London Vacation/Convention Report
Nov. 3rd, 2004 05:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_haloI don't know what to say about the election. Bigotry and intolerance and hate and ignorance won. I love New York City, but I'm terrified of America right now.
I met up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
saussy for coffee this morning and we hugged and commiserated. She's such a darling person. I'm glad that I'm here in this city, surrounded mainly by people who believe in freedom and choice and equality. Even if our country is ruled by people who don't want us to exist.
So anyway, I got back from London late last night. (I voted absentee, of course.) I had a wonderful time, so I'm going to try to write up a con report now. I loved the city, saw a ton of awesome sights including Stonehenge, Bath, Salisbury, the Tower of London, Highgate Cemetery, Hampton Court, etc. I also spent time at both conventions, saw an awesome concert by Christian Kane and band (attended by apparently half the cast of Angel), got up onstage for an hour in front of 800 people with a panel that included Jane Espenson, saw Marsters and Boreanaz together, did my first shot ever (of Jagermeister, oh my god) and actually sort of danced.... well, it was neat.
[listening to Kerry's concession speech and I feel like I'm going to vomit.... okay, focus, London....]
I flew in Wednesday night after work with Ingrid (thefangirl) and Marlaine (soulmate815). We got some sleep on the plane and arrived about 9:30am Thursday morning. By the time we got through customs, got our luggage, and met up with Tammy (10zlaine), it was after 11am.
Marlaine took a bus to her friend's place, where she was staying, while Tammy, Ingrid, and I took the Heathrow Express, then transferred to the tube, to our flat (which we rented for the five nights we were there). It was on the south side of the Thames, between the Waterloo and Lambeth North tube stops. The area is very nice--lots of little shops and restaurants, a street market, easy public transportation, within walking distance of many attractions, etc. Great location and we got an excellent price, all things considered.
There we met up with Ginger (vampgaia) who was already in London and is staying much longer than we were. The flat was pretty cool--nice living room, we each had our own bed, great location. Unfortunately the water pressure SUCKED (taking a shower was nearly impossible--we didn't so much have a shower as a barely-dripping faucet) and the laundry machines were a joke (it would take at least a day to do one load of laundry). Plus, I could feel every spring in the mattress I slept on; not exactly comfortable. But it was livable.
So then Tammy, Ginger, and I rushed to Highgate Cemetery, where we were supposed to meet at 2pm with Sharon (rockgoddes), Leslie (psubrat), and Sigrid (eurydice72). Turns out to get there you had to take the tube, then literally run up a steep hill for 15 minutes, then run through a hilly park for five minutes. We were exhausted when we got there, but luckily we made it just in the nick of time. (We got there around 1:55; they literally were just about to start without us--the woman working there snapped at us and was incredibly rude.)
Anyway, so we met up with our friends and toured the cemetery. It was really cool--apparently this is the cemetery that Bram Stoker had in mind when he wrote parts of Dracula. The place was just amazing--the cemetery is sort of falling apart, so the wilderness is growing up and eveloping these gorgeous crumbling old Victorian graves. It was like something from a movie, only real. It took about an hour as we were led through the cemetery by a tour guide who told us lots of interesting stories about the graves, the symbolism, the decoration, the people buried, etc. It was a great way to start the visit to London.
After that, we didn't really have time to hang out, so the group split up and Tammy, Ginger, and I went to eat. We headed to the Covent Garden area, which has lots of neat little stores and where my research had shown lots of vegetarian restaurants. We ended up World Food Cafe in Neal's Yard. The service sucked and the food was pretty bland--veggie food over there really seemed lame. Not many vegan options, and they don't so much seem to believe in spices or flavors. Plus the seating is weird--you order your food at the counter, get it yourself, and then you have to sit at big tables with random people. Ick.
After eating, we headed over to meet up with Ingrid for the Original Bus tour. We ended up getting the last bus of the night and riding the whole bus loop one time. I guess this was good, as it was raining and there wasn't much else we could do without getting soaked. But I really hate busses--I get very nauseated--so I can't say it was a great experience for me. Mostly I was just trying not to vomit. Still, it was kind of cool to drive through London in the rain. We took the tube home after that.
Friday morning the group decided to split up. Ingrid, Ginger, and Marlaine wanted to take the bus tour to various stops, but I couldn't take the prospect of getting on a bus again. So Tammy and I went to Hampton Court instead. We took the train from Waterloo, the station right near us, which took about a half hour. Hampton Court was really cool--it's this old palace where Henry VIII (and various other monarchs) lived. It's in great condition and you can wander around looking at all kinds of neat stuff--the king's rooms, the old kitchens, the courtyards, lots of old paintings and furniture, etc. Plus it's got these amazing gardens, and this hedge maze that was so fun. (We found the center and then got lost trying to get out!) It ended up being so cool that we pretty much spent the day there.
After that we headed back into the city and ate at Food for Thought, another vegetarian restaurant in the Covent Garden area. This was nicer than World Food Cafe--the squash and peanut soup was excellent--but the entree was, again, bland. Dammit, spices, people, spices!!! Anyway.
Then we rushed over to the Tower Hill tube stop, where we were going to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour, but we were about five minutes too late (stupid tube delays). So instead we walked around the Tower of London and read the various plaques and signs, and looked at the traitor's gate and the place they used to hang people and all this interesting stuff. The Tower of London is just too cool--this awesome old castle, right on the river, in the middle of the city. So much history! (Why doesn't NYC have any castles???)
After spending over an hour just hanging around there (and the weather was brilliant--no rain, not too cold), we decided that it was such a beautiful night that we should just walk home. So we walked over the Tower Bridge (beautiful) and then walked along the river. The Tower of London, the tower bridge, the gorgeous night, the full moon--it was lovely. We walked until we got to this Thai restaurant (around 10pm) where we had an excellent meal and the best fruit salad I've ever had (the mango and papaya were heavenly).
