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| Con Report After the exhibit, we headed for lunch. Sue, Sharon, Annette, Mary and I decided to eat in the *choo choo* restaurant(I can't remember the name of it! LOL). After getting a table, we discovered that you had to use the phone at the table to place your order. The menu was interesting. I was delighted to see there was a " FREDDIE BURGER" on the menu! That's the one for me! ;-). I got Sue to order it for me. With my accent we may have been there all afternoon, just trying to order! ;-). I could just picture the poor sod at the other end of the phone "Uh?" LOL! Face to face is hard enough!. Once the orders were in, we waited...Up above our heads there was a little train track, which ran all the way round the restaurant. Little trains were constantly wheeling round and round. Soon, there she was...the 1:00pm, with our lunch on it!. What happened was that the wee train had a wee tray attached to it UNDERNEATH the track lines. The tray carried the basket of food. When it reached the specific table, a little lever came down and stopped the basket and placed it on another tray, as the train and OTHER tray carried on it's merry way. The basket was then lowered to the table. And we ate! It was a fun place to eat!. I put a couple of pics in the pics section(good one of the 1:20 express! LOL) to give you an idea of what I've been rambling on about ;-). Hope they help. After lunch, I made a quick trip up to the wee *doggie* shop on the second floor. My youngest daughter is dog daft, and I promised to bring her a couple of doggie souvenirs from AMERICA! LOL!. That shop was perfect! I think it was called "Perfect Paws"(don't quote me on that though ;-)). Then it was back down to join the gang. They'd all bought ice cream!. Sue shared her choccie shake with me :-) Annette let us taste the *whisky ice cream* she had bought. Both were yum!. I was wishing I had had more time to spend in The Crown Centre, as there were some really wonderful and interesting shops in that place. Next time... Anyhoo, it was time to scoot back to the hotel. There was two room in operation now. And we'd moved to the mezzanine level now. There was videos showing in one room, and Sandy Tew's drawing workshop in the other. I opted for the workshop. I wanted to see *how it's done*, and maybe get a tip or two(my drawing skills are limited to Pooh Bear!). It was fascinating and educational to see how Sandy goes about getting her drawings onto paper. The most important message was... "DRAW! DRAW! DRAW!...EVERY DAY! "LOL! Thank you Sandy! There was a mid afternoon snack and beverage service set up. So I indulged in a cuppa, and a brownie(Yours are better dear ;-)). Then, Sharon and I sat in on Lisa's MAKE UP demonstration. Now, I had already seen pics of Lisa dressed up as Vincent, but Sharon hadn't. To say she was gobsmacked, would be an understatement! LOL! It was so interesting to see how she Lisa does it. Fascinating!. Oh yes, and Renee kept us all entertained with some funny tales about their adventures. He he he. After Lisa was in full *Vincent mode*, she went for a walkabout in the hotel. The reception staff were looking a bit bewildered, and wondering what all the fuss was about. Cameras were clicking at an alarming rate! LOL! Of course I had to have my pic taken with *Vincent*. Thank you Lisa! :D. After all that excitement, it was time to go and get ready for the banquet... I had brought a yukata(summer kimono) from Japan. I feared I may have to send an SOS to Sigma for some help with the OBI( the heavy silk belt thing that wraps round the middle). I had one practice myself while in Japan, and ha brought all these print-outs of it, stage by stage. There's a lot! LOL! Luckily, there was no need for the SOS, as I seemed to get it just about right...phewwwwww, Sue and Sharon were the judges, and gave me their approval...wey hey! After donning my "GETA"(Japanese wooden sandals), I was all set!. Down we headed to take some pics before the banquet. Mary's camera was allergic to taking any pics...he he he. I hope you've worked it out Mary! LOL!. Soon it was time to head in for the banquet. The scene from Dead Of Winter started up on the screen. Lori lit the first candle, passing the light to each table. Sharon lit my candle, and I lit Sue's candle...sigh. Soon the room was *flickering*. It was a beautiful sight, and a bit emotional... Soon the food started appearing. Salad first, then the beef/chicken for me. Then dessert! The flowerless chocolate cake. Or as Sue named it "chocolate sex!" LOL! It was a tad heavy, but delicious. I didn't leave a morsel! :D Page Six |