shewhomust | A very small Con report

A very small report of a very small Con: that title is justified whichever way you unpick its ambiguity. I spent yesterday at the Con organised by Durham University Science Fiction and Fantasy Socirty. I've completely messed up the timing of this evening, so I only have time for the briefest account of it, but that ought to work out just fine, because it really was a very small Con - and that too worked just fine for me.

So. Two speakers: Farah Mendlesohn, who talked about her research, and how research works, and why it doesn't always work as you'd like it to do, and the YA SF she's been reading for a planned paper, and what's wrong with it - a rambling and entertaining tour d'horizon; and Charlie Stross, who outlined some of his books, and why he isn't going to be writing any near-future SF until the near-future (or even the present) settles down a bit, and read a chunk from a recent - or possibly an imminent - book (this is SF, and it isn't always easy to tell). Brutal humour and very funny. The Con was small enough that it was possible to hang out with the guests over lunch, which is always a pleasure, and I enjoyed meeting Charlie, and was sorry to see that he has completely removed himself from LJ. I stayed for the first session of the afternoon, a panel discussion (same speakers) talking about diversity in SF, but wandering on and off topic, talking about books. What could be nicer than listening to people who love books talking about them? (Well, maybe a bookstall...)

I didn't stay for the panel games and the pub quiz, but came home, where eventually Farah joined us, so we had a morning's worth of catch-up, and A. joined us for lunch and that's always good. We made a big effort and cleared the dining table, so that we could lunch there, which is progress towards reinstaing the house, though the excitement was too much for the table, which is having a lie-down and may need some gentle therapy before it's ready to resume its duties. But it was worth it.