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UnCon 2010: The Aftermath

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Bibliomancer
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Just thought we should have a thread to discuss thoughts about the weekend.

My main concern was that I didn't get enough time to spend in the vendor hall, or get a chance to go into the Paranormal Olympics, because I was in talks all day, and spent the lunch breaks trying to find lunch.

Otherwise, I thought it was a good weekend.
 
Firstly i`d like to thank all involved, it takes alot of effort to put on a whole weekend like that, and it all ran very smoothly, and the guys at the reception desk were always friendly and smiling!
I was slightly disappointed at first by the less than grand building and the small trade area/lack of traders, but soon got over that. The lecture areas were good, always able to get a seat and see what was going on, no issues there. And the location of the venue was very central and easy to get to.
I met some really nice people, some of the talks were great, some not so, but that`s always going to be the case. If the cover of the programme had been used as the T- shirt artwork, then that would have been the icing on the cake! That artwork was great, and could have made brilliant posters/t-shirts/stickers etc. But i guess would make expensive printing.
Overall i had a great weekend, absolutely love the Fortean Times, and look forward to the next one! Thanks again to all involved, all your hard work is greatly appreciated.
 
Good weekend with an excellent variety of presentations. Congratulations to the team of Fort for organizing it.

(Catering was a bit naff, but that's not their fault)

Jan Bondeson's presentation on weirder aspects of medical beliefs (The Bosom Serpent) and and on the first celebrity stalker, were as always with his presentaions fascinating.
 
Great wekend, big thaks to Dave and everyone involved. I really loved Alan Murdie's talk and Paul Cornell did a cracking presentation as well.
 
I agree with Timble that the catering was a bit naff. Well, very naff actually. Though it wasn't a huge issue as there were plenty of pubs and cafes just outside to pop round to during the lunch hour.

Highlights for me were:

Helen Keen's comedic history of the space programme

Singing along to a 17th century ballad about dildos with Lucie Skeaping.

Gordon Rutter being characteristically witty and entertaining.

The CFZ being uncharacteristically successful, with Jon Downes having found his blue dogs and Richard Freeman finding the orang-pendek.

Oh, and FT, did you really just invite Nick Pope along purely so Peter Brookesmith, Ian Ridpath et al could spend an hour giving him a thorough intellectual kicking? You are evil, evil souls (hur hur hur...)
 
jan bondeson, patrick moore, triple manhole covers, magical mindscapes, steak, hand of glory, mary epworth, jan bondeson, beer, friends, fun!
 
oh yes, nearly forgot. i saw someone taking notes in green ink. i wonder how many letters he has sent ft? :lol:
 
Pope got dubbed "the British Fox Mulder", which is a bit like saying a bloke with a firework is "the British Neil Armstrong".

Classic.

Speaking of which, while I was walking through the merchandise stalls, a guy giving psychic readings looked at me and said, "How are you?"

Shouldn't he know?

Double classic.
 
I had a great UnCon.

I went to see both of Jan Bonderson's lectures. He always gives good value, though I prefer his talks on medical curiosities. He's really in his field there. Then it's actually really educational.

I found Paul Devereaux's talk quite inspiring, having done a bit of digging in my youth. It might have have been a bit of an over view on the topic of ancient humanity's need to spiritualize the landscape, to imbue it with significance and what traces they may have left behind, but it's a big topic and a fascinating one.

Paul Cornell was very good on Fortean themes in Doctor Who and, as a Doctor Who writer, was good enough to impart to us, the secret of series continuity.

Helen Keen's stand up on the history of rocketry was very witty and charmingly geeky. She'll go far.

Charles Foster amassed an interesting body of evidence on the subject of whether our minds are 'Wired for God'. I may have missed the bit where he actually matched it up to his conclusions. Some of the evidence he presented actually seemed to provide more support Paul Devereaux's position.

Gordon Rutter's talk on spiritualism was fun and worth getting in early for.

Lucie Skeaping and Robin Jeffrey were wonderful, playing and singing those bawdy ballads. Their wares and trifles were all quickly snapped up, after.

I enjoyed the panel discussion on fiction and Forteana much more than I thought I would.

A special big thank you to Jen, Dr David and the Fortean Times team! :)

A big thank you to mollymauk, her friends and fellow artistes, for putting on such a fun musical soiree, on Saturday night. Also thanks to the staff at the St Aloysius Social Club, too.