There we met up with Marlaine, who'd been working registration for the Marsters/Boreanaz event. (Oh, that was the other thing--our friends wanted to register early for the event, but Tammy and I preferred to spend more time exploring London--which is the other reason we split up.) Unfortunately no restaurants were open, and Marlaine was tired, so we only walked a bit before rushing across one of the bridges (now I forget which it was) so Marlaine could catch the tube home before midnight. Then Tammy and I walked back across another of the bridges, past Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the Tate Modern, and finally arrived back to our flat around 12:30am. It was a lovely walk, though that, combined with walking around Hampton Court all day, and through the airport and cemetery the day before, ended up giving me miserably sore feet the rest of the weekend. It was worth it, though, for such a gorgeous night.
I am not really a big Marsters or Boreanaz fan so please don't read this if you do not want to hear criticism of these actors. I am only sharing my honest personal opinion. It is not meant as any kind of insult to those who do enjoy seeing these actors.
So Saturday the group split up again, because Ingrid, Ginger, and Hope (who arrived Friday) wanted to get up at 6-something to get ready to head to the convention. I, um, didn't. So I ended up getting up around 9, going shopping at the vegetarian store next-door (not much selection, but how cool is it that there was a vegetarian restaurant next-door?), eating breakfast, drinking coffee with soymilk from that store, and then finally heading to the con with Tammy. We got there around noon--registration had already closed, but someone came over and gave us our wristbands. We hadn't missed anything--we went inside just as Boreanaz came onstage.
I had a front row seat (in the corner, though), so I sat for most of Boreanaz' talk. He didn't really have anything insightful or interesting to say, though he was a bit more lively and silly than I expected. He came across about as dumb as I expected (sorry, sorry, I know, I'm mean) but with a good sense of humor and fun. Someone asked a question with a lot of SAT words (something about why Angelus is so compelling and malevolent) and he had to have the question translated into "Why is Angelus so sexy?" before he could answer. He also went on about his fantasy of licking ice cream off of his wife, and when asked to choose between his three romantic interests (Charisma, Julie, Sarah) he said he'd like to have all three at once. The audience seemed to find this adorable.
The venue was hot and stuffy and crowded, and there was no non-celebrity programming. I couldn't really face the prospect of sitting in that uncomforable seat and/or standing in lines all day when the city of London awaited. So I left before Boreanaz' talk was over and headed to the British Museum with Tammy. (I know, we spent massive ridiculous money on this thing. But better to make a mistake and move on to better things than to waste your entire trip on it, right? No offense to those who enjoyed it--you weren't wasting your time if it had meaning to you. It just didn't to me.)
The museum was awesome. We decided to explore the European section, so we wandered for hours looking at the most amazing stuff. Old Celtic jewelry and metalwork, ancient Roman stuff, pre-historic stuff, old gravestones, paintings and jewelry and artwork, pieces of buildings and floors, just all these incredibly cool bits of history. There was this one room totally full of beautiful old clocks that I found absolutely riveting, not to mention the numerous rooms full of art and treasure. It was just so cool.
We also went to this 3D "Mummy" show, where we got to wear 3D glasses and go "inside" of a mummy through computer scans to explore how he'd lived and died. That was very fun. Then we went up and looked at actual mummies, not to mention absolutely incredible ancient Egyptian art. Unfortunately the museum closed at 5:30, so we didn't get to see that much of the Egyptian section, and we didn't get to see the Rosetta stone. But still, we spent nearly five hours there, and saw a ton of stuff. I really loved it and am so glad we went.
After that we headed over to an Indian vegetarian restaurant my coworker had recommended--Chutney's, near the Warren Street tube stop. The food was excellent--different than the Indian food you get in America. So interesting. We had some great appetizers, I had a wonderful Onion Rava Dosa, and Tammy had a great curry. Plus, Indian beer, yum.
Then we headed back over to the convention. We'd missed most of the day's speakers--Marsters, Amy Acker, Luke Perry, Juliet Landau, Jane Espenson. The only one I regretted was Jane, but I saw her speak for two hours at Writercon, which was amazing, and I don't think the questions at this one were on the same level anyway. Plus, they were all speaking the next day, too. So I'm glad we went to the British Museum instead.
We got there just in time to see the joint Marsters/Boreanaz commentary on "The Girl in Question." (What a lame, stupid episode.) Basically they had the sound off and the guys talked over the video. Marsters didn't really say much--Boreanaz pretty much took over, made lots of vrooming sounds and stupid jokes. He had the audience in stitches every time Spike's eyes flickered to that Italian woman's gigantic breasts. They did make up a very different story for the Illyria/Wesley parts, making up dialogue about how it was all Fred (Illyria) trying to seduce Wesley. Marsters tried to make some serious commentary, but Boreanaz pretty much drowned him out with the goofy stuff.
After that, Boreanaz came out and gave gifts to some "special" audience members, instead of reading the ghost story as he was supposed to do. Nice. Y'know, we only paid $600 for this damn thing, it's not like there's anything wrong with cancelling events at whim....
Boreanaz was very strangely sincere, though. I don't know if he was serious or not. He was very sappy, constantly speaking about how we were touching heart and heart, and "walk with your soul" and all this weird schmoopy advice. I don't know what the deal was with that.
Then Marsters came out for his concert. You've seen the photos, right? He was wearing this ultra-cheesy half-open button down black shirt and S6-type pimp chain. Apparently he's pursuing his music career--this was his first solo appearance since the band broke up, and he's working on a solo album. Many people seemed to feel that he is greatly improved by the lack of band. I am not one of those people. At least the band was loud and occasionally drowned out the painful awfulness of his voice. The acoustic guitar is not so helpful. My ears were about to start bleeding, so Tammy and I left.
We took the tube to Leicester Square, where we observed the Halloween crowds (a good amount of people in costumes; it was Saturday night, I guess the big night for parties). Then we headed home, as we didn't want to miss the last train before midnight. The others joined us pretty soon afterwards. The con ended right after the concert--no party or opportunity for hanging out or anything. It was just all about the celebrities. Which is, y'know, cool, if you're into meeting the celebrities and attending the conventions for the sake of that. But I've always been into cons and fandom for the community and the social interaction and the creativity. The celebrities themselves mean very little to me. And this con was just not designed for someone like me at all. Again, no offense meant to those who enjoyed it.
