Gillian Polack's Blog, page 56
September 10, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-09-10T17:11:00
I'm leaving Turku with great reluctance. I left Zagreb with great reluctance. In fact, I've left most places with great reluctance. What is wonderful about GUFF is that people open their doors to me because of it and we discover that we're friends.
This part of Finland is neither too hot nor too cold at this time of year. I'm wearing my blue jacket for a bit of warmoth, but I'm also wearing sandals. Mind you, the sandals are a stopgap because I really need closed shoes at this point and do not have them because it's so very hard to find shoes that fit me in Australia. My toes aren't cold, but they are a bit obviously visible.
Do you really want to read about my toes? Possibly not.
I'm on the fast train to Tampere. I have four stops and just over an hour and a half until I get there. Tonight I'm meeting Tampere fans and I've been warned that there may be a Viking restaurant. Last night we spent most of the evending hanging out in an old school house that has been turned into a brewery, and drinking their product and chatting. So many fans are historians of various sorts and they're all doing interesting work. One of them took us round the castle at Turku yesterday, and we also visited a fabulous archaeological museum. And markets. Did I tell you about the markets? I have pictures...
The code on my ticket has just been read by a passing conductor. She said Hello, waved her device over my paper (and before that over a series of mobile phones), said Thank you and went. This means I can now deal with Hello and Thank you in Finnish.
And now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to admire the scenery for a bit. This is a very green land and I want to enjoy the last of the morning mist. Autumn has just hit, and it's that beautiful eternal moment I love.
This part of Finland is neither too hot nor too cold at this time of year. I'm wearing my blue jacket for a bit of warmoth, but I'm also wearing sandals. Mind you, the sandals are a stopgap because I really need closed shoes at this point and do not have them because it's so very hard to find shoes that fit me in Australia. My toes aren't cold, but they are a bit obviously visible.
Do you really want to read about my toes? Possibly not.
I'm on the fast train to Tampere. I have four stops and just over an hour and a half until I get there. Tonight I'm meeting Tampere fans and I've been warned that there may be a Viking restaurant. Last night we spent most of the evending hanging out in an old school house that has been turned into a brewery, and drinking their product and chatting. So many fans are historians of various sorts and they're all doing interesting work. One of them took us round the castle at Turku yesterday, and we also visited a fabulous archaeological museum. And markets. Did I tell you about the markets? I have pictures...
The code on my ticket has just been read by a passing conductor. She said Hello, waved her device over my paper (and before that over a series of mobile phones), said Thank you and went. This means I can now deal with Hello and Thank you in Finnish.
And now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to admire the scenery for a bit. This is a very green land and I want to enjoy the last of the morning mist. Autumn has just hit, and it's that beautiful eternal moment I love.
September 7, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-09-08T03:09:00
York is consistently wonderful to me and consistently quite difficult. The quite difficult aspect meant I left FantasyCon somewhat early and am in bed with a chocolate orange. They sell them here for £1. I would have bought a dozen if there was any space in my luggage, which there is not. Three days and my luggage was nearly empty, except for dirty clothes, chocolate and a pillow that's bound for Finland (it has Moomins on the pillowslip, so there is no other possible destination) but FantasyCon intervened. Never visit the freebie tables at Fantasycon (or, in fact, the bookdealers) but, if you must, avoid the company of Edward James and Ian Sales.
In fact, I've done pretty well considering I'm rather down with the Lonconflu. I have had to be in bed at reasonable hours each night, so I've missed the wonderful fun each evening, but I've met some amazing and wonderful people and talked shop and fannishness and books and had a ball. I don't know if the wonderful people I met had quite the same time with me as I had with them, for they didn't know quite how ill I was and my mind led me into some interesting places, but they handled me very kindly and gently and if I went far wrong at all, they never let me know.
