was the panel discussion. I had intended to be a panel member, but there appeared to be more members than chairs, so I was happy to sneak around and take photos. The discussion was a huge success, largely due to the efforts of the Chairman of the panel, Deano. He really got the ball rolling, and the discussion was soon underway. It was great to hear everyone pitching in with their views and opinions; it really made for a lively, often quite heated debate. From my point of view, it was interesting to hear so many differing opinions on the Wamphyri ... it gave me a different perspective and gave me a few things to think about; to the extent that even I put my oar in a couple of times. The discussion was much more of a success than I could have imagined, and I'm sure next year's discussion will be even bigger, better and louder! So, many thanks to the whole panel ... Deano, Dark Crystal, Tops, Lady Rissa and Nick Austin (editor extraordinaire), as well as to everyone who contributed (which was pretty much everyone)!
Next was the Mobius presentation. Because they're a busy bunch, we hadn't heard much from them about the Necroscope game recently, so it was good to get an update on how things were going. Unfortunately we couldn't see the Playstation demo that Ian (Mobius' Art Director) had hoped to show us, due to an agreement that had recently been signed, but we still got to see a video trailer, as well as Ian giving us an in-depth look into some the mechanics of the animation in the game. Seeing Ian running across the room doing a Michael Owen impression was something else! Good work guys, and can't wait to see the finished product in a year or so.
After that we had a bit of an unexpected interruption ... everyone had left the room in order for the raffle prizes to be set up on the table, when sirens started to blare! At first I thought it was some elaborate scheme by a team of Con members intent on 'securing' a few of the raffle prizes, but no, it was just the fire alarm! Unfortunately, this meant the whole hotel had to be evacuated, so we had a brief sojourn in the hotel car park, before being able to return to the bar. Silky and I finished laying out the raffle prizes ... luckily I managed to avoid soaking everything with my drool! The generosity of everyone who had donated prizes was overwhelming ... not only Brian and his US publishers, but a couple of Con members had donated stuff too. The tables were groaning under the weight of books by the time we'd finished!
Once the tables were all set up, it was time for the Lighthouse Magazine interview to be recorded. This involved Brian being interviewed by Paul Calvin Wilson, for Lighthouse Magazine, the first edition of which comes out this month, December 2002 (see http:www.lighthousemagazine.co.uk for more information). It was a long interview; interesting, entertaining, and also amusing ... it's always a treat to hear Brian talk about his work, and I for one am looking forward to seeing the special Brian Lumley first edition of this mag.
Then it was time for more talking ... Brian's reading, which for me was one of the high points of the Con. Thanks to everyone in the room for keeping so quiet ... I don't think I've ever been in a room of so many people without hearing mobile phones bleeping! But then again, I think everyone was as transfixed as I was with the reading!
While the food was being laid out, Paul Brown put his Vasagi sculptures up on the table for all to see. I could easily run out of superlatives before I'd finished describing them, so all I'll say is that they are incredible! They were being clustered round and photographed by so many people that you'd think there was a supermodel in a bikini on the table instead of a few sculptures of hideous Wamphyri faces! Pictures of the sculptures can be found along with all the other KeoghCon Two pictures (http://www.brianlumley.com/cons/kc2pics.html), and they're even available to buy now ... hopefully there'll be some left by the time I'm in a position to buy one!
Time for munchies! By this time I think everyone was pretty hungry, so while we were waiting for the raffle to get underway, we all tucked into the buffet, with the sound of the Downliners Sect drifting around the room, the tracks that Brian has voice-overs on.
So ... onto the raffle! Well over a thousand tickets had been sold, which meant Silky's nimble fingers had been very busy tearing and folding tickets for the draw! Once again, the generosity of everyone overwhelmed me ... people who had already won a couple of prizes were either asking for a re-draw, or offering duplicate prizes to others who particularly wanted something. Of course, a few people won more than others ... it seemed like I took a lot of photos of Llamedos, Kieran and Dean Barton (who claimed they weren't all for him!). Still, no-one came away from the raffle with nothing at all, thanks to the 'dump-bin' from Tor (actually a very nice cardboard display unit full of paperbacks!). After the first two Cons, it seems almost impossible that there could be any such goodies lying around for KeoghCon Three, but judging from Brian's post on the Message Board on the subject, the raffle will be just as good if not better next year!
So, after comparing goodies, we cleared out of the convention room and headed downstairs for the bar, as per usual! Silky had charmed the hotel staff into keeping the bar open as long as there were people wanting drinks, which was well into the small hours. I myself flaked out in my room around midnight after watching motor-racing on TV, but have heard varying stories about pool playing, Yoda impressions and rude words ... I guess you had to be there! I think party animal of the night award must go to Marissa, who stayed up to play all night, then went straight to the airport to catch her flight for London then onto Boston! What a trooper!
