My Time at the TFNation Reading Mini-Con

So things started out with a decision not to repeat my previous mistakes with trains, I'd get an off-peak ticket and aim for an early train. Then it snowed the Monday before. Fearing further snow I watched the weather reports like a hawk, and even left early for the station, jumping on an earlier train. Then my 13:03 connecting train was delayed and then cancelled, prompting a stampede for the next train, which I couldn't board. I eventually escaped Birmingham New Street, but delayed by two hours and in an absolutely foul mood, trying desperately not to have an autistic meltdown. Fortunately, things improved once I arrived at the Premier Inn, where I recognised fellow fans. Thanks to those whom chatted with me, it salvaged my evening.

The actual day was a lot of hard work, preceded with a buffet breakfast. I'd volunteered to help out the Toy-Fu team on their stall again, its for charity and I know people there, which ended up being my main experience of the event. It was a productive day of fundraising too; it was very busy and we shifted a lot of Masterpieces and such. TFN itself? Well, its fine, but its an inherently small scale event, and they say so in the name. It all took place in the same hall, so it always felt a bit noisy. I think I would have liked to either explore Reading more, and might have been better off staying for two nights, just to be sociable, but it didn't work out that way. I'll have to rethink my next trip. Travelling back wasn't exactly fun either, there was a fricking storm. And it was a Saturday night. Delays, packed trains, mad dashes to connecting trains, drunks, and I lost a cagoule on the way. I should probably have stayed for two nights... Not the same mistakes as last time, just new ones. Fuck trains.

 

Anyways, my haul this time was somewhat light. Part of that was the absence of the usual big online Transformers retailers from the event, but honestly its not that long since August and little new had grabbed me since. I picked up some stickers from Claude, and some very obscure Gundam fridge magnets from Toy-fu. Neither is really blog material, but the one actual Transformer, Alternators Ravage, probably is. I can probably ramble about this.


All in all? A far from terrible event, but with the shit weather and trains, the shine was taken off it.