What a fabulous weekend! We got off to slow start on Friday when our first train was late arriving and we didn’t get to our first change until after it was due to leave, but on arrival at Lancaster we found it was 4 minutes late giving us just enough time to run across the bridge to another platform and board the train with seconds to spare. Robbie had run ahead and waved me to where he was as he boarded, but I ran to the nearest door as I didn’t think I’d have enough time to reach him. I made my way to where he was through the crowded train only to find we were at the opposite end to the carriage with our reserved seats!
We tried to make our way through the crowds of young Glaswegian men, many of whom graciously offered us their seats but we said “No it’s ok, thanks, we have some we have reserved and we’re trying to reach them.”
We soon realised it was going to be very difficult to get there at the rate we were going and when the train stopped at Preston we dashed along the platform instead - even that was difficult with such a long train and towing/carrying our luggage! On finally finding our seat to be occupied and Rob suffering with his back and hip, I had to politely ask her to move and we finally settled for the remainder of the journey to Euston.
On arrival at Euston we decided to walk to St Pancras as we didn’t fancy fighting our way through the crowds or negotiating escalators on the underground, even though it was only one stop of a few minutes. Google maps showed the route on foot to take 12 minutes but it seemed a lot longer when loaded up with luggage! We had to stop a few times for Rob to rest his back and hip which were objecting heavily to his continuing punishment! We saw a city gent ahead of us walking purposely and suspected he may me heading to the same station, so ignored the rest of the route and followed him instead - our hunch was right and we arrived at St Pancras International saving our legs, backs, hips etc from the further pain of following the much longer route.
Carl had already advised us that we needed platforms 11-13, so we made our way to the general area in good time for the final train to Stratford International. On arrival there we also knew to look for a small door across a paved area and behind a children’s playground. At last we had arrived at our temporary home for the next two nights, the Premier Inn.
After finding our room, freshening up and a quick change of clothes, we made our way down to the bar - just in time to find David P, who invited us to join a big group about to leave to go for a meal, which we readily accepted! Some very spicy Mexican food at a restaurant in the adjoining Westfield Centre. Little did we know that this would be our last main meal for some time.
We later returned to the hotel for a few drinks in the bar before bed. It had been a long day, so we didn’t stay up too long, but apparently the bar, which had closed at midnight, was re-opened for “another hour” and stayed open until 3 am!
Next morning we went out intending to buy something simple for breakfast, but found Kate outside who said we could walk to the Expo with her. Unfortunately Rob’s back was still playing up and we had to stop several times on the way and got behind. Finally arrived and joined the queue to wait for entry.
The event itself was so busy and a so much time spent meeting old and making new friends that it all became a blur! We eventually homed in on the Hutton Orbital stand where we found Cecil B Trumpington resplendent in his kilt, jacket, wonderful hat and fluorescent green socks!
. Also sitting at the stand was a huge bug with long antennae, who seemed to be answering to the name of Simon or Moof or even “The Tech Monkey”! Brilliant costume and I imagine very warm to wear! Russell was kept very busy making various badges and Peter collaring numerous people to tackle his Mastermind quiz and I believe at some point reading the Galnet News. I did the CG News at a convenient time, introduced by the wonderful Cecil B Trumpington, while Robbie attended some talk he was interested in
Later, I went to find him in the Main Stage room but the talk had finished and the audience dispersing. It was then I noticed David Braben at the front with a few people around and some getting photos with him. The temptation to go over was too great and I made my way across the room. Meanwhile Robbie rang looking me so I told him to come quickly. Seems I’d got the wrong room and he was looking for me at the second stage room. While I was waiting, David was chatting to members of Canonn dressed in their long ‘white coats’. They asked if I could take a photo of them with David and I said yes if I could have one taken with him next.
. David then handed me his phone to take another photo of the group. Robbie then arrived just in time for us to also have our photo taken with David.
Another highlight of the day was when some of us donned special t-shirts with letters on front and back, and lined up beside the window to spell out our famous phrase “#FOR THE MUG” Later during the Big Reveal sessions we managed to all sit together in order and all stood up shouting “For The Mug!” at key points during the chat - especially when the Hutton Truckers were actually mentioned as a prominent player group!
. The letters were arranged so that from the back they read “FOR THE MUG!”
The Reveal session itself had lots of fascinating information on all three games, but especially for Elite Dangerous! So many things to look forward to in the coming year and some news that would make Cmdr Snuffler very happy - one of some new ships coming will be the often requested and long-awaited Krait!
Later was the after party where some music was played by the staff who produce the music for Planet Coaster and after our free drink we had the opportunity to buy more drinks from the bar. However, at £5:30 for a small 285 ml bottle of beer (working out at around £11 a pint, we headed back to the hotel to finish the evening with some relatively cheaper drinks - says something when hotel bar prices are cheaper! LOL. Unfortunately the bar closed shortly after we arrived back and quite a few people who arrived later found they were unable to buy any drinks and moved on to a neighbouring hotel where the bar was still open. After chatting for a while we went up to our room.
On Sunday morning we had arranged to meet some friends who were travelling up from Maidstone to see us and have a meal. Not wanting a huge breakfast due to having lunch with them later, we went out to look for somewhere to buy a sandwich or something. Most places were still closed and we gave up, returning to the hotel to buy breakfast and trying not to eat too much.
Shortly after 10:00 am we checked out and went to meet our friends at the Westfield Centre. One of the first things I noticed was she was carrying a Gorjuss bag! I could not believe it and told her we knew the designer’s husband very well. I know she has a huge selection of bags (as well as shoes, being passionate about both) and it was only chance she decided on that particular one.
Following some shopping - she’s a bit of a shopaholic - and some lunch at a Thai restaurant, we finally accepted a lift to Stratford International station for the first of trains home. This time we decided to use the underground to go back to Euston from St Pancras. It was a bit easier because Robbie had bought a case on wheels he could transfer his huge well-packed haversack into it. I did nearly become a cropper though as the wheels on my case snagged at the bottom of an escalator and I kept trying to step back to free them only to be moved away again. Fortunately some people behind were able to assist and grabbed my case for me and carried it up to the top. I had been so concerned about standing on the right instead of the more comfortable left with my case on the right that I wasn’t concentrating properly.
Once we were at Euston the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful and we arrived home just after 9:00 pm, just in time for Robbie to go with Deryk to their weekly quiz.
I would like to thank everyone who was involved in making this weekend so enjoyable and one I will remember for a long time. I would tag everyone but I would probably miss some names or get some wrong! Looking forward to the next event and hope to see you all again soon! o7. #For the mug!
My photos:
https://helenlister.smugmug.com/Frontier-Expo-2017/