So, Sunday I was tired and I got up late. I was going to head to the venue alone, but Tammy ended up coming back because she'd forgotten her wristband. (They gave you these awful wristbands that you were supposed to leave on all weekend. Tammy cut hers off because it was annoying as hell; luckily I have tiny wrists and was able to slide mine off for the night.)
So we got to the venue around noon. Photo-shoots with Marsters and Boreanaz were supposed to go until 1pm according to the schedule, but when we arrived at noon they were already finished. Nice job sticking to the schedule, guys. So we missed our photo shoots. Then Juliet Landau was supposed to be signing until 1 or 1:30, but again, it was just after noon and she was already gone, so I never did get her autograph. Great schedule, really. Blech.
So instead we watched Boreanaz and Marsters onstage together. That was sort of neat--Boreanaz was really easy going, and even jumped off stage to trade places with one of the questioners after she was too nervous to read her question. Marsters would never do something so casual. It was interesting to see the differences between the two.
I was surprised by how many of the questions were blatantly slashy. One person asked that, if the characters were written together romantically, would the guys do it. Boreanaz said he would if he felt it was right for the character. That was a cool answer. Someone else asked them to kiss onstage. Boreanaz pretty firmly insisted no, though Marsters sort of looked game. ;)
I also saw Amy Acker, who is tiny and very pregnant, and Luke Perry, who is much better looking now than he ever was as a teen idol. He also seemed pretty easy-going and cool. Jane Espenson did a commentary on "Pangs," which was neat--she's so sweet and has such a nice sense of humor. Really an adorable woman.
I got my autographs from Marsters and Boreanaz. Marsters recognized me (he knows my face, not that he knows who I am) and said it was cool to see me there. I asked how he was enjoying London, and he said he was having a great time--he'd bought a suit at some fancy store, and spent 500 pounds on CDs at the Virgin Megastore. Then I went to Boreanaz, who was pretty blah. Looked tired. (Got to say hi to Marlaine though, as she was his PA.)
So anyway, there was supposed to be this Writer's Panel that evening, which I'd been invited to be on shortly before the convention. After some stress and panic I said I would, but as the moment approached I was terrified. So I said maybe I wouldn't. I was sort of freaking out, I mean, I wasn't even enjoying the con that much, I had skipped out the day before, I haven't read Buffy fanfic in months....
But anyway, in the end I decided to do it, because, y'know, you only live once. And I do know a lot about Spike fanfic, having read thousands and thousands of stories over the past few years. Plus I really wanted to meet Lesley (paratti), and being onstage with Jane was a cool prospect, and I felt bad because I'd said I'd do it. So I did.
Sharon dragged me backstage, where I waited with the group (Lesley, Roz Kaveney [rozk], a woman from the Buffy magazine whose name I unfortunately forget, and Jane Espenson). I explained my website briefly when Roz asked how to introduce me, and Jane said it sounded cool and that she'd have to check it out. She asked me if I had any Spike/Andrew and I said yes, and told her that she must read estepheia, who writes wonderful Spike/Andrew. I also finally got to meet Lesley, who is very similar to how I imagined, very outspoken and intelligent and nice.
Luke Perry was just finishing up, and came past us as he left the stage. So then we got introduced and had to walk out onstage and sit down. Christ, I can't believe I did this. I'm getting butterflies just remembering it. I freak out in class when I have to speak in front of ten people; this was bright lights and microphones and something like 800 people. It was so surreal I couldn't really grasp it. So we had to go through and introduce ourselves, and I made the mistake of staring out into the bright lights and crowd. I stumbled over the words and rambled and have no clue what I actually said (Spike, shades of grey, any pairing or rating, something like that). I found that it was much easier to speak looking at another member of the panel and pretending it was just us five, because acknowledging the audience was just too terrifying.
So I didn't end up saying much--most of the questions were for Jane, and she and Roz did most of the talking. (Roz was also very cool; I'd never met her before but she was quite nice.) I spoke up a few times. I think I had to explain how I started my website, which I did briefly.
Someone asked a question about subtext and how much the writers put into the show and how aware they are of how it will effect the fandom. Jane had an interesting answer to that (they're very aware of subtext and they enjoy knowing how strongly even one look or line will effect fandom). And I spoke up and mentioned how there is so much chemistry between Spike and nearly every character with whom he interacts, and how even one little line or scene can spawn a whole genre of Spike/whoever stories. I gave the example of Spike calling Xander a "nummy treat" in "Hush," and how for a while there every Spike/Xander story or site incorporated the "nummy treat" name or theme.
Jane answered that and said she felt the same way about Spike--every time Spike had a scene with someone there was much chemistry and it would spawn discussion of whether to pair him with that character. She also said that she felt Joss was very aware of how the nummy treat scene came across, and that he had actually said that Spike had been around for over 100 years and must have experimented and tried lots of things. (Hee! Slashers rejoice!)
Jane had so mnay positive and encouraging things to say about fanfic--that she loves seeing her work reinterpreted, that she got into writing through fic and thinks it's very valuable, etc. Just such a lovely and smart and funny and easy-going woman.
So anyway, then the panel ended, and I didn't die or anything. Yay! And as we walked out from backstage several people said I did well or that they liked my website, so that was very neat.
So it turns out they were having photo reshoots, so Tammy and I had to rush over to do that, since we had missed our photos in the first place. I mettrepkos briefly, but then lost her in the rush to get to the photos. (I'm sorry! But I'm glad we at least got to meet for a bit.) So we did the reshoot--the last of the day, and man, the guys were tired. I sort of hate photo shoots, and was ambivalent about doing it, but, you know, guess I ought to get my $600 worth. (God, I can't believe I paid so much to go to this thing. *cries*)
So after that I just sat in my seat--Boreanaz came out and thanked the crowd, more of that strange heart and soul togetherness stuff--then they showed the last part of "School Hard." I got into a chat with the woman next to me, who said she likes my website. That was nice. Then Marsters came out and gave hugs to the volunteers and thanked everyone. (Funny how they never do that at U.S. cons.) Marlaine and Sharon got to stand onstage and get hugs, lucky girls, I know they worked hard to deserve it though!
