UK Ponycon 2019 Part 1 · 9:12pm Oct 17th, 2019

Part 1: Subterranean Nottingham

As I sit here typing, I'm just getting over a wonderful stomach bug that I somehow picked up as part of my UK Ponycon haul . Even though I'd much rather be healthy enough to be back at work, this has at least allowed me to stay in the Ponycon headspace a little longer. And now my energy is coming back, I'm gonna give this write-up a go. Even if it's probably like the 4th con report you're reading.

Starting with the Thursday, which was in fact my MLP Finale viewing day. I set aside a whole evening to watch the final 3 episodes of FiM, and it was worth it. I got pretty much what I was hoping out of them, including a rather emotional ending scene. I didn't realise until afterwards that I'd accidently picked the show's 9th anniversary for the occasion as well. So I went to bed happy that night (later than intended, admittedly), ready for a weekend full of pony.

Friday rolled around, and I thought it might be a good idea to start packing. The usual T-shirts etc. went in easily. Plushie selection on the other hand was a tad more difficult. I knew Luna had to come, and I didn't want to leave Scootaloo behind either. I have a small Rainbow Dash in my collection, who I've taken to all other UK conventions, but sadly she had to stay behind. I did at least bring big BaB Dashie; I wanted something huggable for my hotel room . I also left room for new arrivals. More on that later.

This is where my Friday diverged from the normal pre-con day. I walked straight to work (in the rain), dumped my suitcase under my desk, and went to the pub. Not because I was desperate for a beer (although I did have a nice pint of 'Rocket' from the on-site brewery). Some colleagues of mine were having a leaving do, and I didn't want to miss saying goodbye. Thankfully the pub in question (The Brunswick Inn, Derby) is close to both the office and the train station. About 2pm, I left to grab my bag and head for the platform.

'Traincon' was already in full swing, so it was nice to finally join in. Even nicer was getting to meet Logan on the train. We departed 'Derpy' and managed to spot 'Twi Train' along the way . When we arrived in Nottingham, we half-tried and ultimately failed to meet up with Zen and Ace. Instead we caught the first tram of the weekend into town. This is a lot nicer than the equivalent walk, which comprises a building site and a concrete underpass.

Leaving Logan at Market Square, I continued on up passed the con venue, and checked into the Premier Inn. Having commuted from home last year, I'm glad to have indulged this time. Staying within a stone's throw of the convention certainly has its advantages. Luckily my room overlooked a side road; so less chance of noisy students come nightfall. Plus there was a little shelf that was clearly designed for displaying pony plushies on.

All settled in, I headed back in town to meet everyone, and Griffin suddenly appeared from behind a tram . We found Logan and Hawthorn, and waited for Zen, Ace and Fluffles to arrive. Why were we meeting? Well, since we were in Nottingham I felt it worth taking everyone to see one of the local sights. Which in this case was the 'Park Tunnel', a big hole in the ground that I hoped would be kinda cool. I gave everyone the choice, honest! They weren't very convinced, choosing instead to believe I was leading them to certain doom.

We descended down into the gloom (narrowly avoiding a stupid pigeon who'd forgotten how to fly). I was worried they'd all be like "yes, so...". But hopefully people liked it. Zen got to make some train noises. And I grabbed a nice photo that Griffin later said we should make our album cover. After all this intense excitement, we headed back into town (via THE ROUNDABOUT of course), and found Alli waiting in 'Spoons. He was a rather bemused that we missed him a few times . That's what dipping in-and-out of tunnels does to your eyes.

We settled into a nice evening of food, drink and pony chat. More people joined us including Hawker Hurricane, and the Worcestershire contingent. We also met Mike from Ireland, which was nice. Space was a bit tight unfortunately. Someone managed to pick up the new Trixie figure with cape and hat. The last of us stayed there until about 10:30pm, after which it was time to head to bed and attempt some sleep.