UK LGBTQ Fiction meet (and Bristol)

UK LGBTQ Fiction meet (and Bristol)

Bristol welcomed us with rain and cold, but our amazing airbnb place softened that blow.

But even drenched, we managed to make use of the day and went to the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. It’s relatively small but has an interesting collection of art and historical artifacts. And, of course, this amazing biplane in the main hall 🙂

Thankfully, Wednesday was the only day it rained, and for the rest of our stay, the weather was perfect for sightseeing. We were walking everywhere, and this way, we got to see just how lovely the city is. Moving to Bristol is totally on the table now.

We chose to visit Brunel’s SS Great Britain, and we loved it – so much inspiration right there! At the start of the tour, we went underneath the fake seawater (which was thick glass covered by a layer of water) to see the underside of the vessel – this is the place where its size is easiest to grasp. We then saw an exhibition about the history of the ship, only to board the ship itself. A visitor can choose between a variety of audio guides, some of which focus on first class passengers, others on technical details, etc. We were surprised at the cramped space in the cabins, even in first class, and the whole interior is designed to give the visitor a reasonably good picture of the life on board.  The attraction is reasonable price-wise, and so is the museum store. Definitely worth checking out 🙂

We had to take an extra large suitcase to Bristol to accommodate our swag, but we’re very happy with it – took us three evenings to get it done, but it was lots of fun, especially that out friends agreed to help us 🙂 The ‘sample box’ goes with our book from the UK met memory stick, which is Stung.

The meet was just as amazing as the previous ones we attended. We’ll never stop being in awe of just how much work goes into organizing an event like that. People you meet are more important that the venue, but God, was this venue gorgeous 😀 On Saturday, we started reconnecting with people we know over coffee and cookies. It’s been great to talk to writers and readers who share similar interests. The numerous tea breaks allowed that, but I think we had the most fruitful discussion during the buffet of banter. We sat at the co-writing table but throughout the hour-long session, we switched topics. I didn’t think this particular subject would be interesting to readers, but in the end, we did have mixed company, and I think it served the discussion. High fives to everyone who participated 😀

We loved the entertainment at the Saturday dinner, especially the Songbirds Choir Cardiff – we’re both very sensitive to music so the performance squeezed some wetness out of our eyes ;D Overall, the meet was a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new amazing people. We already miss everyone!