I met up with several board members, for to socialize, drink beer and carouse, every evening. This was v.sociable and most fun. A big thanks to you all! Great stuff. I'm still recovering.

And, Fleeble owes me a pint. :D
 
Would have loved to see Pope getting a trouncing. Hes so self important. ESpecially comparing his civil service rank to the equivalent military rank and claiming that hes a de facto captain. The only equivalence is that he gets to dine in the officers mess if he visits a military base.
 
lordmongrove said:
Speaking of which, while I was walking through the merchandise stalls, a guy giving psychic readings looked at me and said, "How are you?"

Shouldn't he know?

Double classic.
That guy was well creepy. He was keen for me to take a flyer when I just happened to look at his stand while picking up my t-shirt.
 
ramonmercado said:
Would have loved to see Pope getting a trouncing. Hes so self important. ESpecially comparing his civil service rank to the equivalent military rank and claiming that hes a de facto captain. The only equivalence is that he gets to dine in the officers mess if he visits a military base.


It's worse than that. Last time I looked he had promoted himself to
lieutenant colonel. I wonder what a battalion commander with the dust
of Afghanistan still on his boots would think of that.

Nonetheless, I thought that (a) the rest of the panel treated Nick in a most
mannerly fashion, which made their comments all the more forceful, and
(b) he took the wisecracks from the chair and the drubbing from the others
in very good part.

Good range of questions from the audience, too. Shame there wasn't time
for more.
 
Marrowpod said:
ramonmercado said:
Would have loved to see Pope getting a trouncing. Hes so self important. ESpecially comparing his civil service rank to the equivalent military rank and claiming that hes a de facto captain. The only equivalence is that he gets to dine in the officers mess if he visits a military base.


It's worse than that. Last time I looked he had promoted himself to
lieutenant colonel. I wonder what a battalion commander with the dust
of Afghanistan still on his boots would think of that.

Nonetheless, I thought that (a) the rest of the panel treated Nick in a most
mannerly fashion, which made their comments all the more forceful, and
(b) he took the wisecracks from the chair and the drubbing from the others
in very good part.

Good range of questions from the audience, too. Shame there wasn't time
for more.

Ok then, I also held/hold (a long story) the same civil service rank as Pope. Due to my Archives work I visited the Irish Military Archives, had lunch in the officers mess along with the rest of the National Archives Advisory Council. Also there was the Irish Director of Military Intelligence (the MA are part of his Command).

I can now reveal the the DMI secretly briefed me on EU Military collaboration with Aliens and secretly promoted me to the rank of Lt Colonel.

I too can fantasise! (The part about lunching with the DMI is true.)
 
Nick Pope aside, although I loved Helen Keen's comedy routine, I did also think when she referred to Jack Parsons as a satanist, "At any other venue you'd get away with that, but here there'll be someone who'll correct you."

And sure enough, somebody indignantly piped up, "He wasn't a satanist. He was a Thelemite who followed the ideas of Aleister Crowley."

Though in all fairness, from her response it sounds like she already knew that, but had used a bit of artistic licence because...well, because I doubt Thelemite jokes will have much mileage among her forthcoming Radio 4 listeners.
 
For those benighted provincials who were unable to make the beano, will we be able to see it on youtube?
 
How about a midlands based Uncon next time? The venue will be cheaper and its central for the whole country.
 
As I was unable to attend this year (wretched finnances, keeping me in a state of Puaperhood!), I shall look forward to the next issue (December, or even January 2011) to read all about!
 
It was a bit out my price range, too, but I'm enjoying hearing about it

if a tiny bit jealous
 
I got my copy of 'Spirit Roads', by Paul Devereux, in the post, today. A jolly good read it is, too.
 
i can make out myself and a moderator in this pic, luckily you will not be able to tell who i am as i could only see myself after working out where i was sitting. :p
fortean_times_8941_5.jpg
 
I don't think I'm in that one, and I can't find Feeble or the Mod either....
 
What I want to know is if
Gordon’s talk was the perfect mind-laxative to prepare us for the rest of the day.
is a good thing or not?

Gordon
 
ramonmercado said:
EEEK! Its like something from a Far Side cartoon.
That's not nice. Fleeble can't help looking like that.
 
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