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iguana
I had a busy month of May! There were two weekend conferences in London, and I made the most of the trips there: visiting a luminarium, taking a sleeper train, and volunteering for the second conference! My house move finally completed and by the end of the month I was fully moved into my new place in Nottingham.
Boring Conference 2019
Boring Conference is a one-day set of talks in London on the most interesting aspects of otherwise overlooked ("boring") everyday things.
The day started off with a tongue-in-cheek diatribe against tomato ketchup, which included its history and how Heinz has slowly changed how we imagine ketchup to be; other stand-out talks I remember included one by a collector of shipping box test stamps, another who passed around some freshly washed socks as an aid to their talk on the smells of freshness, and one about the development of blue pigment.
Boring Conference is a one-day set of talks in London on the most interesting aspects of otherwise overlooked ("boring") everyday things.
The day started off with a tongue-in-cheek diatribe against tomato ketchup, which included its history and how Heinz has slowly changed how we imagine ketchup to be; other stand-out talks I remember included one by a collector of shipping box test stamps, another who passed around some freshly washed socks as an aid to their talk on the smells of freshness, and one about the development of blue pigment.
The Colourscape Luminarium
I stayed overnight in London after Boring Conference in order to visit a luminarium called Colourscape at Wembley Park the next morning.
Luminaria are, as I've experienced them, huge inflated mazes of tents that use coloured fabric to let in sunlight in various different colours. Both the ones I've been to have also had ethereal music piped into them as well; in this case it was by a group performing live in one of the chambers.
I was glad I'd got there in time to account for queuing; I arrived about half an hour before opening time and my allocated slot was already 1h40m after the first people were admitted. By the time I got in at 10:40 people were being turned away for the entire rest of the day!
It was worth the wait though; upon entering I was given a coloured poncho to put on (a clever head-count mechanism, though I'm glad not too many people had worn it before me!) and left my shoes at the entrance. Inside, I was stunned at the intensity of the light; primary colours in full saturation felt like they were enveloping me.
My favourite areas were the red sections where the light felt almost tangible, though the partitions between the areas were also striking.
In the centre (I think) was a white area with the musicians performing and a couple of dancers doing a yoga-like routine.
I stayed overnight in London after Boring Conference in order to visit a luminarium called Colourscape at Wembley Park the next morning.
Luminaria are, as I've experienced them, huge inflated mazes of tents that use coloured fabric to let in sunlight in various different colours. Both the ones I've been to have also had ethereal music piped into them as well; in this case it was by a group performing live in one of the chambers.
I was glad I'd got there in time to account for queuing; I arrived about half an hour before opening time and my allocated slot was already 1h40m after the first people were admitted. By the time I got in at 10:40 people were being turned away for the entire rest of the day!
It was worth the wait though; upon entering I was given a coloured poncho to put on (a clever head-count mechanism, though I'm glad not too many people had worn it before me!) and left my shoes at the entrance. Inside, I was stunned at the intensity of the light; primary colours in full saturation felt like they were enveloping me.
My favourite areas were the red sections where the light felt almost tangible, though the partitions between the areas were also striking.
In the centre (I think) was a white area with the musicians performing and a couple of dancers doing a yoga-like routine.
Kirkaldy Testing Museum
After the luminarium, I visited the Kirkaldy Testing Museum near London Bridge station, which I'd never got around to visiting while I lived in London. It was the workshop of a Victorian material tester, with machine for testing strength and other properties of construction material. The main thing it boasts is a machine that can test the stretching strength of large pieces of metal.
The tour was a little frustrating as one elderly man seemed to think it was okay to just keep on interrupting the guide to voice his assumptions on how things must have been (and largely being corrected by the guide), and the demonstration of the big machine was a little anticlimactic. Still, it was good to visit; it was something I'd been curious about for quite some time.
After the luminarium, I visited the Kirkaldy Testing Museum near London Bridge station, which I'd never got around to visiting while I lived in London. It was the workshop of a Victorian material tester, with machine for testing strength and other properties of construction material. The main thing it boasts is a machine that can test the stretching strength of large pieces of metal.
