Well, it's been long enough that I'm starting to lose details. I knew this would happen, but I still didn't take notes the way I knew I should have. {{sigh}} If anyone sees any glaring errors, please forgive me and drop me a note at jennifer.allen@quintus.com so I can fix them. I know I've lost lots and lots of details-that's why I'm getting a copy of Tracey Franks' videotape.

Getting There

By 8 pm, we had met up with Dianne Smith and knew when we were heading for Granada studios the next day, I'd handed out some badges, and Kay finally agreed we could go to bed. So we did, and I slept like someone who had been up for 29 hours straight. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Granada Studios & Genesis

Friday morning we got out of bed feeling far more human, and we went downstairs to partake of the lavish English breakfast that would be sheer indulgence on a normal day but is crucial when you're going to be sightseeing or conning and can't be sure you'll get lunch. At least, that's what I always told myself on the way up to refill my plate. <g>

After breakfast we went to Granada Studios to take the tour and wander the lot. While we were waiting for the studio tour, one of the mascots, this guy dressed in overalls with this *huge* plastic head, came over to Donna Lettow and started pointing to her Highlander jacket. He apparently liked the show, and he mimed chopping off someone's head. I told him Donna didn't just like HL, she *wrote* HL, and he got all excited. I guess he wasn't allowed to talk at all, because this touched off a game of charades. We eventually figured out that his name was Obbie and he wanted Donna to write him a small role in HL. He seemed a bit put off when we began discussing whether an Immortal with a head that large would have a really big Quickening or not. I don't know why he didn't like that topic--I thought it was very interesting myself. <veg>

We enjoyed the studio tour, although the main show Granada produces is Coronation Street, so I didn't get a lot of the references they made. We saw some of the backup sets (that get used when there's a problem with the main sets), including one for Joe's Café. We checked out the make up room, a couple of blue screen studios, a recreation of Downey Street (including doorway #10, of course), and wardrobe. My favorite set was the dollhouse. It was a huge building where everything was built to a giant scale. I have a picture of Dianne Smith standing next to a Cointreau bottle-and she barely comes up to the bottle's neck.

It was Christmas in this world, so there was the bottom part of Christmas tree along with a piano, a huge rocking horse, and a table with a giant teapot on it. My flash was virtually useless in a room that size, but I have some dark, fuzzy pictures I can use to spark my memories.

After the Granada tour, Kay, Vicki Rorke, Cheri Moore, Vicki Heady, Donna Lettow, and I went to a late lunch at Whetherspoons, then made our way back to the hotel via the ATM machine and the drug store so the Diet Coke fiends in the party (like me) could get a fix. Once we got back I set about tracking down Virginia Foster, because we were going to see Genesis at the Nynex Arena that night. I'd never met Virginia in person, but I figured I'd just look for the Correllian pilot she's always hanging out with-him I'd recognize anywhere. When he didn't appear, I had to settle for the woman in Virginia's room with the long red hair and the confirmation number for the Genesis tickets. I thought I hid my disappointment at finding her alone fairly well, considering how much I wanted a ride on the Millennium Falcon. <g>

Genesis was great. I'm actually not a huge Genesis fan but Virginia is, and she confirmed my assessment. They had fancy lighting and great video-type things going on so that the concert turned into a true multi-media experience. Their new lead singer, Ray Wilson, did a wonderful job even with such standards as Invisible Touch. (We'll ignore the fact that's pretty much the only song I recognized, OK? <g> Actually, my involvement with Highlander fans has opened up all kinds of musical doors for me. Jim Byrnes (obviously), Tempest, Calaban, Fairport Convention, Deacon Blue, and Loreena Mckennitt are among the artists I never would have hear of if it weren't for my HL connections. Thanks, guys! I'm glad I listened to you about listening to them.)

I got back to the hotel to find that Kay has spent the night in the bar chatting with Marcus, Valentine, and Peter Hudson. She said they were all wonderfully nice and she'd had a great time, so she didn't mind being abandoned while Virginia and I were being mesmerized by the lightshow.

The Convention

Finally we get to the con. I'm going to group things together mostly because I can't remember which session they said what in, I'm afraid. I didn't take notes either, so my stories are no where near complete, but here are the highlights for me.

