anyway: Conpulsion 2008 story 3: Edinburgh

2008-03-28 : Conpulsion 2008 story 3: Edinburgh

I flew out of Hartford CT on Thursday afternoon, landed in Amsterdam early Friday morning local time, had an hour's fitful sleep in the Amsterdam airport, then to Edinburgh. Gregor picked me up at the airport and very graciously allowed me a nice long nap and a shower. We hit the streets of Edinburgh around 4:30 PM.

To Do:
1. Walk around a lot.
2. Eat.
3. Meet some folks at the pub.
4. Go on Morag's ghost tour.
5. Meet some folks at the pub.
6. Go to Cat's party.
7. Crash and sleep.

1. Walk around a lot
Edinburgh is a very cool city. It's built on a ridge between two volcanic peaks. Arthur's Seat is one of them, and Edinburgh Castle's built on the other...

You know, pictures are going to be better. These are all just from Google image searches, I didn't take a camera with me.
Arthur's Seat from the street. Edinburgh Castle is behind us.
Edinburgh Castle seen from Arthur's Seat. I didn't see this view.
Edinburgh Castle as you walk up to it.
Edinburgh Castle. This is close to the view of the castle from Greyfriar's, about which more presently.

We also made much, much mock of Edinburgh's butt-ugly new parliament building.

2. Eat
We hooked up with Gar, Morag and Cat to eat. We ate at a place called the Monster Mash. I had a pork & sage banger, a turkey, pork & chestnut banger, regular mash and regular gravy, plus a coffee americano. Everybody else got banana milkshakes with theirs. Why? Did the Monster Mash serve God's own banana milkshakes? Are banana milkshakes a, y'know, thing? I didn't think to ask.

3. Meet some folks at the pub
I can't remember the name of the pub - the Old Town? Something like that, or maybe it was just the pub in the Old Town, although it seems vanishingly unlikely to me that there'd be only one single pub in the Old Town. Anyway here's where I met the con organizers and inner circle, plus Gregor's other guests, Gregory and Tina from Germany.

4. Go on Morag's ghost tour
Morag leads a "haunted Edinburgh" walking tour. We joined her 9:30 group and she led us around from place to place, telling us the horrific things that people had done to one another there. There were lots, and some of them were extra horrific. She took us into Greyfriar's Churchyard to look at the castle and to tell us about Bloody Mackenzie. She took us into the vaults of the Covenanters' Prison and told us about Mackenzie's poltergeist, which she asserts is misnamed. A frightening thing happened there, but I'm not going to tell it.

If you ever have the opportunity, go on Morag's walking tour into the vaults of the Covenanters' Prison. Brr.

5. Meet some folks at the pub
Different set of folks. These, the people up from England. We had a couple pints (except lightweight me) and talked about roleplaying. We talked about licensed products, and if we had to make a licensed game, what license would we want? Then we talked and talked and talked about Blade Runner, as all good geeks will do.

If I had to make a licensed game, I'd license Ars Magica. Isn't that funny?

6. Go to Cat's party
Cat's party was hoppin'. I was so jetlagged I couldn't even blink. Here are three representative conversations:

Lucy and I got talking about women in roleplaying, which I guess is a new-ish thing in the Edinburgh scene.
Me: Who was I talking to that time? They were like, "dang, how come the games got so dirty these days?"
Lucy: Because now there are girls in them?
Me: Because now there are girls in them.

Morag has an original watercolor of Griffen Stoyka on her wall.
Me: You have Griffen on your wall!
Morag: I do. Erin gave it to me. She says I remind her of her.
Me: I used to be Jen Manley Lee's housemate.
Morag: Small world.
Me: Yeah.

Lucy: John here is an honorary lesbian.
John: I have a card. See?
Me: Funny! It says "status: provisional"!
Lucy: Oh yeah, that's true, we should issue him a new one.
Me: ...?

7. Crash and sleep
And not a moment too soon.

1. On 2008-03-29, Joshua A.C. Newman said:

It's fun to say "bangers and mash".

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2. On 2008-03-29, Meserach said:

Aww, man, I love the Scottish Parliament building :(

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3. On 2008-03-29, Vincent said:

You're kidding. You love it? Uh, how?

J: Bangers! Bangers! Also, mash!

It seems to me that "bangers and mash," turns out, isn't a funny name like "toad in the hole" is. It's just, you know, bangers, with mash. Like you or I might say cookies and milk.

What I'm getting at is, they just say "mash" like that were its name. "Pass the mash? thanks."

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4. On 2008-03-30, Joshua A.C. Newman said:

Bangers and mash!

Hee hee hee hee!

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5. On 2008-03-30, Emily said:

Edinburgh is beautiful!

If I had to make a licensed game, I'd license Ars Magica. Isn't that funny?

Wow. Vincent doing the next edition of AM. That would be something. Brings a tear to my eye.

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6. On 2008-04-08, PeterD said: