The Museum of Classic Sci-Fi
December 1, 2024On Saturday we finally headed up to Allendale to visit this local treasure. It’s a one-man operation and clearly a labour of love on the part of its creator Neil Cole. It’s small but absolutely packed with exhibits, with a labyrinthian feel and dramatic lighting. Cole does preservation and restorations, and will enthusiastically tell you about his favourites, or recount a particularly fun acquisition. His inspiration for the museum is from visiting the original Blackpool Doctor Who Exhibition as a kid, so its no surprise that there is a Tardis outside and a dalek guarding the from door, plus the…
It’s been cold here, the rest of the area had snow a few days ago but it didn’t quite hit here, just rain and cold. I’m very glad for our new heat pump, have cracked out the slow cooker and…
Okay then.
(Whoops, forgot to press publish – have backdated this now) Took a little break from most of the internet, for obvious reasons ,but also because I was travelling and then tired/ill from said travelling. Feeling slightly better now, physically I…
Here, there, everywhere
The last month flew by, a work visit to London, a family visit here in Newcastle, and then a week of men tramping through the house to install a heat pump. All positive things but each a bit disruptive. The…
Kynren
The grand finale of our weekend in Durham was Kynren. The first big surprise was the surrounding park, its in the middle of nowhere and I wasn’t expecting that much, but its modern and generally well-designed. There are shuttle buses,…
Bishop Auckland
At the end of August, John’s parents along with his brother and sister-in-law came up for little mini-vacation. They rented a place in Durham and touristed for a couple of days and then on Friday night we headed over, it…
Glasgow (But not Worldcon!)
But sort of still Worldcon really. After the convention was over, we had planned for an extra few days to explore Glasgow. Meg kindly offered to put us up and show us around a bit, so on Tuesday morning we…
I WENT TO WORLDCON AND ALL I GOT WAS THESE EXCELLENT FRIENDS – PART FOUR (finally)
And then it was Monday, the last day of the convention. We had belatedly decided to stay one more night, but the Village was asking for a bizarrely high price so we booked at the Crowne Plaza instead. Since the…
I Went to Worldcon and All I Got Was These Excellent Friends – Part Three
(And a Hugo for John!) I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it is taking me longer to write about Worldcon that it did to experience, but we’re finally at Hugo night! The pre-Hugo reception was described as having hors…
I Went to Worldcon and All I Got Was These Excellent Friends – Part Two
(And a bunch of stuff I bought in the dealers room too, I guess) We were staying at the Village, across the bridge from the SEC and Crowne Plaza, which had a decent breakfast buffet but more importantly was also…
I Went to Worldcon and All I Got Was These Excellent Friends – Part One
Well, and covid. Which is one reason why this update is a bit later than I had hoped. The lead up to the convention was the usual flurry of last minute art prep, overpacking, and in my case fan lounge…