Not the Worldcon post

Well, I'm back from Melbourne and more or less intact. Even when the travel arrangements work pretty much as they should, it is still so tiring. Anyway, as is my style (hah) here are a few notes about the trip not directly related to Aussiecon 4.

Christchurch and the earthquake. How weird to be in Aussie and have New Zealand items lead the news. The earthquake was number 1 and the crash at Fox was number 2. It was the number one topic of conversation for a bit. I have family in Christchurch - they are all OK which is the main thing, but all have damage to their houses and have had to spend time without power, sewage facilities or even drinking water.

There were floods in Victoria. You wouldn't have noticed it in Melbourne though. Nobody wants to complain about the rain there. They have been in drought for the last 5 years. Complaining about bad weather seems like bad form.

Feet. You don't really think about them that much until they go wrong. Mine went wrong and I was in quite a bit of pain if I stood around too much. I wasn't the only one so afflicted. Too much standing around talking on day one means a lot of people sitting putting their feet up in following days. It means no exploring into central Melbourne. Partly because of the foot pain involved and partly because there was so much to do. Instead of expeditions to restaurants there was the quick hobble to the Crown casino complex for a quick meal and back to the convention centre.

As mentioned in the previous post, I got a room upgrade at the hotel. The room was the same, but the view was much better - one might even say spectacular. On the subject of the room, it was very luxurious. The bathroom area alone was almost as big as some whole rooms I have stayed in elsewhere. Then there was the bed - incredibly comfortable. Yet the layout of the room was quite odd. For a big room by hotel standards it was a poor use of space and some of the ergonomic things were just plain strange. It seemed like a place planned by interior decorator stylists rather than people with practical experience. Did I mention that the bed was comfortable. Good. In the end, that was the thing that mattered. When you aren't getting much sleep, it is important that you get the most out of it.

More to come...

This is a Worldcon post - the 2020 one

Don't know about the 2020 bid yet? - have a look at this.

As usual, just throwing thoughts against the wall and seeing what sticks...

From zero to bid in about 4 hours at Au Contraire. Well not quite zero and not quite bid. But over the next couple of days, a great deal had happened. When I arrived at A4, so much was in place: pre-supporting membership forms, a database, signs, flags, buttons, sample t-shirts, book marks etc.

Interesting hearing the comments passed. The huge majority were very supportive - people wanting to go to a Worldcon in New Zealand. How many of those were from people who like the idea of a holiday in New Zealand is another matter. Of course there were also plenty of "you're crazy" and "its a lot of work" were also well in evidence.

A bid table is a great way to meet people and a lot of fun. I spent a fair chunk of time on it on Friday and had all sorts of interesting conversations. I even got to have a good chat with Bob Silverberg who decided to pay us a call.

The other bid teams were very friendly and supportive. The Texans shared their party space on Friday night which was superbly generous of them.

10 years is a ridiculously long lead time. In many ways, at this stage, it is just a joke bid with serious pretensions. A lot can happen in that time, including of course other bidders for that year. All the advice received says that not much should happen in the next few years. Even if momentum is building now, only a token presence is necessary for a while just to keep things live. Possibly London in 2014 (assuming they get the nod) may be a good time to show proper serious intent.

Fans really do put their money where their mouth is. So many people stumped up cash for a pre-supporting membership. It could have been as high as 1 in 6 or 7 of the attending members of A4 signed up.

Interesting the reaction of most Aussies I talked to. They like the idea of a con over the Tasman - it means they don't have to organise it. Except for some of the Perth fans that is. Keep an eye on what happens there. This bid got things rumbling amongst the fans from the world's most isolated major city.

Before you tell me that I'm crazy, I should point out that, as yet, I have agreed to nothing at all with this bid (apart from a fanzine article I promised to write). I was just helping out and having a bit of fun along the way at Aussiecon. Right now my fannish aspirations lie elsewhere.

More to come...