FunCon 1

Queer Pirates though the Ages

If they're going to hang you anyway, you might as well be Gay! Our Flag Means Death has found a place in our hearts as a fandom, with its unapologetically queer peep into the history of the Golden Age of Piracy. Come and discuss how the people living outside the law at a time of larger-than-life outlandish characters made history a lot gayer than the textbooks would have you believe.

Milk is difficult to store for extended periods because it spoils badly at ambient temperatures. Historically, one solution to this problem has been to make cheese, by ensuring that it spoils correctly. This talk is difficult to deliver for an extended period, because the probability of bad puns means it, too, can be badly spoiled. I talk about various different kinds of spoiler, and explain how the wrong kind of spoiling can be avoided.

Hopefully to be followed by a cheese tasting...

Welcome to the FanFic Confessional - air your dirty secrets - what cringeworthy fanfic have you written and why did you write it? Unburden yourself in a non-judgemental room of your peers! This is one panel where we encourage comments as well as questions!

Botanicals wasn't just a week on Bake Off. Join Claire as they take you through the potted and murky history of Gin in the UK and abroad, while you taste a selection of Gins with paired mixers and botanicals. 

The arts of mangling without mangling. Stage combat, re-enactment, LARP, and real life history - why do those fighty and swordy things do the same stuff differently? May or may not include mangling. Q&A questions welcome.

Bring your own safe foam sword-analogues if you like; the more the merrier!

There will be swords, lightsabers, and gratuitous Princess Bride riffs...

Join us late at night for indoor singing around the imaginary campfire.  No talent required, just enthusiasm!

What does the number of space leopards have to do with the number of faces being eaten?  Absolutely nothing, we assure you!  After all, correlation doesn't equal causation... Or does it?  Our panellists explain this and other strange coincidences in this amusing gameshow-style programme item.

...okay, maybe it's more like a small cat!  Either way, come along and have a go at creating a crochet coaster in feline form.  No experience necessary! We will have several patterns available to choose from, depending on your skill level, and instruction available for those completely new to crochet.