Diary 23rd And 24th September 2017

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Diary Saturday 23rd September 2017 A day I have looked forward to for months and it surpassed expectations. My visit to Preston Comic Con Quite enjoyed this yesterday. Though there was a bar here (but not very good beer choices). It also lacked air conditioning, which made my latex Cthulhu suit uncomfortable – God knows how Squirrel Girl coped. Some sort of cloak room provision would have been good too. Many great costumes were marred by the wearers having to carry bags and coats too. The dealers area was huge, spread over two floors, though I didn’t see any of the traders I’ve seen at Eastercons. Nor did I actually buy anything. Autographs and photos with the guests were highly over-priced (£15-£20 a time). A lot of people took pictures of and with me in costume but I was free. Panels were fun to attend as in being family friendly, many kids had no idea who the guests were, and asked questions about favourite colour and favourite Pokemon characters. A guy who used to be a Power Ranger seemed to think he was in Citizen Kane, talking of how some of his own scenes were just short of brilliance and how he wished he could get one more take to make them better. The main star was Nicholas Brendon (Xander from Buffy) who looked off his face and swore a lot even with kids watching but he was very funny. The costume contest was like a rapid-fire version of an Eastercon Masquerade, with prizes for best female, male, junior and overall costumes. I didn’t even get picked for the final four male costumes but the quality was very high. A lady I thought should have won it didn’t even enter – she was dressed as David Bowie’s Labyrinth Goblin King. Post-con, in the evening I returned to Preston for its annual free Brief Encounters light and sound show that included parades, live music, strange instruments set up in art installations round the town centre, an amazing short movie projected on the Town Hall wall, and a giant bearing his castle on his shoulder. I’ve enclosed a photo of him here. Diary Sunday 24th September 2017 Today saw more live music, and lots of great food stalls round the town centre. I also got to cash in my apologetic food voucher from a local supermarket after the needles abusive behaviour I got from some of their staff last week. Arthur Chappell