So then the con was over. It was Halloween, so I put on my big glittery Gothic fairy wings (I'd dragged them all the way to London, may as well wear them) and we went over to the African and Caribbean place next door to eat. The food was strange, but edible, and I had my first beer of the night. We waited for Marlaine to get out (she had to finish up her volunteer stuff), then we headed over to the White Room, the other con in London that weekend.
It took nearly two hours to get there--we had to take the train out to Heathrow airport, then catch a cab because the bus to the hotel wasn't running. It was after midnight by time we arrived, but the dance was in full swing. A friend snuck us in, and we settled down to party.
I wish I'd gone to the White Room. It just seemed to have way more of the fun and social interaction and community, the parts of fandom that I'm into. Plus, the guests were a lot more accessible--people like Christian Kane, J. August Richards, Stephanie Romanov, Jonathan Woodward. Plus, Nathan Fillion made a surprise appearance!
The party was awesome. You know how lame the dances are at U.S. cons? Everyone sits around mumbling about how lame this is, and then they all go to bed? Not so in the U.K. These people were insane. They were so drunk and so into it. They were hitting the dance floor hard, and they have all these crazy dances. Like, this Star Trek dance. It was the most surreal thing I've ever seen. This song comes on and they all run out onto the dance floor and hold hands in a circle. Then they all run into the center and run out again, then they dance around using their hands and make Spock ears. Then they hold hands and run into and out of the center again. It was insane. And there was another where they dragged their chairs out onto the dance floor, and everyone stands up/sits down at different times, directed by a guy in front with a light saber (??). Like I said, it was insane.
So we had fun. I drank two free beers in short order (nice to have friends whose goal is to get you drunk). That made three for the night. Then I was given a shot of Jagermeister in a skull-shaped shot glass. I've never done a shot of anything before. It was from a bottle signed "Fuck You - Stephanie Romanov." Apparently she was pissed because she couldn't drink it, as she is pregnant. So I was ordered to do the shot in honor of Stephanie's baby. At that moment one of my favorite songs, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," came on, and Marlaine was gesturing me to the dance floor. So I did the shot and went with her and danced. Another thing I've pretty much never done. Well, I didn't so much dance as jump up and down, because I really can't dance, but it was fun. The whole group of us (Ingrid, Marlaine, Tammy, me) ended up out there, dancing for a good while. I was still wearing fairy wings. Eventually we sat down and watched, and I was given another shot, this time of Jack Daniels. I managed to drink about half, but couldn't do it all. Another thing I've never tried before.
So we stayed until the dance was over and the con was announced finished. We ended up taking a cab home, because the Night Busses were complicated and would take too long. We got back around, what, 4am? Late, anyway. I crawled up the stairs because I couldn't really walk very well. Strangely enough, despite the lack of motor control, I felt completely sober in my brain.
After two or three hours of sleep, we woke up around 7am to get ready for our bus trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath. (Somehow I was the first one up.) We all managed to meet up and catch the bus in time; it was me, Ginger, Ingrid, Tammy, and Marlaine. (Hope had to leave on Monday, unfortunately). I spent most of the trip huddled with my eyes closed, as I get very bus sick, and the very recent drunkenness wasn't helping so much.
Stonehenge was awesome--it was a gorgeous day, the weather was cloudy and cool and had such atmosphere. I thought the whole site was really cool--the ancient burial mounds, Stonehenge itself--it had such a sense of history and sacredness to it. (Not, like, religious sacredness, but just the weight of so much history.) I wish we'd had more time there--we walked around it for about a half hour and then had to get back on the bus.
The next stop was Salisbury Cathedral, this gorgeous Gothic cathedral, which was beautiful and amazing. I went through examining everything closely, just riveted. Again, there is so much history in a place like that--we don't seem to have anything comparable here. i wish I could've spent longer, reading all the graves and studying everything more closely, but we had less than an hour there.
So I rushed and managed to catch the bus again, where I slept for a while as we drove to Bath. Then we got out and had about an hour and a half to explore the Roman Baths. I didn't have any time to spend in the city because I spent the whole time looking at the Baths, reading everything and looking at everything and trying to imagine it thousands of years earlier. The old relics were so interesting, stuff that people threw in there, ancient coins, old curses (people are hilarious), etc. The city itself was beautiful too; I so wish I'd been there longer.
So we caught the bus and headed back into the city, where we arrived about 7pm. I wanted to make it to the Kane concert in time, so I went with Marlaine to her friend's place and changed and did my makeup there. (The others hadn't brought their stuff so they went back to the flat, which was in the opposite direction.) Then I went to the venue.
Unfortunately it was tiny and gross and smoky and we couldn't take in in there, so we went across the street and ate. Then we headed back in. The others stayed in the back, where they got to hang out around people like Nathan Fillion, Stephanie Romanov, and J. August Richards. I really wanted to be up front, though--I just love being in the front at concerts, I want to see the expression on the lead singer's face, so I got as close as I could, which was two or three rows back. Not bad, since the club was very small.
I'd never seen the band before, or Christian Kane before for that matter, but I was blown away. Really, they were amazing. It was a full band, and sort of country, but also very heavy and more rock than I expected. Plus they had a violin, which is always good. Christian Kane himself is just one of the most gorgeous men ever to talk the face of the earth. His hair was long and messy and occasionally pulled into the most adorable sort-of ponytail. He was drunk off his ass (he claimed to have been drunk for the past four days and I certainly believed him), but really put his heart into his singing and did an amazing job. After they finished they came out for an encore, then went offstage again. So J. August Richards came out and had us cheer and they came out for another encore. Then J. came out again and got us to cheer more, and went back and begged them to do another encore. So they came out and did "Sweet Home Alabama." J. sang parts of the chorus with Christian. It was too cool--really just an amazing energy and an amazing show.
Afterwards J. and Christian made their way to the bar, where everyone crowded around them. I watched Froggy go up to Christian--Christian wrapped him in this huge insane hug. Froggy gave him a shot of something, which they did together--I was right near them for this, man it was cool to see Christian up close. My god, he is gorgeous. But he was also so drunk off his ass, and whatever Froggy gave him didn't help. He was barely standing by this point and soon went off holding onto J.
So we hung out for a while, then spent some time with Froggy, then went back to the flat and slept.