Valentine Pelka

I'm a rider, so I was fascinated by Valentine's horse stories, and now I have to go see some films just to see his horse. Well, Valentine himself will be a real bonus, I suppose. <g> Let's see. He's ridden the famous European movie horse Fury, and he was impressed enough that he must be a truly fine mount although I hadn't heard of him before. In Rowing with the Wind, he rode a Palomino named Palloma (sp?) who liked chocolate. This turned out to be a crucial detail, because Palloma also liked Valentine, and he'd follow after him whenever Valentine would walk away. It ruined many a dramatic take when Valentine would come to a sudden stop and leap off his horse, striding manfully into whatever scene it was only to have Palloma tag along after him. Valentine told us that what you didn't see was one of the crew members lying on the ground during each take. Valentine would ride up and stop near the crewmember, then leap off Palloma and stride away. When Palloma went to follow, the crewmember would hold up some chocolate and Palloma would stop in his tracks to eat it.

Another horse Valentine rode was Lucky. Lucky was a black gelding who got his name when he was saved from the knacker's (glue-maker's) truck by his owner, who happened to ask the truck driver if he had any black horses on board. The driver pulled over and brought out a beautiful five year old gelding, and the director promptly bought him and named him Lucky. (You can see my focus was on the horse-I can't remember the director's name but I can tell you how old Lucky was when he bought him. <g>) Anyway, Valentine told the director he could ride, and the director said 'yeah, right, if I had a nickel for every actor who said that...' Valentine insisted, so the director put him on Lucky and they rode out together. Valentine was doing quite well when the director said "You don't need the reins or your legs to stop Lucky, you just need to say 'stop'". 'Yeah, right,' thought Valentine, 'if I had a nickel for every horse owner who said that...', but he took the man on faith and began cantering Lucky up a hill. When he wanted to stop, he decided to give it a shot, and he sat back and said "Stop" without touching the reins. And Lucky slowed to a trot, then a walk, then he stopped. Valentine was amazed.

Later, he was working with Lucky in a scene in which Lucky had to lay down and pretend to be hurt. The scene wasn't working, so they broke for lunch. When they came back, Lucky was still lying there as his owner hadn't told him to get up. Now that's dedication.

Another wonderful horse story he told was about a mount (I forget which one, unfortunately. It was in Ivanhoe, I think) who had the tendency to gather lots of foam onto his bit, then toss his head just right so the glob of spit would hit Valentine squarely in the chest. Valentine learned the signs quickly enough, and he said it was all worth it one day when he was being annoyed by another actor. That actor was right behind him and Valentine waited until his horse was about to "spit". When he did, Valentine leaned over quickly and the spit flew over his shoulder and caught the guy behind him neatly in the chest. What could Val do? It was obviously the horse's fault, after all. <g>

Valentine also talked about Kronos' horse in the Melvin Koren/Wild West flashback. He'd been given a horse that just wouldn't move-when they were supposed to go galloping across the plains, the horse just stared and wouldn't even follow his buddies. Valentine knew it looked awful, so he talked to the horses' owner. When the man said, "OK, what horse do you want?" Valentine looked at the palomino the man was riding and said, "That one." Thus did Melvin Koren get himself a fiery palomino and did one horse wrangler learn you don't give Kronos a half-asleep horse. <g>

On First Knight, Valentine worked with Richard Gere and Sean Connery. He said Sean was a fine rider, and praised Richard for comforting the owner of a horse who had a heart attack and died on the set. He thought that was above and beyond the call for Richard, but I have no doubt he'd do the same.

One of his early acting jobs (King David) was with Sean Connery, and he told us how Sean's work ethic imprinted itself upon him. His hotel room was right next to Sean's, and every night he'd hear Sean going over his scenes for the next day for hours before dinner. From this he learned what dedication it took to be a truly great actor.

During his days playing Shakespeare on stage, he did Romeo and Juliet. He played Juliet's fiance, and his character is killed by Romeo 20 minutes before the end of the act. This meant he had to lie on stage unmoving for 20 minutes every night. Toward the end of the run he got a job playing Hamlet, so he'd perform Romeo and Juliet and then stay up late rehearsing Hamlet. One night after he "died", he fell asleep and dreamed that he was on stage and he'd fallen asleep. Suddenly he sat up and shouted "To be or not to be!", thus waking himself up. The problem was he couldn't tell what was the dream and what was real, so he wasn't sure if he'd said anything or not. During the curtain calls, he glanced at his fellow actor and said, "Did I say anything?" and stepped forward to bow. They stepped back and his friend said, "What?" before they bowed again. Valentine gave a sigh of relief and said "I'll tell you later."