The people who rock above all others are
la_marquise_de_
and all who share a household with her and Glenda Larke. I suspect that the last few days would have been rather worse than occasionally troubling without them looking out for me. It was Glenda who found me a taxi a little while ago when I realised that if I didn't do some troubleshooting I would be at a doctor tomorrow instead of on a plane to Finland. Now that I'm lying down, my confused mind is less confused and it is really quite obvious that I possibly should not have emerged from bed at all today. But I did and I entirely enjoyed the session on worldbuilding with Kate Elliott and Tom Pollock (I keep saying that his surname isn't quite perfect, but it's pretty good). I looked for Kate later, for I had some thoughts on the guilt vs shame thing she mentioned, but my life was starting to go awry at that point and she turned invisible.
Much of the morning was spent hanging out in the dealers' room, buying a few books despite myself and discovering that people are so awesome in so many ways. I talked and I listened and I found a small part of myself unwinding and realising that not all of the world is as unsafe as it sometimes appears.
Glenda found me and we went for lunch. We found one of the places I wanted to lunch at this trip (all the other places went the way of all good things because I was husbanding my resources) and Glenda and I enjoyed playing spot-the-beheaded-animal while we ate. We then went to Barley Hall, which was our intent and, partway through that it became obvious my day was not going to be a long one. Let me just say that there was blood involved in interesting amounts. Glenda handled me with calm and cheer and I am all sorted and provided for and, as I keep saying, probably just need bedrest, but I've had more unexpected strange and small crises in York than in any other place I've been, ever. I've also had some of the best experiences, and FantasyCon was definitely up there with the most delightful of them. When British writers get together, they are fun and thoughtful and very, very cool. Also (this mob, anyhow) delightfully unpretentious. There was one person who was pretentious for precisely 45 seconds and I wanted to study them for mutant behaviour. I missed my chance, for they ceased being pretentious before I had enough data.
I doubt I'll be able to report in for a few days, but I'll be back to normal blogging soon enough. For those of you who want to know what happened between the posts, I'm keeping a journal which will be turned into a GUFF report which will be sold for a small fee and that fee will help enable someone else to enjoy an equally astonishing experience.
In fact, I've done pretty well considering I'm rather down with the Lonconflu. I have had to be in bed at reasonable hours each night, so I've missed the wonderful fun each evening, but I've met some amazing and wonderful people and talked shop and fannishness and books and had a ball. I don't know if the wonderful people I met had quite the same time with me as I had with them, for they didn't know quite how ill I was and my mind led me into some interesting places, but they handled me very kindly and gently and if I went far wrong at all, they never let me know.
The people who rock above all others are
la_marquise_de_
and all who share a household with her and Glenda Larke. I suspect that the last few days would have been rather worse than occasionally troubling without them looking out for me. It was Glenda who found me a taxi a little while ago when I realised that if I didn't do some troubleshooting I would be at a doctor tomorrow instead of on a plane to Finland. Now that I'm lying down, my confused mind is less confused and it is really quite obvious that I possibly should not have emerged from bed at all today. But I did and I entirely enjoyed the session on worldbuilding with Kate Elliott and Tom Pollock (I keep saying that his surname isn't quite perfect, but it's pretty good). I looked for Kate later, for I had some thoughts on the guilt vs shame thing she mentioned, but my life was starting to go awry at that point and she turned invisible.Much of the morning was spent hanging out in the dealers' room, buying a few books despite myself and discovering that people are so awesome in so many ways. I talked and I listened and I found a small part of myself unwinding and realising that not all of the world is as unsafe as it sometimes appears.
Glenda found me and we went for lunch. We found one of the places I wanted to lunch at this trip (all the other places went the way of all good things because I was husbanding my resources) and Glenda and I enjoyed playing spot-the-beheaded-animal while we ate. We then went to Barley Hall, which was our intent and, partway through that it became obvious my day was not going to be a long one. Let me just say that there was blood involved in interesting amounts. Glenda handled me with calm and cheer and I am all sorted and provided for and, as I keep saying, probably just need bedrest, but I've had more unexpected strange and small crises in York than in any other place I've been, ever. I've also had some of the best experiences, and FantasyCon was definitely up there with the most delightful of them. When British writers get together, they are fun and thoughtful and very, very cool. Also (this mob, anyhow) delightfully unpretentious. There was one person who was pretentious for precisely 45 seconds and I wanted to study them for mutant behaviour. I missed my chance, for they ceased being pretentious before I had enough data.