The tour was a little frustrating as one elderly man seemed to think it was okay to just keep on interrupting the guide to voice his assumptions on how things must have been (and largely being corrected by the guide), and the demonstration of the big machine was a little anticlimactic. Still, it was good to visit; it was something I'd been curious about for quite some time.
Sleeper train
The next weekend was BarCamp London XI; more on that in a moment. On what would turn out to be my last trip out of Devon before moving, I'd decided to try taking the GWR Night Riviera sleeper train up to London to see how I got on with it.
On the ticket, rather than a Coach and Seat number, there was a Coach and Berth number instead. I travelled from Newton Abbot, the stop before my usual station of Exeter St Davids, on the basis that it gave me fifteen minutes more sleep; in retrospect I should have travelled a little further down the line in the evening and picked up an earlier station, for two reasons.
The first was that while the train departs at 00:36 from Newton Abbott, the waiting rooms and toilets close quite a bit beforehand, so I was just sitting out on the platform while I waited. Having given myself enough time for a second taxi should the first one not turn up (it happens in Devon) this meant I was somewhat uncomfortable for a while. An earlier station might not have had this issue. A guard at Newton Abbott was surprisingly helpful though, and offered to let me travel up and down the line on an upcoming service in order that I should be out of the cold. I declined, as I didn't want to chance the train being delayed and missing my connection!
The second was that, while you don't need to alight the train at Paddington until 06:45 (it arrives at the platform at 05:23), the latest the wake-up call, which comes with breakfast, is at 05:45. I'd been planning to roll out of bed at 06:30 or so and use the complementary showers at Paddington to get ready in. Combined with the time taken on boarding, where a conductor ticks off your name, shows you to your room, gives you the keycard, and takes your breakfast order, this meant I got less than five hours sleep which is nowhere near enough for me – I did, however, sleep like a log. I made it through the rest of the day on caffeine and adrenaline, which fortunately worked out well enough this time!
The berths themselves are extremely nice, with either a single bed or double bunk (down to chance if you're a solo traveller), a desk that opens up to become a wash basin, and convenient plug sockets. There seemed to be an adequate number of loos at the end of each carriage. With a keycard for your door, it felt more like a tiny hotel room than being on board a train.
In the morning, a crew member comes knocking with your breakfast, which for me was a pack of granola, milk, and some tea.
After that, time to have a wash and brush my teeth in the basin!
I alighted the train, leaving the keycard in the room, but decided against additionally using the Paddington showers, which I'd heard mixed reviews of.
The next weekend was BarCamp London XI; more on that in a moment. On what would turn out to be my last trip out of Devon before moving, I'd decided to try taking the GWR Night Riviera sleeper train up to London to see how I got on with it.
On the ticket, rather than a Coach and Seat number, there was a Coach and Berth number instead. I travelled from Newton Abbot, the stop before my usual station of Exeter St Davids, on the basis that it gave me fifteen minutes more sleep; in retrospect I should have travelled a little further down the line in the evening and picked up an earlier station, for two reasons.
The first was that while the train departs at 00:36 from Newton Abbott, the waiting rooms and toilets close quite a bit beforehand, so I was just sitting out on the platform while I waited. Having given myself enough time for a second taxi should the first one not turn up (it happens in Devon) this meant I was somewhat uncomfortable for a while. An earlier station might not have had this issue. A guard at Newton Abbott was surprisingly helpful though, and offered to let me travel up and down the line on an upcoming service in order that I should be out of the cold. I declined, as I didn't want to chance the train being delayed and missing my connection!
The second was that, while you don't need to alight the train at Paddington until 06:45 (it arrives at the platform at 05:23), the latest the wake-up call, which comes with breakfast, is at 05:45. I'd been planning to roll out of bed at 06:30 or so and use the complementary showers at Paddington to get ready in. Combined with the time taken on boarding, where a conductor ticks off your name, shows you to your room, gives you the keycard, and takes your breakfast order, this meant I got less than five hours sleep which is nowhere near enough for me – I did, however, sleep like a log. I made it through the rest of the day on caffeine and adrenaline, which fortunately worked out well enough this time!