Another story Valentine told was about being in danger while working on a movie. I've lost the name of the project, but he was on a boat on a lake. A storm blew up, and they had to race to shore. Valentine clung manfully to anything he could find and tried not to look like a landlubber. When they finally got back to shore, he stumbled out onto the land and asked the captain if he they'd really been in any danger or if Valentine had just imagined it. The captain shook his head and said he'd never seen a storm that bad this time of year and he'd never felt closer to death. Valentine was even more grateful to be on land then he'd been moments before.

On the same picture, a simple stunt almost became his most dangerous. He had to jump across the boat looking heroic. Unfortunately, they didn't secure the boom so when he jumped it swung around and caught him in the face. It bled profusely and came very close to taking out his eye. The captain was horrified and they motored him back to shore in a smaller motorboat. Valentine was lying in the cabin as the boat fought the waves, and the crewman that was with him felt so bad he tried to bandage Valentine's face. The boat kept bouncing through the swells though, and the band-aid went in Valentine's hair, on his chest, on his shoulder-everywhere but on his face. Valentine finally begged him to stop in self-defense, and he survived the rest of the trip to the hospital without incident. He said it just goes to show that what you think is easy may not be and what should be often isn't.

Valentine's cat's name is His Nibs. You have to respect a man who admits he's owned by his cat.

Valentine's sister is also actress, and she dubbed his voice once when he was playing a part in drag. He was sorry he couldn't get the right voice, but he was glad they kept the role in the family.

During the panel, someone asked if it was embarrassing to do love scenes, and Valentine said he was a little nervous at first, but the actress he was working with was a great help. He told us that she "handled it beautifully." Before he knew what was happening, Marcus and Peter were giggling and the audience was quickly joining in. He stopped for a second, realized what he'd said, and looked rather embarrassed before he forged on with the story.

Back to Highlander for a minute-Valentine told us that he'd first seen Peter Wingfield in the movie Over Here, so he called him "Squadron Leader Wingfield." They still chat now and then-in fact, Valentine was planning to call him right after the con and give him the ball scores Peter was waiting for.

Another fascinating bit about the Horsemen was the fact that all four actors got together before their first day on the set and discussed the characters-who they were, how they related to one another, and what they wanted out of life. That way they arrived on the set already united and ready to ride as Brothers. Someone asked about their respective roles, saying that if Kronos was the heart and Methos was the head of the Horsemen, what were Caspian and Silas? Valentine considered this, then decided they were the arms, which makes a lot of sense. I think he was pleased with his response too. <g>

All in all, I was very impressed with Valentine, both on stage and off. Meeting him was definitely the highlight of the con for me. Now I'm off to go join the VPFC.

Marcus Testory

Marcus is like Jim Carrey-his face can say a hundred things in an instant. I have a picture of him when his runner brought him a beer that is the very definition of delighted satisfaction (sadly, I took it without a flash so it was too yellow to scan, but I have it in my photo album anyway). He constantly cracked up the audience with his expressions, and the panel was a sheer delight. I remember him doing much the same thing at Anglicon behind Peter Wingfield's back when Peter was trying to answer very serious questions. Poor Peter wasn't sure why we were all laughing at him, but he soon figured it out. <g>

When they were setting up for the panel, there was a problem with Peter Hudson's microphone. Marcus leaned over and talked to the gentlemen with the sound board-he is the musician, after all. He leaned back for a second, smiled, and Peter's mike cut out completely. Peter glared at Marcus, who responded with a delighted "aren't I good?" grin. So Peter grabbed Marcus' mike and continued. (A very clever move, I thought. Even Marcus looked impressed.)

Marcus told us that he's taking his paramedic exams in October, and I wish him well with that. He decided to grow his hair back over his tattoo so it wouldn't scare the people he was trying to help. I liked the tattoo, but I have to admit he has a point. It could be a little disconcerting to see your angel of mercy has a rather distinctive serpent on his head.

Marcus believes in storing personal energy, and that's what the leather bracer with the silver medallion is for. He also wears a crystal for the same reason.

Marcus got the part in Highlander because a friend of his was doing the storyboards, and he called Marcus and told him there was the perfect part for him in this show. He told Marcus to go rent a horse and get his picture taken on it, then send it in. Marcus did, and he got the part. When he got to the set, he found that the clothing was uncomfortable, so he ended up wearing his own leathers on the show. (How many other actors supply their own wardrobe?)

He didn't know how to ride, but he said Val was very helpful. "See that tent, Marcus? Ride over to that tent and stop." Very helpful indeed.