I doubt I'll be able to report in for a few days, but I'll be back to normal blogging soon enough. For those of you who want to know what happened between the posts, I'm keeping a journal which will be turned into a GUFF report which will be sold for a small fee and that fee will help enable someone else to enjoy an equally astonishing experience.
August 29, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-08-30T16:56:00
Where did the last few days go? I'm glad you asked. I've been talking to all the most wonderful people and falling in love with Zagreb. Right now, I'm in Opatija and ignoring the beach. It's a very nice beach and it's just a few metres from the SF convention. I'm also ignoring breakfast. This is because I'm in training for tonight, which will be long and late. I'm expected to rest this afternoon, so maybe I can rest on the beach then but I know from history that I'll be better with finishing programming at midnight (and then joining the barcon crowd) if I rest in the morning.
Last night I gave a talk about Australia and its fandom and writers and artists. Several of you-who-read-this-blog have had your pictures on a wall in Opatija. The audience comment was that it was a relaxed talk - this is because the programme shifts here in a way peculiar to the convention and I lost the nervous energy I usually draw on for such things. The audience was lovely, and they dealt with my English and I taught them just a few words of Australian English. A few words, but important ones.
And now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to return to studiously ignoring the beach just for a little. I'll be honest - I can ignore beaches with the best of them, but this part of the world is particularly beautiful and it takes intense determination to stay indoors and do useful things and sleep and otherwise be sensible.
Last night I gave a talk about Australia and its fandom and writers and artists. Several of you-who-read-this-blog have had your pictures on a wall in Opatija. The audience comment was that it was a relaxed talk - this is because the programme shifts here in a way peculiar to the convention and I lost the nervous energy I usually draw on for such things. The audience was lovely, and they dealt with my English and I taught them just a few words of Australian English. A few words, but important ones.
And now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to return to studiously ignoring the beach just for a little. I'll be honest - I can ignore beaches with the best of them, but this part of the world is particularly beautiful and it takes intense determination to stay indoors and do useful things and sleep and otherwise be sensible.
August 25, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-08-26T04:27:00
Vienna perturbs me and it's for none of the usual reasons. Nor is it because the only people who smile at me are trying to sell me a service (and then the young men flirt as well as smile, which amuses me unduly). My feet know this city.
Anyone who has ever been travelling with me knows that my sense of direction is bizarrely absent and that I can't always interpret maps in a way that leads to a planned destination. I did better, in fact, in London when I used seventeenth century maps than when I used modern.
All this afternoon, though, and until I couldn't walk any more at all, I found places that the tourist guides I had forgot to list (but in which I was interested) and I found my way from where I'm staying to where I'm staying in a huge circuit. I looked at it on the map just now, and it looks as if it has been carefully planned, whereas what happened was I was grumpy at the guy on the desk for being less than helpful, so I walked to the waterfront and started taking photos of graffitti. I wasn't sure I wanted Franz Josef Vienna and I certainly wasn't sure I wanted a tour for a vast cost just because the cheap fiacre ride the Pension has on its list of delights turned out to be of the jam on Tuesdays variety. In other words, I had no idea what I was doing.
It was a very good few hours, once I worked out that if I just walked where I felt like I'd find the precise things I would have looked for if I had planned for three hours and that my feet also knew shortcuts that weren't on the map. I also knew exactly the route the taxi driver should have taken and didn't.
Tomorrow morning and early afternoon I am going to museums (for they will be open) and I shall very carefully use a map, for my sense of Vienna scared me today.
Anyone who has ever been travelling with me knows that my sense of direction is bizarrely absent and that I can't always interpret maps in a way that leads to a planned destination. I did better, in fact, in London when I used seventeenth century maps than when I used modern.
All this afternoon, though, and until I couldn't walk any more at all, I found places that the tourist guides I had forgot to list (but in which I was interested) and I found my way from where I'm staying to where I'm staying in a huge circuit. I looked at it on the map just now, and it looks as if it has been carefully planned, whereas what happened was I was grumpy at the guy on the desk for being less than helpful, so I walked to the waterfront and started taking photos of graffitti. I wasn't sure I wanted Franz Josef Vienna and I certainly wasn't sure I wanted a tour for a vast cost just because the cheap fiacre ride the Pension has on its list of delights turned out to be of the jam on Tuesdays variety. In other words, I had no idea what I was doing.