The berths themselves are extremely nice, with either a single bed or double bunk (down to chance if you're a solo traveller), a desk that opens up to become a wash basin, and convenient plug sockets. There seemed to be an adequate number of loos at the end of each carriage. With a keycard for your door, it felt more like a tiny hotel room than being on board a train.
In the morning, a crew member comes knocking with your breakfast, which for me was a pack of granola, milk, and some tea.
After that, time to have a wash and brush my teeth in the basin!
I alighted the train, leaving the keycard in the room, but decided against additionally using the Paddington showers, which I'd heard mixed reviews of.
Barcamp London XI
I decided to stop off at St James' Park since I had nearly three hours before BarCamp started, and met an inquisitive squirrel that probably thought I had food.
I have fond memories of St James' Park and it was relaxing to sit there in the comparative quiet, first thing on a Saturday morning. After a while, I sent the BarCamp organisers a message on Twitter asking if they needed a hand setting up, and to my surprise, they did!
It's great to see behind the scenes at these things. I'd been to the previous BarCamp London, five years ago, when it was a weekend-long event, but this time it was just one day and at a new location. I enjoyed helping out, getting supplies from the nearby local supermarket and putting up information signs before things started.
Complete with my luminous pink staff t-shirt, I still had the time to do the talk I'd planned, on advocating for proportional representation and which, given the attendees and talks were considerably more tech-based this time than last, I was happy with the turnout for.
Merely coming up with a talk idea (or two, after my idea of demoing how to make seitan fell through,) was a nice exercise for me, as I can sometimes have difficulty working out what subjects I'm knowledgeable enough to do a talk on.
I decided to stop off at St James' Park since I had nearly three hours before BarCamp started, and met an inquisitive squirrel that probably thought I had food.
I have fond memories of St James' Park and it was relaxing to sit there in the comparative quiet, first thing on a Saturday morning. After a while, I sent the BarCamp organisers a message on Twitter asking if they needed a hand setting up, and to my surprise, they did!
It's great to see behind the scenes at these things. I'd been to the previous BarCamp London, five years ago, when it was a weekend-long event, but this time it was just one day and at a new location. I enjoyed helping out, getting supplies from the nearby local supermarket and putting up information signs before things started.
Complete with my luminous pink staff t-shirt, I still had the time to do the talk I'd planned, on advocating for proportional representation and which, given the attendees and talks were considerably more tech-based this time than last, I was happy with the turnout for.
Merely coming up with a talk idea (or two, after my idea of demoing how to make seitan fell through,) was a nice exercise for me, as I can sometimes have difficulty working out what subjects I'm knowledgeable enough to do a talk on.
Oh my god I'm covered in Beeston
My house purchase completed midway through the month which timed nicely with the end of tenancy in Devon in the end; I moved my belongings out of self-storage the next weekend. So I'm now living in Nottingham – Beeston to be precise. The remainder of the month was a bit of a blur!
My house purchase completed midway through the month which timed nicely with the end of tenancy in Devon in the end; I moved my belongings out of self-storage the next weekend. So I'm now living in Nottingham – Beeston to be precise. The remainder of the month was a bit of a blur!
no subject
Date: 2019-07-31 19:02 (UTC)I'm interested in your notes on the GWR Night Riviera sleeper. It does sound like a nice experience, although a short night; most of the sleeper trains I've been on have set off between 8pm and 10pm, and even then, the bureaucracy eats into your sleep. I took a night train from London to Inverness when I was about 10 but I don't remember much about it now, except how exciting it was.
Congratulations on completing your house purchase! Two of my other friends have recently moved to Nottingham. They're good eggs and I'd be happy to introduce you, if you'd like.
no subject
Date: 2019-07-31 19:12 (UTC)I really want to do the Caledonian Sleeper to Scotland at some point (though how much sense from Nottingham that makes is questionable!) I've heard they're refitting the trains this year so there should be some nice new ones by the time I get around to organising it. For the Night Riviera, the timings make more sense if you're travelling from Penzance, but even then, 21:45 is pretty late!
Gosh, everyone's moving to Nottingham! I'd love to be introduced :)