Pen-Elayne on the Web

The Soggy Fen

If the header isn't the name of one of the many watering holes at the Renaissance Faire in Sterling Forest, it really ought to be. As this is closing weekend, Rob and I decided to head on up again as we did last year, primarily to see Leah and give her this birthday gift. She seemed to like it-- okay, she shrieked like an Alan Davis fangirl. And I should know from Alan Davis fangirls. :) In any case, we got pretty much the same weather conditions as last year. A tiny bit less rain, there were periods where we didn't need our brollies at all, but a lot more wasps, so it wasn't too much fun ducking them. Leah got "rogue'd" by lots of birthday well-wishers, and it was wonderful to see what a great support system she has in all these friends. All the excessive PDA, though, put me in mind of my days in science fiction fandom, and the tasteless reference to "mundanes" during the Rogue Show left a sour note as well. I suppose the group-hugs-and-kisses angle is actually kinda sweet, but the attitude of "anyone who isn't us is mundane" was a major reason I left sf fandom behind 20 years ago and never looked back, and it saddens me to see that it's still around. I'm sure there's tons of overlap between "rennies" and "fen" but I was kinda hoping it would be the good, welcoming kind of overlap, not the sectarian, dismissive kind. In any case, an exhausting and overall fun day; I think Rob's Mum would have loved it so I'm glad I brought her otter-head walking stick (which I think must have some of her spirit within it). And we're home and more or less collapsed. Sleep and blogroll catch-up tomorrow.