It was a very good few hours, once I worked out that if I just walked where I felt like I'd find the precise things I would have looked for if I had planned for three hours and that my feet also knew shortcuts that weren't on the map. I also knew exactly the route the taxi driver should have taken and didn't.
Tomorrow morning and early afternoon I am going to museums (for they will be open) and I shall very carefully use a map, for my sense of Vienna scared me today.
gillpolack @ 2014-08-25T21:42:00
Never fear, I am here! Only here is Vienna. I left Dublin at such an unholy hour that even the hotel staff tried to get me to dirnk coffee before going to the airport. I needed all the time I could get at the airport, though, for security was extra-specially exciting and extra-specially slow. I should have stayed in Ireland one more day and rested, for I am beyond tired. I have 2/3 of tomorrow in Vienna though, and the small Pension I'm staying at does tours if there are enough people, so I'm going to ask about that and do as little walking as I can (except tonight to get dinner). It's a little pension with a little lift and some very hardworking staff. I looked at them and started thinking of stories. I also started thinking that a pension is not something I ever plan to run.
The flight from Dublin was good, but very, very long. This time I remembered my medication, which means I'll be a bit fragile today (I am a bit fragile - I cause amusement to ripple around me from my curious actions, like not being able to find a lift I had used just fifteen minutes before) and will be just fine tomorrow, which was the plan. This afternoon I had plans, but I was also ready to jettison them if I had to. I shall rest for an hour and talk to the desk people here and find out about tours that require no walking and not much effort (and they run very cheap ones - their other guests currently are Eastern European, which might explain that, and my new word for ahirdryer is 'fan', which I think is highly appropriate).
I have heaps of things I ought to tell you, but I wish to test the texture of Viennese pillows so I invite you to imagine them.
Today, Vienna; tomorrow Zagreb! This is Gillian in the closest to world-conquering mode she has ever been.
PS My pension has some truly interesting uses of the apostrophe. I have markers in my handbag. It's such a shame I was brought up not to use them on other people's signs.
PPS I have used German! I have said 'Danke' numerous times and explained that I only speak a little German but that I speak English and French. very useful German I have, tbough not nearly enough. People here are very good at faking whene they don't understand and one says something they don't need to know and even better and asking for a repeat when it's something important. When I caught the taxi driver out on this he apolosied for his lack of English and I said he had 'genug' and honour was satisfied. 'Genug' alas, does not describe my German at all, but at least I have enough to be polite about my lack. And no-one wants to speak French AT ALL so far. If I hadn't had such a fine time with very polite French fans and editors and critics (2 of the first and one each of the others) I would have thought this was deplorable - as it is, I'm very glad that the Viennese can deal with me, in whatever langauge.
PPPS No more postscripts because I need to rest except, Chaz, you need to know that Ramsay Campbell will be at FantasyCon and so will I and if you want to put our theory of the huggability of horror writers to the test, you might want to explain it to him.
The flight from Dublin was good, but very, very long. This time I remembered my medication, which means I'll be a bit fragile today (I am a bit fragile - I cause amusement to ripple around me from my curious actions, like not being able to find a lift I had used just fifteen minutes before) and will be just fine tomorrow, which was the plan. This afternoon I had plans, but I was also ready to jettison them if I had to. I shall rest for an hour and talk to the desk people here and find out about tours that require no walking and not much effort (and they run very cheap ones - their other guests currently are Eastern European, which might explain that, and my new word for ahirdryer is 'fan', which I think is highly appropriate).
I have heaps of things I ought to tell you, but I wish to test the texture of Viennese pillows so I invite you to imagine them.
Today, Vienna; tomorrow Zagreb! This is Gillian in the closest to world-conquering mode she has ever been.
PS My pension has some truly interesting uses of the apostrophe. I have markers in my handbag. It's such a shame I was brought up not to use them on other people's signs.