Peter Hudson

Peter started off on great note when he came out and climbed on the table so we could all get pictures (see the one of him showing us his calf on my Peter Hudson page). He carried this sense of humor though the weekend, acting far more like a con expert than a virgin.

My two favorite Peter Moments (tm) came during the costume contest. I was hanging out in the hall with Kay Brenner, dressed in an Indian Sari, ZK, dressed in a dress, Virginia, dressed as a mundane, and Jette, in her usual Scottish garb. As we were chatting, Sophie/Methos (Methophie to her friends) came along. On a whim, I asked Kay if she wanted to get her picture taken worshipping at Methos' feet because our original costume idea was for her to dress in an old sack, long fake nails, and basically play Cassandra to my Methos. Kay, being the great sport she is, decided to humor me so she knelt down and put her hands up to her face as Methophie pointed imperiously. I raised my camera only to see through the viewfinder not Kay, but Peter Hudson with a devilish grin. I lowered my camera in surprise (stupid reflex, I grant you. I missed a classic shot!) and realized Peter was accompanied by Valentine, Marcus, and David Simmons from the Con Committee. I smiled and said the only thing that came to mind-"Pardon us. We're just staging a small reenactment here." Later, Valentine claimed he'd been too involved with thoughts of judging costumes to notice us, but Peter admitted he'd been amused and told Kay she looked very Sandra Bernhardt.

Kay said she'd seen them passing through her fingers and figured she has two choices-she could crawl under the table or just wait until I'd gotten my shot. She waited. (I told you she was a great sport.) The picture is on Peter Hudson's page in memory of his comments.

The other moment was when he complimented my costume, which was my friend Joanne Curme's Renaissance Faire garb. He really liked it, and it made me glad I'd lugged it many thousands of miles. It is a wonderful dress, and a picture of me wearing it is also on my Peter Hudson page.

One story Peter told about HL that I really remember is his saying that he broke several ribs during the filming of Counterfeit Part 2. When they were having the climatic showdown over Tessa's grave, Peter slipped in the grass and landed on a tombstone. He managed to finish the filming as this was the last day, then ended up in the hospital for three. So when you see him staggering away from Duncan, that's a real stagger and he was in real pain. Dedication. Well, would we expect less from someone as focused as Horton? <g>

Someone asked Peter what he would do with the character if he could, and Peter said he'd like to have seen Horton redeem himself somehow, even after death. In the scene where Ahriman tempts Joe with the offer of real legs, Peter tried to play it as if Horton felt a bit of real remorse there for a moment. He would have been happier if Horton came back in the final episodes and somehow made things right with Duncan, but that wasn't meant to be, I guess.

Donna and Gillian

When Donna had lunch with us on Friday, she told us about a new English craze-the Teletubbies. Teletubbies are strange creatures who only say "eh-oh" and show videos of rabbits, puppies, and things like that in their bellies. Donna encountered them on her last trip to England, and they left such scars that she even remembered their names. <g> The really scary thing is that their single, The Teletubbies Say Eh-oh, actually took over from the Spice Girls as the number one single in Britain. I happened to be out CD shopping with Virginia on Saturday, and a pink, blue, and yellow CD caught my eye. The thing practically leapt into my arms, didn't it, Virginia? I was helpless to stand against it.

Anyway, on Sunday Virginia and I were watching the auction when I noticed Donna and Gillian in the back. I went over to chat, then remembered the CD. I told Donna I'd gotten her a present and went back to my seat to get it. I tried to keep a straight face as I approached her with it behind my back, but I know I failed miserably. Still, when I offered it to her, she reacted much as I expected-by gasping and trying to escape. Gillian patted her on the back and told her it was OK-she was safe and they couldn't get to her. Donna eventually took it bravely and flipped it over to see that it contains only four songs, including The Teletubbies Say Eh-oh and The Teletubbies Say Eh-oh Again (Reprise, extra long version). I'm not sure what she did with it, but I suggested that she back over it a couple of times with her car. <eg> The Teletubbies are likely to get the last Eh-oh, though. I hear they're headed for the States. {{shudder}}

During their Q&A, Donna admitted that Valentine wasn't her first choice for Kronos because, although he was the best actor, he was "too pretty." When we watched the audition tapes, we were giggling quite a bit at the actor's attempts to do justice to the bit in Comes a Horsemen when Kronos is confronting Methos and demanding to know whether he misses riding out of the sun bringing death with him. Several pronounced his name with a short e as in method, which definitely sounded odd. One was decent, and we clapped. Donna told us that was the one she's chosen, as had David A. Bill Panzer overruled them, stating that Valentine guy could cut his hair. Oh, and they could give him a scar. He'd be fine. Thank goodness for Bill P! Donna admitted that once she saw Valentine in the dailies, she was glad she'd been overruled. I have to admit, he was pretty. But he was also the best actor of the bunch, and he scruffed up really well.