Sunday was certainly a day of recovery! I missed the departure of a lot of people, including our Swedish friends (who had a much nicer return trip thanks to Deano and Mazrah), but then I missed the whole morning ... I can't remember when I last slept for 14 hours solid! The afternoon was another nice, lazy time ... there were still people around from the Con, so there was more talking and drinking, mostly coffee and orange juice though by then! Monday morning saw me awake a lot earlier, in time to check out (with a lot less trouble than Pinhead and Llamedos!) and head back down the motorways to London ... tired but triumphantly clutching all my stuff which I managed to remember!
It really was a weekend to remember, as was KeoghCon One, and a huge thanks to everyone who made it the success it was ... the people who travelled so far to participate, people who donated prizes, people who took part in the panel ... basically everyone! But the biggest thanks to Brian, for being Brian!
So, KeoghCon Three ... Saturday November 29th 2003 ... make it a date in your diary! All the information is on the KeoghCon Three webpage, and there'll be updates on the Message Board too. Plus, if there are any other important details, they'll be emailed out to all previous members. If it's at all physically or financially possible, please come along ... you'll have the time of your life!
Scarily yours,
Goth Girl!
[ December 02, 2002, 09:32 AM: Message edited by: Silky ]
The whole KeoghCon Two weekend started for me early on the Thursday morning, when Dark Crystal and Lady Louise (Keith and Sarah) collected me for our drive up to Manchester. Great start, but disaster loomed... this vacant Goth managed to leave her handbag in London (for handbag read world ... money, credit cards, phone ... you get the idea!). I was distraught, but my two Towers of Strength, the aforementioned Keith and Sarah, got me through, for which I can't possibly thank them enough. I was to be reunited with my possessions the next day. The rest of Thursday passed smoothly enough ... Brian and Silky arrived at the hotel shortly after we did, and a few others turned up later. Thursday night was a trip into town for those of us around ... several drinks and entertainment provided by Tom and a couple of locals ... 'nuff said!
Friday morning saw me in possession of my handbag again, thanks to the magic of Keith, PWC and my mother-in-law. I had money and my phone ... all was well! Friday afternoon was cool ... it was really nice to relax in the bar and see more familiar faces turning up. And after a delightful evening meal with Brian and Silky, it was time for the Friday night schmoozing to commence! There were quite a few of us by then, and we'd commandeered our usual corner of the lounge bar. New faces and the usual suspects ... it was a great mix of people and lovely catching up with everyone, some of whom I hadn't seen since the previous Con. Ahhh, a great evening ... time flew and before we knew it, the hotel staff had closed the bar for the night. We weren't impressed but Mazrah came to the rescue ... as if by magic, she produced a bottle of red wine ... hurrah! That kept us going a while longer ... I think I finally fell into a coma-like sleep about 2am!
Saturday ... the day ... KeoghCon Two day. Several months of planning and it had finally arrived! To keep myself calm, I spent the morning with a 'real life' friend ... even dragged her to the hotel to prove that I do have a few 'non-Net' friends! By the time she left, and I'd showered and changed, it was 2pm ... time to start! Nervous ... me? I was shaking like a leaf while waiting for things to get underway, I so much wanted things to go well. But once events got started I was a lot calmer. Although I must have blushed as pink as my hair when Brian presented me with a magnificent framed set of Paul Stanczykowski artwork miniatures, one of only six that exist ... WOW!! The only thing more impressive than the artwork was how hard I had to fight to hang onto it ... from 'friends' too, shocking! Anyway, onto the events of the day...
First up was the panel discussion. I had intended to be a panel member, but there appeared to be more members than chairs, so I was happy to sneak around and take photos. The discussion was a huge success, largely due to the efforts of the Chairman of the panel, Deano. He really got the ball rolling, and the discussion was soon underway. It was great to hear everyone pitching in with their views and opinions; it really made for a lively, often quite heated debate. From my point of view, it was interesting to hear so many differing opinions on the Wamphyri ... it gave me a different perspective and gave me a few things to think about; to the extent that even I put my oar in a couple of times. The discussion was much more of a success than I could have imagined, and I'm sure next year's discussion will be even bigger, better and louder! So, many thanks to the whole panel ... Deano, Dark Crystal, Tops, Lady Rissa and Nick Austin (editor extraordinaire), as well as to everyone who contributed (which was pretty much everyone)!
Next was the Mobius presentation. Because they're a busy bunch, we hadn't heard much from them about the Necroscope game recently, so it was good to get an update on how things were going. Unfortunately we couldn't see the Playstation demo that Ian (Mobius' Art Director) had hoped to show us, due to an agreement that had recently been signed, but we still got to see a video trailer, as well as Ian giving us an in-depth look into some the mechanics of the animation in the game. Seeing Ian running across the room doing a Michael Owen impression was something else! Good work guys, and can't wait to see the finished product in a year or so.