PPS I have used German! I have said 'Danke' numerous times and explained that I only speak a little German but that I speak English and French. very useful German I have, tbough not nearly enough. People here are very good at faking whene they don't understand and one says something they don't need to know and even better and asking for a repeat when it's something important. When I caught the taxi driver out on this he apolosied for his lack of English and I said he had 'genug' and honour was satisfied. 'Genug' alas, does not describe my German at all, but at least I have enough to be polite about my lack. And no-one wants to speak French AT ALL so far. If I hadn't had such a fine time with very polite French fans and editors and critics (2 of the first and one each of the others) I would have thought this was deplorable - as it is, I'm very glad that the Viennese can deal with me, in whatever langauge.
PPPS No more postscripts because I need to rest except, Chaz, you need to know that Ramsay Campbell will be at FantasyCon and so will I and if you want to put our theory of the huggability of horror writers to the test, you might want to explain it to him.
August 22, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-08-22T18:53:00
I'm removed to Dublin and concerned about luggage. Otherwise, life is lovely. Even my feet are lovely (and finally behaving like feet).
Last night I met a dancer who knows the Gardens and we waxed lyrical about the Library of Congress and its online materials. I sat in the foyer of the hotel for hours and talked to people about things. Some of it was fandom, but for ages Robin Johnson and a fan whose name I forget (there is a lot of this going round, especially as we weren't tagged last night for the most part) talked about planes and then wars and related subjects.
Today the con begins and I doubt you'll see me (this is my quiet time before breakfast). Tomorrow is Dr Who. I'm going to see Capaldi on a big screen in a room filled with fans, and in the same week as I scored hugs from Tennant and Davidson. I scorn your reality and replace it with fandom. I was restrained with Tennant and asked about Broadchurch rather than delivering my "I am a time lord" line. The two Doctors were very nice and kind and didn't need to be faces with either my puns not my doctorates.
Last night I met a dancer who knows the Gardens and we waxed lyrical about the Library of Congress and its online materials. I sat in the foyer of the hotel for hours and talked to people about things. Some of it was fandom, but for ages Robin Johnson and a fan whose name I forget (there is a lot of this going round, especially as we weren't tagged last night for the most part) talked about planes and then wars and related subjects.
Today the con begins and I doubt you'll see me (this is my quiet time before breakfast). Tomorrow is Dr Who. I'm going to see Capaldi on a big screen in a room filled with fans, and in the same week as I scored hugs from Tennant and Davidson. I scorn your reality and replace it with fandom. I was restrained with Tennant and asked about Broadchurch rather than delivering my "I am a time lord" line. The two Doctors were very nice and kind and didn't need to be faces with either my puns not my doctorates.
August 19, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-08-20T08:22:00
I'm reorting in to apologise for my typing in the last post, Abjectly apologising. Despite the apology, I'm not going to fix it because i laughed rather hard at some of those typos and laughter is to be treasured. Expect more tyops, for it will be a month before I am less tired. Maybe two months.
I need to do a guide to avoiding me at Shamrokon, but I'm typing this while sitting on the Chair of Shamrokon's very comfortable couch (chairs have couches, please note) and it would be churlish to tell you to avoid it. Also, for anyone who has a liking for Croatian seaside resorts, try visiting Opatija for Liburnicon. I may or may not be unavoidable (being a GoH) but seaside resort! fandom!
And I must go, for washing beckons.
I need to do a guide to avoiding me at Shamrokon, but I'm typing this while sitting on the Chair of Shamrokon's very comfortable couch (chairs have couches, please note) and it would be churlish to tell you to avoid it. Also, for anyone who has a liking for Croatian seaside resorts, try visiting Opatija for Liburnicon. I may or may not be unavoidable (being a GoH) but seaside resort! fandom!
And I must go, for washing beckons.
August 18, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-08-19T14:26:00
I'm watching dawn rise over London. I'm a;so in bed. I need to be asleep, but I'm leaving for Dublin in 2 hours and Loncon was just so amazing that my body is refusing to listen to commonsense. The best I can do is lie in bed and dream of sleep. It's a poor best, I know, but London has a slow dawn and I have seen many friends, made many more and entirely startled both by walking on stage to present a Hugo. The world startled me when I found out out that the whole ceremony was online: I'm rather relieved I didn't know this in advance.