Donna and Gillian also talked about why Stan left, and said it came from lots of factors. Stan had a line on an American series, and they knew if he got it they'd lose him. TPTB wanted to bring Duncan to the next level, and that meant losing someone he loved. Donna and Gillian said it was almost a grass roots movement among the crew-before they'd even written the episode, one of the lighting guys asked them about it. Then they were watching the dailies and Peter leaned over to Adrian between takes and asked him if it was true Stan was getting offed. They yelled 'no' at the screen, but I guess they should have been yelling 'not yet!' <eg>

Someone asked if they'd thought of reasons why the Horsemen broke up, and they replied of course they had, but they weren't talking because they couldn't be sure where the new series or the books would go, and they didn't want anyone coming up to them and saying "but in Manchester you said this but on the show they said that." They said they wanted to go into Methos' Horsemen past a bit more in Season 6, but Peter wasn't available by the time the show got its official go-ahead, and then they had to do the spin-off chick stuff. So their ideas may have to wait until they write a book. If there are any more-Donna said they're not selling very well and there are no plans to do more after this group of 10 is finished. Donna has one more coming out though, so who knows what she'll slip into it? (Unfortunately, that's my own hope speaking, not any hints she dropped though.) They said if you want more books, buy the ones that are out there! Now!

A new project Gillian is working on is a compilation of stories written by the cast and crew. They have F. Braun's already-they said he could have a novel in a week if you asked him for it. They're working on the rest of the group, but aren't sure when it will be out. During Valentine's Q&A, someone asked him if he'd contribute, and he looked a bit confused but said 'sure, if they ask me. Probably.' I hope it works out-I'm really looking forward to reading this book.

For anyone awaiting the new Watcher Chronicles, that will be out in September, and it's supposed to come as a free gift with the Season 5 tapes. It covers Seasons 1-6, so those of us who have the first one can replace it in for the second.

Peter Diamond

Peter was the swordmaster for all three movies and the Paris portion of the first season of the series. He was also the first Immortal ever to die on film because he was Fazil in Highlander the movie-the one under Madison Square Garden who came 'unassembled.' He wasn't supposed to be, but the actor they wanted couldn't get there in time and Peter was the one who knew the fight sequence. So he got drafted. (A tradition F. Braun has carried on proudly.)

He was fascinating-he came out and showed us how he does falls safely using padding and careful choreography. He's very proud of the fact he's been in the industry for decades and he's never had a serious accident. To him, stunts are a business and should be done with care and attention to detail, not just bravado. I asked him what stunt he was most proud of, and he told us about a movie he'd done (who's name I've forgotten, I'm afraid). In it, the heroes had to slide down a rope almost a quarter mile long linking one island with another to gain safety in a hut on the second island. Peter knew that distance was too long to be able to stop effectively, so he had dummies made and then did the shot from afar. The dummies were roped together and pushed off on their way. They slid down the rope to disappear into the hut with a huge billowing of dust, only to have the actors rush out. Peter said everyone was amazed when they saw how realistic it looked and how safe it had actually been.

Peter trained Christopher Lambert and Adrian, and he said Christopher could easily be as good as Adrian if he put the same amount of time into it. Even with his impaired vision, Christopher is a natural athlete and Peter liked working with him. In Denver, I heard F. Braun say that Stan Kirsch didn't seem to care much for sword practice, and that he often missed his sessions with F. Braun. Peter has an interesting insight into Stan's abilities that might explain why-he said Stan wasn't as coordinated as either Adrian or Christopher, so he had a lot of problems with the fight sequences. He used three pads to mark out a triangle like this:

       B  
     /   \
    A-----C

Then he said, let's suppose you're standing at A facing C, and want to end up at C facing A. (Basically moving forward and spinning around as you do so.) You'd naturally take a step up to B, pivot on that foot, bring your other foot down at C, and then bring your first foot down to join the other. Stan always seemed to end up stuck at B, and that tended to throw off the choreography of the fight. I know how I hate doing something I'm not really good at-maybe Stan felt the same way when he was around someone as dexterous as Adrian. {{shrug}} As much as I liked Richie, I have a feeling Stan's next series won't have much in the way of swordfights. <g>

Once Peter had finished his introduction, Valentine came out and Peter showed us how he'd get a new actor ready for his fight scene. He teaches them a few moves at a time, then drills them in those moves until they're able to do them quickly and easily. Then he moves on to the next sequence and slowly builds the fight one piece at a time.