After that we had a bit of an unexpected interruption ... everyone had left the room in order for the raffle prizes to be set up on the table, when sirens started to blare! At first I thought it was some elaborate scheme by a team of Con members intent on 'securing' a few of the raffle prizes, but no, it was just the fire alarm! Unfortunately, this meant the whole hotel had to be evacuated, so we had a brief sojourn in the hotel car park, before being able to return to the bar. Silky and I finished laying out the raffle prizes ... luckily I managed to avoid soaking everything with my drool! The generosity of everyone who had donated prizes was overwhelming ... not only Brian and his US publishers, but a couple of Con members had donated stuff too. The tables were groaning under the weight of books by the time we'd finished!
Once the tables were all set up, it was time for the Lighthouse Magazine interview to be recorded. This involved Brian being interviewed by Paul Calvin Wilson, for Lighthouse Magazine, the first edition of which comes out this month, December 2002 (see http:www.lighthousemagazine.co.uk for more information). It was a long interview; interesting, entertaining, and also amusing ... it's always a treat to hear Brian talk about his work, and I for one am looking forward to seeing the special Brian Lumley first edition of this mag.
Then it was time for more talking ... Brian's reading, which for me was one of the high points of the Con. Thanks to everyone in the room for keeping so quiet ... I don't think I've ever been in a room of so many people without hearing mobile phones bleeping! But then again, I think everyone was as transfixed as I was with the reading!
While the food was being laid out, Paul Brown put his Vasagi sculptures up on the table for all to see. I could easily run out of superlatives before I'd finished describing them, so all I'll say is that they are incredible! They were being clustered round and photographed by so many people that you'd think there was a supermodel in a bikini on the table instead of a few sculptures of hideous Wamphyri faces! Pictures of the sculptures can be found along with all the other KeoghCon Two pictures (http://www.brianlumley.com/cons/kc2pics.html), and they're even available to buy now ... hopefully there'll be some left by the time I'm in a position to buy one!
Time for munchies! By this time I think everyone was pretty hungry, so while we were waiting for the raffle to get underway, we all tucked into the buffet, with the sound of the Downliners Sect drifting around the room, the tracks that Brian has voice-overs on.
So ... onto the raffle! Well over a thousand tickets had been sold, which meant Silky's nimble fingers had been very busy tearing and folding tickets for the draw! Once again, the generosity of everyone overwhelmed me ... people who had already won a couple of prizes were either asking for a re-draw, or offering duplicate prizes to others who particularly wanted something. Of course, a few people won more than others ... it seemed like I took a lot of photos of Llamedos, Kieran and Dean Barton (who claimed they weren't all for him!). Still, no-one came away from the raffle with nothing at all, thanks to the 'dump-bin' from Tor (actually a very nice cardboard display unit full of paperbacks!). After the first two Cons, it seems almost impossible that there could be any such goodies lying around for KeoghCon Three, but judging from Brian's post on the Message Board on the subject, the raffle will be just as good if not better next year!
So, after comparing goodies, we cleared out of the convention room and headed downstairs for the bar, as per usual! Silky had charmed the hotel staff into keeping the bar open as long as there were people wanting drinks, which was well into the small hours. I myself flaked out in my room around midnight after watching motor-racing on TV, but have heard varying stories about pool playing, Yoda impressions and rude words ... I guess you had to be there! I think party animal of the night award must go to Marissa, who stayed up to play all night, then went straight to the airport to catch her flight for London then onto Boston! What a trooper!
Sunday was certainly a day of recovery! I missed the departure of a lot of people, including our Swedish friends (who had a much nicer return trip thanks to Deano and Mazrah), but then I missed the whole morning ... I can't remember when I last slept for 14 hours solid! The afternoon was another nice, lazy time ... there were still people around from the Con, so there was more talking and drinking, mostly coffee and orange juice though by then! Monday morning saw me awake a lot earlier, in time to check out (with a lot less trouble than Pinhead and Llamedos!) and head back down the motorways to London ... tired but triumphantly clutching all my stuff which I managed to remember!
It really was a weekend to remember, as was KeoghCon One, and a huge thanks to everyone who made it the success it was ... the people who travelled so far to participate, people who donated prizes, people who took part in the panel ... basically everyone! But the biggest thanks to Brian, for being Brian!
So, KeoghCon Three ... Saturday November 29th 2003 ... make it a date in your diary! All the information is on the KeoghCon Three webpage, and there'll be updates on the Message Board too. Plus, if there are any other important details, they'll be emailed out to all previous members. If it's at all physically or financially possible, please come along ... you'll have the time of your life!
Scarily yours,
Goth Girl!
[ December 02, 2002, 09:32 AM: Message edited by: Silky ]