Scotland & Worldcon

Finally escaped Northern Ireland and am over in Inverness with Scotty.  Today we drove round Loch Ness and searched for the monster.  Unfortunately it had gone, and no wonder.  It’s probably totally fed up with all the tourists and has packed off to a lesser known lake.  :-)

Worldcon in Glasgow was completely different to conventions in the States.  Only about six people dared to wear a costume, and the UK people seemed to take themselves far too seriously.  They did have an interesting exhibit hall with very realistic Dr. Who’s Tardis and the gate from Stargate.  My friend, Irene Radford, (ramblin_phyl) was on a few panels but unfortunately our timing was completely off and I was unable to make any of them.  In fact we missed each other altogether, only talking via our mobile phones.  She had a most successful con; apparently her publisher is buying her new series. 

Scotty and I braved being laughed at and wore our Klingon outfits on Saturday night.  We were a hit with the Europeans, but not the stuffy British!  Norwegians and Dutch kept popping up in the bar and we ended up hanging out with them all evening.  At 0300 we closed the bar, and had a ridiculously fun time playing  kazoos in the hotel lobby, much to the incredulity of staff and conventioners alike.  Where the kazoos came from and why we had them remains a mystery, but we played with gusto and had such fun.  A sweet Dutch fellow took a fancy to me - so much so that he got on his knees and begged me to marry him!  “No,” was my quick reply, but it didn’t stop him from planting many kisses on my face and being sentimentally silly.  I was rather pleased to find out he was fourteen years younger than me. Such things are good for the ego. ;-)

Scott and I got back to our hotel at around five in the morning and fell asleep to the sound of the city waking up.  The hotel doors were locked - we had to ring a bell for the night porter to let us in.  When he saw us he boggled.  “I don’t know about this,” he said, “you might head-butt me!”

My brother Steve and his wife Moya came down to Glasgow for the weekend, then drove us up to Inverness on Monday.  They live in a gorgeous house on the outskirts of the city, and are mere minutes from Loch Ness.  The Highlands are so beautiful.  Wild and barren mountains, lush and leafy glens, and so many lochs with water as clear as glass.  The top of the mountain where we drove was bathed in a light mist, which gradually lifted leaving wisps and trails on the road.  A light rain fell, then the sun came out, blazing a glorious rainbow across the loch.