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Gallifrey: Sunday
I’ve surely got this jetlag business the wrong way round. Now I feel terrible, just before I’m due to go back. Wait, that could be the beer last night. ‘I’ve lost my bag,’ I said, venturing back into the echoing emptiness of the Vault where a convention had been, far from the raucous gradual dwindling of the party in the bar up top. ‘Here’s your bag,’ said Tara when I got back, having asked the bar staff.
It’s not what was in the bag, it was the fact that it was given to me by the Gallifrey staff on the fifth anniversary of my starting to come to these things. I feel very protective of it. Gallfrey conventions are, for all of us I think, an index of how our lives are doing, particularly our professional lives, caught in time lapse, one image a year. This year I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m rather content. I didn’t spend my time hustling for anything, but rather just hung around and talked to my friends. Maybe that felt a bit too easy: the convention sped past and I wasn’t too taxed at any point.
Oh, but one challenge I set myself I completed. On a bet from some friends of mine, I mentioned at least one Pet Shop Boys song title on every panel I was on. Sometimes the panels caught on. ‘It’s all right,’ I said in response to Gary Russell naming his favourite Bernice book. ‘You’re so hard, Graeme,’ I said about Grey’s wavering Galactica defence, ‘you’ve no heart.’ Perhaps it’s for the best that I didn’t get to use ‘How Do You Expect To Be Taken Seriously’, ‘I Don’t Know What It Is You Want But I Can’t Give It To You Any More’ or ‘The Boy who Couldn’t Keep his Clothes On’.
Best Panel of the Day (That I Was On): ‘I wouldn’t normally do this kind of thing,’ I said at the start of the panel that remembered Craig Hinton. It turned out to be a funny ramble through Craig’s times, particularly the ancient fandom so many of us at this event shared.
Best Panel of the Day (That I Wasn’t): Mike Tucker’s visual effects talk and film. Mike recently won a Bafta Award for his work, and talked wittily as usual about what’s turned into the definitive modelwork and special effects career. Now people are turning back to physical effects, and know the boundaries of CGI, he’s ahead of the game.
There’s a wistful feel to the ending of a Galley. Folk do their live episode commentaries (Ben luxuriating in ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’), then while we deprive the Green Room of its last baked goods, there’s the film of this year’s news clips and nostalgia moments, then we all get up onstage to say goodbye, then Shaun says off you go, and everyone rushes out of the hall, back into their lives, broken up for another year. And I went to the bar, and then got lost and wandery amongst the debris. This year’s event was the biggest ever in terms of numbers. And the best in sheer excellence of organisation. I’ll be back next year. Obviously.
The lovely Javier has blogged about our night out, with a couple of photos:
http://chaodai.livejournal.com/
I’ll be putting up some of my own when I get home. See you back in the UK. And on a different sort of time. Cheerio.
It’s not what was in the bag, it was the fact that it was given to me by the Gallifrey staff on the fifth anniversary of my starting to come to these things. I feel very protective of it. Gallfrey conventions are, for all of us I think, an index of how our lives are doing, particularly our professional lives, caught in time lapse, one image a year. This year I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m rather content. I didn’t spend my time hustling for anything, but rather just hung around and talked to my friends. Maybe that felt a bit too easy: the convention sped past and I wasn’t too taxed at any point.
Oh, but one challenge I set myself I completed. On a bet from some friends of mine, I mentioned at least one Pet Shop Boys song title on every panel I was on. Sometimes the panels caught on. ‘It’s all right,’ I said in response to Gary Russell naming his favourite Bernice book. ‘You’re so hard, Graeme,’ I said about Grey’s wavering Galactica defence, ‘you’ve no heart.’ Perhaps it’s for the best that I didn’t get to use ‘How Do You Expect To Be Taken Seriously’, ‘I Don’t Know What It Is You Want But I Can’t Give It To You Any More’ or ‘The Boy who Couldn’t Keep his Clothes On’.
Best Panel of the Day (That I Was On): ‘I wouldn’t normally do this kind of thing,’ I said at the start of the panel that remembered Craig Hinton. It turned out to be a funny ramble through Craig’s times, particularly the ancient fandom so many of us at this event shared.
Best Panel of the Day (That I Wasn’t): Mike Tucker’s visual effects talk and film. Mike recently won a Bafta Award for his work, and talked wittily as usual about what’s turned into the definitive modelwork and special effects career. Now people are turning back to physical effects, and know the boundaries of CGI, he’s ahead of the game.
There’s a wistful feel to the ending of a Galley. Folk do their live episode commentaries (Ben luxuriating in ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’), then while we deprive the Green Room of its last baked goods, there’s the film of this year’s news clips and nostalgia moments, then we all get up onstage to say goodbye, then Shaun says off you go, and everyone rushes out of the hall, back into their lives, broken up for another year. And I went to the bar, and then got lost and wandery amongst the debris. This year’s event was the biggest ever in terms of numbers. And the best in sheer excellence of organisation. I’ll be back next year. Obviously.
The lovely Javier has blogged about our night out, with a couple of photos:
http://chaodai.livejournal.com/
I’ll be putting up some of my own when I get home. See you back in the UK. And on a different sort of time. Cheerio.
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My friend has a theory that when you first arrive on holiday, you are hyped up that your body surpresses the jetlag. It is only when you know you are going home that your body finally gives in. I generally get so exhausted in the excitement of the packing and preparation for a trip abroad, I don't notice the additional tiredness until after the holiday.
I actually drifted into Mike Tucker's presentation and I was so glad I did. I've always been amazed by what's been done in the past by people at Star Trek and Star Wars And it's nice to know that the companies aren't relying completely on CGI now that they realize it's not good enough.
As for the rest of Gally.... WOW. It was just great. I had a lot of fun, definately going next year.
It was a pleasure! I promise not to try to get you to remember who I am next time after having only made 2 comments.
Cat AKA Rachel Hendricks
It was good to see Paul and Caroline again this year. Hopefully you made it back home OK. This was my 18th Gallifrey (I'm pretty sure I've been to all of them) and it was a lot of fun, as usual.
I didnt realize that Javier Grillo-Marxuach was hanging out at the con. I enjoyed the Just a minute game. Colin Baker was very good at it and the audience really enjoyed it.
Although my most exciting moment of the weekend was when I realized too late that the Dalek Bath and Shower Gel that I picked up in the Dealers room really should not be in my carry on luggage.
Lee Whiteside
http://sftvblog.blogspot.com
I'm home safe--hope you and Caroline and all and sundry are well. It was brilliant as always hanging out with you both. *hugs*
Paul, on behalf of myself and the rest of the folks at Gally - all right, then, the other Green Room staff (Kris Bauer, mostly), it was the usual treat to have you and Caroline with us. I really enjoy your blog, especially because I get to read about all the things I was too busy or weary to check out myself. Glad you had a good time, and I hope Caroline enjoyed the Official Last Donut of the Convention. When I suggested it, I never dreamed for a moment that Shaun would actually do it...
Cheers,
Doc
Thanks, everyone. We're now back home. Tara, it was lovely to hang around with you, we're missing you in our lives back here. And thank you very much Green Room Team for all the care and baked goods. Caroline was startled by being handed a doughnut onstage, but she really appreciated it. They're one of the many treats we only allow ourselves at Galley. I have one more Galley post to make, summing up and presenting my photos.
Going to Europe (Spain) from the west coast wasn't too bad, because we synched up in the morning and afternoon. It was going home that was really brutal. I've heard making sure the back of your knees get sunlight cures jetlag, but I've been too chicken to try it.
That sounds like something ripe for Mythbusters. I hope you feel you're in the right timezone now.