I also asked him if he thought a woman had a chance in the Game, and he didn't even hesitate before he said, "Certainly." So were I ever to become Immortal, I know who I'd pick for my teacher. <g>

The Con Committee

No report would be complete without lavishing much well-deserved praise on David, Carol, and Gill. They managed to stay pleasant and wonderful all weekend, even when they looked like they'd much rather be sleeping. Lots of us "knew" David already from his presence on the Chronicles mailing list, and he was just as amusing in person as he is in email. Even if he did spend the weekend wearing shirts advertising rival series. (Xena, Callisto, and Seven of Nine, as I recall.)

Thank you so much, one and all. It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Onwards to Chronicles 99!!

A Small Gift for Peter

If you've stayed with me for this entire report, you deserve a small treat, so I'll tell you about the gift I sent to Peter Wingfield. On the plane, I was talking to Kay and Vicki about how we had to do *something* to make this con memorable for Peter even if he wasn't going to be here. I came up with the idea of getting Marcus and Valentine to autograph a picture for Peter that said "Our Con Now" on it. I enlisted Kay's help in this effort, and she set about procuring a picture. Shelly Winters donated one of her lovely works of art showing all four Horsemen, and I dutifully took it through the autograph line. I said cheerfully to Marcus, "Marcus, I need your help on a present for Peter Wingfield. I want you to write 'our con now' on this and sign it." Marcus looked at me with that quizzical look of his, and I added encouragingly "it's a take off on one of Peter's lines-he said 'My chair now!' in the show." Marcus nodded like that made perfect sense to him, and picked up his gold pen. Over Peter's picture, he wrote "OUR CON NOW!! See ya Marcus". I got to Valentine, and went through the explanation again. He grinned, double-checked that it was going to Peter, and wrote, "Such a pity you weren't here! See you soon. Val". I think they both thought I was a little odd, but it was too good a chance to pass by.

During the PWFC party, I wrote a cover letter (on Sachas Hotel stationery, of course) that said:

Then I put the cover letter in the plasticine envelope covering the signed picture so that when you slide the cover letter out, the first thing you see is Marcus' big, gold scrawled "OUR CON NOW!!". After I wrote the letter I went down to the bar, only to find Valentine still hanging around talking about the Titanic and drinking beer. I slid in next to him and waited for a lull in the conversation, then raised the letter so he could see it. He immediately asked me if I needed him to sign something and went to set down his beer. I assured him he'd already signed it and let him read the cover letter. He had a wonderful grin that just got bigger as he read, and he promised to hassle Peter about it when he called him the next day. I promised to mail it promptly so he could find out what Valentine was picking on him about, and I did just that. It left the hotel in Manchester heading for Kelly's office on Monday. I haven't heard whether he received it or not, but I hope he enjoyed it. How many times does he get signed things in the mail instead of things he has to sign? <eg>

The Lake District

I had one day to play before going home, so Kay, Vicki, Cheri Moore, and I spent it wandering around Manchester and taking a train to the Lake District to see Windermere. It was clear in the morning so walking around Manchester was pleasant enough. I'd seen a Roman fort marked on a tourist map, so we took a cab there. It turns out the fort is recreated, which doesn't quite have the same excitement value as original rocks, but what can you do? We didn't have time to make it to Hadrian's wall and see the real rocks.

Windermere, when we finally got there, was rather gray and wet, but I bought some lovely postcards that show what the area might have looked like if I could have seen it. Details, right? It was still a lovely town with some nice shops and a wonderful place for lunch called Aunty Val's tea room. I don't think Valentine was moonlighting as an Aunt, but he has done a show in drag, so you never know, do you?

After the Lake District, we had a last dinner in Whetherspoons and then prepared to leave first thing in the morning for my plane home while Kay, Vicki, and Cheri continued on to Wales and Southern England. {{sigh}} Maybe next year I'll get to stay longer. I know my thoughts were still in England regardless of where my body ended up.

And that, finally, is it for my Con report. Thanks for reading!