Tuesday was pretty lame--we were all dead tired, slept in, cleaned and did laundry, came home. Airports suck. Homeland Security is scary. Reality is so annoying. Stupid election.
I met up with
saussy for coffee this morning and we hugged and commiserated. She's such a darling person. I'm glad that I'm here in this city, surrounded mainly by people who believe in freedom and choice and equality. Even if our country is ruled by people who don't want us to exist.So anyway, I got back from London late last night. (I voted absentee, of course.) I had a wonderful time, so I'm going to try to write up a con report now. I loved the city, saw a ton of awesome sights including Stonehenge, Bath, Salisbury, the Tower of London, Highgate Cemetery, Hampton Court, etc. I also spent time at both conventions, saw an awesome concert by Christian Kane and band (attended by apparently half the cast of Angel), got up onstage for an hour in front of 800 people with a panel that included Jane Espenson, saw Marsters and Boreanaz together, did my first shot ever (of Jagermeister, oh my god) and actually sort of danced.... well, it was neat.
[listening to Kerry's concession speech and I feel like I'm going to vomit.... okay, focus, London....]
I flew in Wednesday night after work with Ingrid (
thefangirl) and Marlaine (soulmate815). We got some sleep on the plane and arrived about 9:30am Thursday morning. By the time we got through customs, got our luggage, and met up with Tammy (10zlaine), it was after 11am.Marlaine took a bus to her friend's place, where she was staying, while Tammy, Ingrid, and I took the Heathrow Express, then transferred to the tube, to our flat (which we rented for the five nights we were there). It was on the south side of the Thames, between the Waterloo and Lambeth North tube stops. The area is very nice--lots of little shops and restaurants, a street market, easy public transportation, within walking distance of many attractions, etc. Great location and we got an excellent price, all things considered.
There we met up with Ginger (
vampgaia) who was already in London and is staying much longer than we were. The flat was pretty cool--nice living room, we each had our own bed, great location. Unfortunately the water pressure SUCKED (taking a shower was nearly impossible--we didn't so much have a shower as a barely-dripping faucet) and the laundry machines were a joke (it would take at least a day to do one load of laundry). Plus, I could feel every spring in the mattress I slept on; not exactly comfortable. But it was livable.So then Tammy, Ginger, and I rushed to Highgate Cemetery, where we were supposed to meet at 2pm with Sharon (
rockgoddes), Leslie (psubrat), and Sigrid (eurydice72). Turns out to get there you had to take the tube, then literally run up a steep hill for 15 minutes, then run through a hilly park for five minutes. We were exhausted when we got there, but luckily we made it just in the nick of time. (We got there around 1:55; they literally were just about to start without us--the woman working there snapped at us and was incredibly rude.)Anyway, so we met up with our friends and toured the cemetery. It was really cool--apparently this is the cemetery that Bram Stoker had in mind when he wrote parts of Dracula. The place was just amazing--the cemetery is sort of falling apart, so the wilderness is growing up and eveloping these gorgeous crumbling old Victorian graves. It was like something from a movie, only real. It took about an hour as we were led through the cemetery by a tour guide who told us lots of interesting stories about the graves, the symbolism, the decoration, the people buried, etc. It was a great way to start the visit to London.
After that, we didn't really have time to hang out, so the group split up and Tammy, Ginger, and I went to eat. We headed to the Covent Garden area, which has lots of neat little stores and where my research had shown lots of vegetarian restaurants. We ended up World Food Cafe in Neal's Yard. The service sucked and the food was pretty bland--veggie food over there really seemed lame. Not many vegan options, and they don't so much seem to believe in spices or flavors. Plus the seating is weird--you order your food at the counter, get it yourself, and then you have to sit at big tables with random people. Ick.
After eating, we headed over to meet up with Ingrid for the Original Bus tour. We ended up getting the last bus of the night and riding the whole bus loop one time. I guess this was good, as it was raining and there wasn't much else we could do without getting soaked. But I really hate busses--I get very nauseated--so I can't say it was a great experience for me. Mostly I was just trying not to vomit. Still, it was kind of cool to drive through London in the rain. We took the tube home after that.
Friday morning the group decided to split up. Ingrid, Ginger, and Marlaine wanted to take the bus tour to various stops, but I couldn't take the prospect of getting on a bus again. So Tammy and I went to Hampton Court instead. We took the train from Waterloo, the station right near us, which took about a half hour. Hampton Court was really cool--it's this old palace where Henry VIII (and various other monarchs) lived. It's in great condition and you can wander around looking at all kinds of neat stuff--the king's rooms, the old kitchens, the courtyards, lots of old paintings and furniture, etc. Plus it's got these amazing gardens, and this hedge maze that was so fun. (We found the center and then got lost trying to get out!) It ended up being so cool that we pretty much spent the day there.
After that we headed back into the city and ate at Food for Thought, another vegetarian restaurant in the Covent Garden area. This was nicer than World Food Cafe--the squash and peanut soup was excellent--but the entree was, again, bland. Dammit, spices, people, spices!!! Anyway.
Then we rushed over to the Tower Hill tube stop, where we were going to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour, but we were about five minutes too late (stupid tube delays). So instead we walked around the Tower of London and read the various plaques and signs, and looked at the traitor's gate and the place they used to hang people and all this interesting stuff. The Tower of London is just too cool--this awesome old castle, right on the river, in the middle of the city. So much history! (Why doesn't NYC have any castles???)
After spending over an hour just hanging around there (and the weather was brilliant--no rain, not too cold), we decided that it was such a beautiful night that we should just walk home. So we walked over the Tower Bridge (beautiful) and then walked along the river. The Tower of London, the tower bridge, the gorgeous night, the full moon--it was lovely. We walked until we got to this Thai restaurant (around 10pm) where we had an excellent meal and the best fruit salad I've ever had (the mango and papaya were heavenly).
There we met up with Marlaine, who'd been working registration for the Marsters/Boreanaz event. (Oh, that was the other thing--our friends wanted to register early for the event, but Tammy and I preferred to spend more time exploring London--which is the other reason we split up.) Unfortunately no restaurants were open, and Marlaine was tired, so we only walked a bit before rushing across one of the bridges (now I forget which it was) so Marlaine could catch the tube home before midnight. Then Tammy and I walked back across another of the bridges, past Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the Tate Modern, and finally arrived back to our flat around 12:30am. It was a lovely walk, though that, combined with walking around Hampton Court all day, and through the airport and cemetery the day before, ended up giving me miserably sore feet the rest of the weekend. It was worth it, though, for such a gorgeous night.