I keep wamting to wave a wand and say Guffus Fandundus and get some sleep, but the phrase din't work in the opening ceremoney and it won't work now.
Anhow, my millisecond of almost-fame is over and I can look round and see what remains. Qha remains are friends and a deep inner joy. Also the fulfilment of some very deep drams. I've finally been the historigrapher on a time travel panel with Geiffrey Landis, Ian Watson and Joe Hldeman, for instance, and hung out with oh-so-many people who get my sense of humour. I'll put more in the trip report, but you need to know that I'm alive and that fandom is determined to get me drunk on a regular basis and that not even that or a sudden onset of happiness could get me enough sleep tonight. So I'm watching London's nightlights wink out and thinking how enitrely much I owe to just a couple of FB friends (Ross!) who somehow persuaded me to go entirely against Gillian-tradition and stand for a fan fund.
I keep wamting to wave a wand and say Guffus Fandundus and get some sleep, but the phrase din't work in the opening ceremoney and it won't work now.
Anhow, my millisecond of almost-fame is over and I can look round and see what remains. Qha remains are friends and a deep inner joy. Also the fulfilment of some very deep drams. I've finally been the historigrapher on a time travel panel with Geiffrey Landis, Ian Watson and Joe Hldeman, for instance, and hung out with oh-so-many people who get my sense of humour. I'll put more in the trip report, but you need to know that I'm alive and that fandom is determined to get me drunk on a regular basis and that not even that or a sudden onset of happiness could get me enough sleep tonight. So I'm watching London's nightlights wink out and thinking how enitrely much I owe to just a couple of FB friends (Ross!) who somehow persuaded me to go entirely against Gillian-tradition and stand for a fan fund.
August 12, 2014
gillpolack @ 2014-08-12T18:22:00
This is what I look like when I do laundry in London. The laundry room is in the absement of Connaught Hall (£2 for a small load, then some more for the dryer) and so is the best wi-fi signal, so I'm sitting on a very comfortable couch in the nearest common room to the laundry and I'm doing various bits and pieces while waiting. I should have put my laundry off for one more day, but I have more time this morning in any case. What I want is to be out and about and doing things, but this trip is all about fandom and this week has to be gentle so that, in two days time, I can push myself as far as I need to push.
I had a lovely afternoon and evening yesterday with the always-wonderful Elizabeth Chadwick. We explored the V&S together and ran out of time. My phone ran out of battery near the end (odd, that it did, but all mmy electronics are being moody from time to time - the computer I'm working on now, for instance, refuses to charge using the special adaptor that works for the phone and the camera, so I bought it its very own charger on Charing Cross Road and now it feels loved and powers up very nicely) and I am at the stage where I actually have a lot of the visual support I need for my next novel. Not even close to as much as I want (and I would get that if I visited the Tate Britain, but time is not going to permit that visit) but enough to advance my theories of how writers can work with research and certainly enough for telling detail in a novel. It's odd, though, that Ithat I prefer to write immersively. I want the environment to be complete and I want all my five senses engaged. I don't need it, though. That's my lesson of the week: I have another indicative point that writers can use to say 'Time to stop research here.' One can always research more. The question is whether one should, and right now I'm sorting factors that come into play and stages that can be measured (subjectively) by the writer. Quite a few outstanding writers I know are very instinctive in this, and what I'm really doing is breaking down what they do into steps that less instinctive writers can follow.
In other news, London is warm. Not hot. Spring weather, but with an occasional glipse of real summer. And I met Italian and French students at breakfast. Staying in uni halls is very cool (despite the shared and basic bathroom). I get my quiet time, but I also get interesting conversations.
Last night's reading included a whole book of bad political satire about the Rump (17th century Englih politics), some Robin Hood ballads (including one where Robin got annoyed and committed mass murder) and... I forget the rest. I'm halfway through the books I need to have read by Loncon. The pressure is now on for these books because the Aurealis books have begun to arrive. The Aurealis books are so far all in platforms that my eyes dislike, so I'm saving them til my return. It was much easier on the vision in the old days, when I got pdfs for the electronic and hard copy for the most part. Also, epub is a bit of a nuisance for a very fast reader. My clever crystal ball says that there wil be much reading in my future, but not quite yet. This means my book for the evening is a study on the current state of London (not a new study!) and maybe another boook or two. The more I read tonight the easier things will be when the Aurealis and I commune closely.
