This particular Friday dawned and proved to be another very nice day... just one of a long string of very nice days that the U.K. has enjoyed this year. However, Friday 10th October wasn't just any other nice day. It was a day that had been talked about and planned for the best part of two years.

So I was just a tad excited.

The clans had been gathering for several days already and it was finally time to join them. So with bags stuffed full of my funkiest clothes, a Masquerade Ball costume to slay 'em in the aisles, a massage chair on the the backseat and a crate of wine in the boot (that's trunk in American) I set off to collect Martina from Peterborough Station. Precision planning never works does it? So it was a wee while later than planned that Martina and I finally got to meet. Her eyes bulged noticeably when we loaded her rucksack by the side of a certain wine crate. There were, after all, over a dozen bottles there!

We hit the road, enjoying a patchwork of autumnal colours, as we headed west from Peterborough. All went well until we hit the dreaded M6 and, oh man, was that a traffic pickle? Suffice to say that we were delayed about an hour and a half and sustained ourselves during the deadly crawl by playing spot the strange metal structures and the ghastly aquamarine blue Argos lorry...

Ugh!

We finally reached Tillington Hall just about in time for the opening ceremony. Fortunately they were running a little late. This gave us time to get registered, find a room, bring the stuff in (and let me tell you a crate of wine is a very heavy thing - I could have done with Steffi's assistance but she was caught up in emigration at Brisbane Airport - for reference please read "From Har to Maternity" on Forever) and have a quick change of clothing.

The Opening Ceremony began and Wendy in her web dress did a superb job as Mistress of Ceremonies. The guests were introduced and the standard set for a wonderfully intimate, opulent and mind-blowing convention.

For the rest of the Friday evening the residents of the Stone Inn Chat Room pretty much held court. This was the first of a number of Stone Inn get togethers to occur during October over two continents. It was just jaw-droppingly fantastic to finally meet. And amazingly we found we could actually talk to each other without feeling the urge to resort to using a keyboard.

The first panel was the fanfic panel, which I was moderating. The panel was made up of Addie Fielding, Wendy Darling and Bridgette Parker. We had hoped to have the "Author's View" from Stan Nicholls but sadly he, and his wife Anne Gay, were unable to attend at the last minute due to a family problem. However Ricardo Pinto was successfully press-ganged into being our "Author" and, as is the fluid nature of convention programming once the event gets going, we were also joined by Gabriel Strange (Gabby) and Phil Brucato. Being the anally-retentive control freak that I am, I had written a rough outline of areas that we wanted to cover during this panel. But given the fluid nature of conventions in general, we collectively threw away the script and started having fun. A very lively debate ensued. The stars were Kay Sands and Ricardo Pinto. Kay, along with her husband Leo, had brought along with them a veritable Aladdin's cave for the Grissecon market place.

Kay and Aladdin's Cave

Kay has an encyclopedic knowledge of fandom and fan fiction. Her input was extremely interesting and informative and I am deeply grateful for it. Ricardo Pinto shone on this panel, as he did throughout the convention. Initially as he'd sat down on the panel, he mumbled to Wendy and I that he was a bit anti-fan fiction and felt rather protective of his characters. "Fine," we said, "Be controversial!" However, in the course of the panel he did a 180-degree about turn and became convinced. So much so that he bought a signed copy of Writers of the Storm. But more of that later.

Having arrived late Martina and I had no chance of dinner. As we were due to be on stage for about three hours that night we liberated a couple of bread rolls and some cold meat from the buffet during the break between panels.

The next item was the launch of Writers of the Storm. This was Addie's moment. It was Addie's vision and tenacity that had brought together writing and artwork from all over the globe. The result? This beautiful book.

Writers of the Storm Book Launch

It was truly time to celebrate. Unfortunately no one had thought to bring a bottle of champagne. But who needs champagne when you have Chateau Fengate? A lightning raid to my room supplied us with a bottle of rhubarb and a bottle of hawthorne blossom. We cracked open the rhubarb as Addie told the story of how WotS came into being. All the writers were there, with the exception of Deborah Clarke (better known as Tyggie) who was much missed. The wine continued to flow as each writer said a bit about their story. We finished the launch with a book signing. It was extremely strange to be on the signing side of the table rather than the getting it signed side... I'm not sure that's something I could get used to!

The final panel of the evening, moderated by Addie, was "Wraeththu 15 Years On." By this time we were really in the swing of things...and already onto the bottle of hawthorne blossom. Addie, Bridgette, Martina and I were joined by Tigger Nelson, a close friend of Storm's. Although Tigger claimed that status might be in question after having been press-ganged onto this particular panel. Each of us told the story of how we had come to Wraeththu in the beginning. A lot of us seemed to have read these books on the quiet at work... resulting in a comment from Ricardo that he wouldn't want to employ any of us! We talked about how the Wraeththu world had developed in Wraiths and what had surprised us and laid down foundations for the rest of the new trilogy. To be honest it was just like having a chat in the Stone Inn... and we could have gone on all night. Sadly we only had a limited time. The panel was wound up ready for the next event.

By this time, what with the M6, no dinner, three hours on stage and a glass or two of wine I was ready for some shut-eye. Sadly I missed the Celebration of the Dehara. I'm told this was a really interesting event and I wish I'd been there... but when Morpheus calls me there's no escaping him. I went to bed buzzing... and woke up with a hangover!

Saturday 11th October

Quite a hangover as it turned out. Martina and I met over breakfast and between us consumed about two and-a-half pots of tea. This worked wonders. The Grissecon marketplace had filled up with stalls and patrons alike. Hara from all tribes were there. The scene was not unlike the marketplace in Ferelithia where Pellaz comes across Kate buying ribbons. I drooled around the silks and satins of Kay Sands stall whist waiting for the panels to begin.