I am not really a big Marsters or Boreanaz fan so please don't read this if you do not want to hear criticism of these actors. I am only sharing my honest personal opinion. It is not meant as any kind of insult to those who do enjoy seeing these actors.
So Saturday the group split up again, because Ingrid, Ginger, and Hope (who arrived Friday) wanted to get up at 6-something to get ready to head to the convention. I, um, didn't. So I ended up getting up around 9, going shopping at the vegetarian store next-door (not much selection, but how cool is it that there was a vegetarian restaurant next-door?), eating breakfast, drinking coffee with soymilk from that store, and then finally heading to the con with Tammy. We got there around noon--registration had already closed, but someone came over and gave us our wristbands. We hadn't missed anything--we went inside just as Boreanaz came onstage.
I had a front row seat (in the corner, though), so I sat for most of Boreanaz' talk. He didn't really have anything insightful or interesting to say, though he was a bit more lively and silly than I expected. He came across about as dumb as I expected (sorry, sorry, I know, I'm mean) but with a good sense of humor and fun. Someone asked a question with a lot of SAT words (something about why Angelus is so compelling and malevolent) and he had to have the question translated into "Why is Angelus so sexy?" before he could answer. He also went on about his fantasy of licking ice cream off of his wife, and when asked to choose between his three romantic interests (Charisma, Julie, Sarah) he said he'd like to have all three at once. The audience seemed to find this adorable.
The venue was hot and stuffy and crowded, and there was no non-celebrity programming. I couldn't really face the prospect of sitting in that uncomforable seat and/or standing in lines all day when the city of London awaited. So I left before Boreanaz' talk was over and headed to the British Museum with Tammy. (I know, we spent massive ridiculous money on this thing. But better to make a mistake and move on to better things than to waste your entire trip on it, right? No offense to those who enjoyed it--you weren't wasting your time if it had meaning to you. It just didn't to me.)
The museum was awesome. We decided to explore the European section, so we wandered for hours looking at the most amazing stuff. Old Celtic jewelry and metalwork, ancient Roman stuff, pre-historic stuff, old gravestones, paintings and jewelry and artwork, pieces of buildings and floors, just all these incredibly cool bits of history. There was this one room totally full of beautiful old clocks that I found absolutely riveting, not to mention the numerous rooms full of art and treasure. It was just so cool.
We also went to this 3D "Mummy" show, where we got to wear 3D glasses and go "inside" of a mummy through computer scans to explore how he'd lived and died. That was very fun. Then we went up and looked at actual mummies, not to mention absolutely incredible ancient Egyptian art. Unfortunately the museum closed at 5:30, so we didn't get to see that much of the Egyptian section, and we didn't get to see the Rosetta stone. But still, we spent nearly five hours there, and saw a ton of stuff. I really loved it and am so glad we went.
After that we headed over to an Indian vegetarian restaurant my coworker had recommended--Chutney's, near the Warren Street tube stop. The food was excellent--different than the Indian food you get in America. So interesting. We had some great appetizers, I had a wonderful Onion Rava Dosa, and Tammy had a great curry. Plus, Indian beer, yum.
Then we headed back over to the convention. We'd missed most of the day's speakers--Marsters, Amy Acker, Luke Perry, Juliet Landau, Jane Espenson. The only one I regretted was Jane, but I saw her speak for two hours at Writercon, which was amazing, and I don't think the questions at this one were on the same level anyway. Plus, they were all speaking the next day, too. So I'm glad we went to the British Museum instead.
We got there just in time to see the joint Marsters/Boreanaz commentary on "The Girl in Question." (What a lame, stupid episode.) Basically they had the sound off and the guys talked over the video. Marsters didn't really say much--Boreanaz pretty much took over, made lots of vrooming sounds and stupid jokes. He had the audience in stitches every time Spike's eyes flickered to that Italian woman's gigantic breasts. They did make up a very different story for the Illyria/Wesley parts, making up dialogue about how it was all Fred (Illyria) trying to seduce Wesley. Marsters tried to make some serious commentary, but Boreanaz pretty much drowned him out with the goofy stuff.
After that, Boreanaz came out and gave gifts to some "special" audience members, instead of reading the ghost story as he was supposed to do. Nice. Y'know, we only paid $600 for this damn thing, it's not like there's anything wrong with cancelling events at whim....
Boreanaz was very strangely sincere, though. I don't know if he was serious or not. He was very sappy, constantly speaking about how we were touching heart and heart, and "walk with your soul" and all this weird schmoopy advice. I don't know what the deal was with that.
Then Marsters came out for his concert. You've seen the photos, right? He was wearing this ultra-cheesy half-open button down black shirt and S6-type pimp chain. Apparently he's pursuing his music career--this was his first solo appearance since the band broke up, and he's working on a solo album. Many people seemed to feel that he is greatly improved by the lack of band. I am not one of those people. At least the band was loud and occasionally drowned out the painful awfulness of his voice. The acoustic guitar is not so helpful. My ears were about to start bleeding, so Tammy and I left.
We took the tube to Leicester Square, where we observed the Halloween crowds (a good amount of people in costumes; it was Saturday night, I guess the big night for parties). Then we headed home, as we didn't want to miss the last train before midnight. The others joined us pretty soon afterwards. The con ended right after the concert--no party or opportunity for hanging out or anything. It was just all about the celebrities. Which is, y'know, cool, if you're into meeting the celebrities and attending the conventions for the sake of that. But I've always been into cons and fandom for the community and the social interaction and the creativity. The celebrities themselves mean very little to me. And this con was just not designed for someone like me at all. Again, no offense meant to those who enjoyed it.
So, Sunday I was tired and I got up late. I was going to head to the venue alone, but Tammy ended up coming back because she'd forgotten her wristband. (They gave you these awful wristbands that you were supposed to leave on all weekend. Tammy cut hers off because it was annoying as hell; luckily I have tiny wrists and was able to slide mine off for the night.)