Last night's dinner, for those who want to know, was duck with sour cherry sauce and vegies and yes, I had chocolate cake and a big Greek coffee. Yesterday was more than somewhat foodie all round and this morning I made amends by breakfasting on yoghourt and fruit.
And now I must check my washing!
I had a lovely afternoon and evening yesterday with the always-wonderful Elizabeth Chadwick. We explored the V&S together and ran out of time. My phone ran out of battery near the end (odd, that it did, but all mmy electronics are being moody from time to time - the computer I'm working on now, for instance, refuses to charge using the special adaptor that works for the phone and the camera, so I bought it its very own charger on Charing Cross Road and now it feels loved and powers up very nicely) and I am at the stage where I actually have a lot of the visual support I need for my next novel. Not even close to as much as I want (and I would get that if I visited the Tate Britain, but time is not going to permit that visit) but enough to advance my theories of how writers can work with research and certainly enough for telling detail in a novel. It's odd, though, that Ithat I prefer to write immersively. I want the environment to be complete and I want all my five senses engaged. I don't need it, though. That's my lesson of the week: I have another indicative point that writers can use to say 'Time to stop research here.' One can always research more. The question is whether one should, and right now I'm sorting factors that come into play and stages that can be measured (subjectively) by the writer. Quite a few outstanding writers I know are very instinctive in this, and what I'm really doing is breaking down what they do into steps that less instinctive writers can follow.
In other news, London is warm. Not hot. Spring weather, but with an occasional glipse of real summer. And I met Italian and French students at breakfast. Staying in uni halls is very cool (despite the shared and basic bathroom). I get my quiet time, but I also get interesting conversations.
Last night's reading included a whole book of bad political satire about the Rump (17th century Englih politics), some Robin Hood ballads (including one where Robin got annoyed and committed mass murder) and... I forget the rest. I'm halfway through the books I need to have read by Loncon. The pressure is now on for these books because the Aurealis books have begun to arrive. The Aurealis books are so far all in platforms that my eyes dislike, so I'm saving them til my return. It was much easier on the vision in the old days, when I got pdfs for the electronic and hard copy for the most part. Also, epub is a bit of a nuisance for a very fast reader. My clever crystal ball says that there wil be much reading in my future, but not quite yet. This means my book for the evening is a study on the current state of London (not a new study!) and maybe another boook or two. The more I read tonight the easier things will be when the Aurealis and I commune closely.
Last night's dinner, for those who want to know, was duck with sour cherry sauce and vegies and yes, I had chocolate cake and a big Greek coffee. Yesterday was more than somewhat foodie all round and this morning I made amends by breakfasting on yoghourt and fruit.
And now I must check my washing!
August 11, 2014
PS How to avoid me at Shamrokon
Avoiding me at Shamrokon is a breeze. All you have to do is eschew fan funds events (no auction! even though there are the coolest things being auctioned and you will weep bitter tears for missing them!!) and you will have to mss two panels. Just two. A doddle.
The two panels re (and yes, I'm still getting the best panels - yay for awesome programming!):
Friday, August 22 3pm
European Focus: Missing Medieval Women
B. Lansdowne, 3pm - 4pm
K. A. Laity, Susan Bartholomew, Gillian Polack
Sunday, August 24 10am
Who Owns A Myth?
D. Ulster, 10am - 11am
Tasha Cady, Catherine Sharp, Gunnar Roxen, Gillian Polack
The two panels re (and yes, I'm still getting the best panels - yay for awesome programming!):
Friday, August 22 3pm
European Focus: Missing Medieval Women
B. Lansdowne, 3pm - 4pm
K. A. Laity, Susan Bartholomew, Gillian Polack
Sunday, August 24 10am
Who Owns A Myth?
D. Ulster, 10am - 11am
Tasha Cady, Catherine Sharp, Gunnar Roxen, Gillian Polack
