Catching Up

Been a quiet week on here. Eastercon was huge amounts of fun. Met a great many people, some for the first time. There was a mini launch of The Reef, and both China Miéville and Christopher Priest bought copies—two authors I’m huge fans of; and reading China’s work made me want to write in the first place. Needless to say, I was chuffed.

Then I spent a relaxing week in the Yorkshire Dales for my birthday, which included a visit to the finest pub called The Crown, at Lofthouse. Now, this place is awesome. The landlord looks like Santa gone off the rails. He was great. He drank so much ale, and kept topping his pint up in between serving people. Must have been three pints during an hour lunch. You can pay for food in cash, cheque, or by bartering with coal, eggs etc. No cards here. The cash register is a wooden box. The gents’ facilities can be found by walking out the front door, up the road, through something like a shed without a roof, and is the black painted wall before you. The newest piece of furnishing was a square clock from the 1970s, and really stood out against the rest of the decor. And the food was fantastic. They don’t make places like that anymore.