So we got to the venue around noon. Photo-shoots with Marsters and Boreanaz were supposed to go until 1pm according to the schedule, but when we arrived at noon they were already finished. Nice job sticking to the schedule, guys. So we missed our photo shoots. Then Juliet Landau was supposed to be signing until 1 or 1:30, but again, it was just after noon and she was already gone, so I never did get her autograph. Great schedule, really. Blech.
So instead we watched Boreanaz and Marsters onstage together. That was sort of neat--Boreanaz was really easy going, and even jumped off stage to trade places with one of the questioners after she was too nervous to read her question. Marsters would never do something so casual. It was interesting to see the differences between the two.
I was surprised by how many of the questions were blatantly slashy. One person asked that, if the characters were written together romantically, would the guys do it. Boreanaz said he would if he felt it was right for the character. That was a cool answer. Someone else asked them to kiss onstage. Boreanaz pretty firmly insisted no, though Marsters sort of looked game. ;)
I also saw Amy Acker, who is tiny and very pregnant, and Luke Perry, who is much better looking now than he ever was as a teen idol. He also seemed pretty easy-going and cool. Jane Espenson did a commentary on "Pangs," which was neat--she's so sweet and has such a nice sense of humor. Really an adorable woman.
I got my autographs from Marsters and Boreanaz. Marsters recognized me (he knows my face, not that he knows who I am) and said it was cool to see me there. I asked how he was enjoying London, and he said he was having a great time--he'd bought a suit at some fancy store, and spent 500 pounds on CDs at the Virgin Megastore. Then I went to Boreanaz, who was pretty blah. Looked tired. (Got to say hi to Marlaine though, as she was his PA.)
So anyway, there was supposed to be this Writer's Panel that evening, which I'd been invited to be on shortly before the convention. After some stress and panic I said I would, but as the moment approached I was terrified. So I said maybe I wouldn't. I was sort of freaking out, I mean, I wasn't even enjoying the con that much, I had skipped out the day before, I haven't read Buffy fanfic in months....
But anyway, in the end I decided to do it, because, y'know, you only live once. And I do know a lot about Spike fanfic, having read thousands and thousands of stories over the past few years. Plus I really wanted to meet Lesley (
paratti), and being onstage with Jane was a cool prospect, and I felt bad because I'd said I'd do it. So I did.Sharon dragged me backstage, where I waited with the group (Lesley, Roz Kaveney [
rozk], a woman from the Buffy magazine whose name I unfortunately forget, and Jane Espenson). I explained my website briefly when Roz asked how to introduce me, and Jane said it sounded cool and that she'd have to check it out. She asked me if I had any Spike/Andrew and I said yes, and told her that she must read estepheia, who writes wonderful Spike/Andrew. I also finally got to meet Lesley, who is very similar to how I imagined, very outspoken and intelligent and nice.Luke Perry was just finishing up, and came past us as he left the stage. So then we got introduced and had to walk out onstage and sit down. Christ, I can't believe I did this. I'm getting butterflies just remembering it. I freak out in class when I have to speak in front of ten people; this was bright lights and microphones and something like 800 people. It was so surreal I couldn't really grasp it. So we had to go through and introduce ourselves, and I made the mistake of staring out into the bright lights and crowd. I stumbled over the words and rambled and have no clue what I actually said (Spike, shades of grey, any pairing or rating, something like that). I found that it was much easier to speak looking at another member of the panel and pretending it was just us five, because acknowledging the audience was just too terrifying.
So I didn't end up saying much--most of the questions were for Jane, and she and Roz did most of the talking. (Roz was also very cool; I'd never met her before but she was quite nice.) I spoke up a few times. I think I had to explain how I started my website, which I did briefly.
Someone asked a question about subtext and how much the writers put into the show and how aware they are of how it will effect the fandom. Jane had an interesting answer to that (they're very aware of subtext and they enjoy knowing how strongly even one look or line will effect fandom). And I spoke up and mentioned how there is so much chemistry between Spike and nearly every character with whom he interacts, and how even one little line or scene can spawn a whole genre of Spike/whoever stories. I gave the example of Spike calling Xander a "nummy treat" in "Hush," and how for a while there every Spike/Xander story or site incorporated the "nummy treat" name or theme.
Jane answered that and said she felt the same way about Spike--every time Spike had a scene with someone there was much chemistry and it would spawn discussion of whether to pair him with that character. She also said that she felt Joss was very aware of how the nummy treat scene came across, and that he had actually said that Spike had been around for over 100 years and must have experimented and tried lots of things. (Hee! Slashers rejoice!)
Jane had so mnay positive and encouraging things to say about fanfic--that she loves seeing her work reinterpreted, that she got into writing through fic and thinks it's very valuable, etc. Just such a lovely and smart and funny and easy-going woman.
So anyway, then the panel ended, and I didn't die or anything. Yay! And as we walked out from backstage several people said I did well or that they liked my website, so that was very neat.
So it turns out they were having photo reshoots, so Tammy and I had to rush over to do that, since we had missed our photos in the first place. I met
trepkos briefly, but then lost her in the rush to get to the photos. (I'm sorry! But I'm glad we at least got to meet for a bit.) So we did the reshoot--the last of the day, and man, the guys were tired. I sort of hate photo shoots, and was ambivalent about doing it, but, you know, guess I ought to get my $600 worth. (God, I can't believe I paid so much to go to this thing. *cries*)So after that I just sat in my seat--Boreanaz came out and thanked the crowd, more of that strange heart and soul togetherness stuff--then they showed the last part of "School Hard." I got into a chat with the woman next to me, who said she likes my website. That was nice. Then Marsters came out and gave hugs to the volunteers and thanked everyone. (Funny how they never do that at U.S. cons.) Marlaine and Sharon got to stand onstage and get hugs, lucky girls, I know they worked hard to deserve it though!
So then the con was over. It was Halloween, so I put on my big glittery Gothic fairy wings (I'd dragged them all the way to London, may as well wear them) and we went over to the African and Caribbean place next door to eat. The food was strange, but edible, and I had my first beer of the night. We waited for Marlaine to get out (she had to finish up her volunteer stuff), then we headed over to the White Room, the other con in London that weekend.