Grissecon Market

The major panel of the morning was Wendy Darling's interview of Storm. We heard about the horrors of working for local government in a library and how the opening paragraphs of Enchantments were given birth on an old computer used for data entry. It wasn't even wired up to a printer so Storm had to surreptitiously copy it all down longhand hoping that no one came and caught her. Wraeththu and the workplace seem to be inextricably entwined... maybe Ricardo has a point about not employing any of us!

The Storm Interview

Next up was lunch, and the Stone Inn crew plus partners and a few others from the Stormboard ventured forth in search of sustenance. Bridgette's husband Paul voiced a desire to try that most British of delicacies -- fish and chips. Jess knew the whereabouts of a chippie and was voted party leader. We were a party of about eight and it took some time to get served. The lady behind the counter asked what my convention badge was about. I debated whether to launch into a lengthy explanation of what "Grissecon" was about but settled on telling her that she'd need to read the books of a certain Ms S. Constantine for it to make sense.

Each of us furnished with a food-filled package, we made our way back to a park near the hotel for an impromptu picnic. I think this will remain one of my happiest memories of Grissecon 1. It was just like being in the Stone Inn on a Saturday night. Chips were chomped, banter flew -- the feeling of camaraderie was magic.

During the afternoon panels a very lively debate ensued about the horrors of the publishing and music industries. The absolute scene-stealer though was Andy Collins' "From Ashes to Angels." The room was darkened as Andy talked us through a series of slides. He told us stories of a race of people who probably came into being originally in the Nile delta but due to environmental change moved further north into the fertile crescent... probably to a location which became known as "The Garden of Eden." These people were beautiful. A ripple of shock ran around the room as Andy produced a stunning slide of an Asiatic albino -- one of our angels. We all sat there spellbound throughout the whole presentation. Rather shell shocked we left the presentation, which had overrun and made our way to showers, dinner and a general chill out before the evening's festivities began.

The party began with the launch of Breeding Discontent co-written by Wendy Darling and Bridgette Parker. In canon and part of the Wraeththu Mythos the book tells the story set in Megalithica after the defeat of Varrish rule and the horrors that are discovered in the aftermath. Wendy and Bridgette both read from the book. What amazed me standing there and watching them is that they had cooked this entire story up together and produced this wonderful book... and before Grissecon 1 - THEY HAD NEVER MET! Power of the Internet eh? Magic!

Breeding Discontent Book Launch

Then it was party time. Opulence at its height. People looked fantastic and had gone to town on their costumes. Of particular note has to be Michael from Leicester who was deliciously spooky as a Cyber-Highwayman. The scenes in the ballroom were fantastic. Sensorial Edge Technician did us proud. At one point, as I just stood and watched, I was reminded of Temple Radiant, the place to be seen in Ferelithia. All we needed was Rue, snarling and screaming, fronthar of "The Closets of Emily Child" and the scene would have complete. A Chateau wine bar had spontaneously started up on one table -- hangovers were guaranteed!

Costume Ball

There was a quiet spot, however, in the marketplace, where a group of us shared a bottle of blackberry wine and listened to Bridgette tell tales from Cajun Country. Tales of Zorro the pseudo-cop and the tomato growing, walking-frame using, multiple-wife murderer. It all happens in small town Louisiana you know! It was a fabulous night and I have got a clue when or how I got to bed.

Sunday 12th October

Storm's birthday would you believe? She had tried (and failed) to keep that one quiet. There were lots of cards and pressies. Copious quantities of tea were drunk to stave off the hangovers. People were definitely a little subdued. Partly heavy partying the night before and partly total sensory overload. We had all seen so much and heard so much and it had all been so interesting... that brains were beginning to slow down a little.

It was a slow and leisurely start. Panels didn't start until 11 a.m. The programme was juggled a bit and Andy Collins continued his presentation on angels to a packed house. There were panels on magic, panels on Tantra, Ruby held court in a quiet corner of the bar and discussed her art work... to be honest some of this has become a bit of a blur... there was so much to see and do at this convention it could have lasted a week.

I finally succumbed to the charms of Kay Sand's Aladdin's cave and bought a beautiful silk wrap in shades of grey, green and blue. It was just as well I did, Tillington Hall had removed the tablecloths from the panel tables at lunchtime leaving us some rather grotty-looking tables. My wrap doubled as a tablecloth and gave another touch of opulence to an already glittering convention.

All too soon the convention came to an end. Wendy performed to closing ceremony and there were goodbyes all round. Some were staying on and others leaving. There was time for one more Stone Inn photograph and then Martina and I had to head back through joyous traffic jams on our return journey to Peterborough..

Stone Inn Bar Flies

Monday 13th October

Martina and I had originally planned to go down to the Lord of the Rings costume and props exhibition down in London... but Grissecon 1 had taken it out of us. Instead we spent a leisurely day pottering around Peterborough, buying up Marks and Spencer's entire stock of Harry Potter scarves, visiting the Cathedral, having an encounter with Benedict the techno ghost who haunts tourist information and drinking coffee in my favourite café. I saw Martina off on the train to Stanstead Airport at about 3 o'clock. Grissecon 1 was finally over. Now all I have to do is to save my pennies for Grissecon 2 in Atlanta.

I'll leave you with one final photograph which is particularly satisfying. Here we see Rasputin the Mad Monk of St Petersburg visiting St Peter's Cathedral in Peterborough... and it is, as I always thought, he is a thoroughly nice chap.

Raspers in P'boro