It took nearly two hours to get there--we had to take the train out to Heathrow airport, then catch a cab because the bus to the hotel wasn't running. It was after midnight by time we arrived, but the dance was in full swing. A friend snuck us in, and we settled down to party.
I wish I'd gone to the White Room. It just seemed to have way more of the fun and social interaction and community, the parts of fandom that I'm into. Plus, the guests were a lot more accessible--people like Christian Kane, J. August Richards, Stephanie Romanov, Jonathan Woodward. Plus, Nathan Fillion made a surprise appearance!
The party was awesome. You know how lame the dances are at U.S. cons? Everyone sits around mumbling about how lame this is, and then they all go to bed? Not so in the U.K. These people were insane. They were so drunk and so into it. They were hitting the dance floor hard, and they have all these crazy dances. Like, this Star Trek dance. It was the most surreal thing I've ever seen. This song comes on and they all run out onto the dance floor and hold hands in a circle. Then they all run into the center and run out again, then they dance around using their hands and make Spock ears. Then they hold hands and run into and out of the center again. It was insane. And there was another where they dragged their chairs out onto the dance floor, and everyone stands up/sits down at different times, directed by a guy in front with a light saber (??). Like I said, it was insane.
So we had fun. I drank two free beers in short order (nice to have friends whose goal is to get you drunk). That made three for the night. Then I was given a shot of Jagermeister in a skull-shaped shot glass. I've never done a shot of anything before. It was from a bottle signed "Fuck You - Stephanie Romanov." Apparently she was pissed because she couldn't drink it, as she is pregnant. So I was ordered to do the shot in honor of Stephanie's baby. At that moment one of my favorite songs, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," came on, and Marlaine was gesturing me to the dance floor. So I did the shot and went with her and danced. Another thing I've pretty much never done. Well, I didn't so much dance as jump up and down, because I really can't dance, but it was fun. The whole group of us (Ingrid, Marlaine, Tammy, me) ended up out there, dancing for a good while. I was still wearing fairy wings. Eventually we sat down and watched, and I was given another shot, this time of Jack Daniels. I managed to drink about half, but couldn't do it all. Another thing I've never tried before.
So we stayed until the dance was over and the con was announced finished. We ended up taking a cab home, because the Night Busses were complicated and would take too long. We got back around, what, 4am? Late, anyway. I crawled up the stairs because I couldn't really walk very well. Strangely enough, despite the lack of motor control, I felt completely sober in my brain.
After two or three hours of sleep, we woke up around 7am to get ready for our bus trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath. (Somehow I was the first one up.) We all managed to meet up and catch the bus in time; it was me, Ginger, Ingrid, Tammy, and Marlaine. (Hope had to leave on Monday, unfortunately). I spent most of the trip huddled with my eyes closed, as I get very bus sick, and the very recent drunkenness wasn't helping so much.
Stonehenge was awesome--it was a gorgeous day, the weather was cloudy and cool and had such atmosphere. I thought the whole site was really cool--the ancient burial mounds, Stonehenge itself--it had such a sense of history and sacredness to it. (Not, like, religious sacredness, but just the weight of so much history.) I wish we'd had more time there--we walked around it for about a half hour and then had to get back on the bus.
The next stop was Salisbury Cathedral, this gorgeous Gothic cathedral, which was beautiful and amazing. I went through examining everything closely, just riveted. Again, there is so much history in a place like that--we don't seem to have anything comparable here. i wish I could've spent longer, reading all the graves and studying everything more closely, but we had less than an hour there.
So I rushed and managed to catch the bus again, where I slept for a while as we drove to Bath. Then we got out and had about an hour and a half to explore the Roman Baths. I didn't have any time to spend in the city because I spent the whole time looking at the Baths, reading everything and looking at everything and trying to imagine it thousands of years earlier. The old relics were so interesting, stuff that people threw in there, ancient coins, old curses (people are hilarious), etc. The city itself was beautiful too; I so wish I'd been there longer.
So we caught the bus and headed back into the city, where we arrived about 7pm. I wanted to make it to the Kane concert in time, so I went with Marlaine to her friend's place and changed and did my makeup there. (The others hadn't brought their stuff so they went back to the flat, which was in the opposite direction.) Then I went to the venue.
Unfortunately it was tiny and gross and smoky and we couldn't take in in there, so we went across the street and ate. Then we headed back in. The others stayed in the back, where they got to hang out around people like Nathan Fillion, Stephanie Romanov, and J. August Richards. I really wanted to be up front, though--I just love being in the front at concerts, I want to see the expression on the lead singer's face, so I got as close as I could, which was two or three rows back. Not bad, since the club was very small.
I'd never seen the band before, or Christian Kane before for that matter, but I was blown away. Really, they were amazing. It was a full band, and sort of country, but also very heavy and more rock than I expected. Plus they had a violin, which is always good. Christian Kane himself is just one of the most gorgeous men ever to talk the face of the earth. His hair was long and messy and occasionally pulled into the most adorable sort-of ponytail. He was drunk off his ass (he claimed to have been drunk for the past four days and I certainly believed him), but really put his heart into his singing and did an amazing job. After they finished they came out for an encore, then went offstage again. So J. August Richards came out and had us cheer and they came out for another encore. Then J. came out again and got us to cheer more, and went back and begged them to do another encore. So they came out and did "Sweet Home Alabama." J. sang parts of the chorus with Christian. It was too cool--really just an amazing energy and an amazing show.
Afterwards J. and Christian made their way to the bar, where everyone crowded around them. I watched Froggy go up to Christian--Christian wrapped him in this huge insane hug. Froggy gave him a shot of something, which they did together--I was right near them for this, man it was cool to see Christian up close. My god, he is gorgeous. But he was also so drunk off his ass, and whatever Froggy gave him didn't help. He was barely standing by this point and soon went off holding onto J.
So we hung out for a while, then spent some time with Froggy, then went back to the flat and slept.
Tuesday was pretty lame--we were all dead tired, slept in, cleaned and did laundry, came home. Airports suck. Homeland Security is scary. Reality is so annoying. Stupid election.
