Speculation, Fact and Fiction

And aware I really do need to crack on this week to make up the writing time... Which may or may not be that easy, depending on how the husband and younger son fare. Since I came home to find them both lumbered with stinking colds. I am using one of those newfangled cold-defence sprays!

There's much in the plus column for the weekend, notably chatting to many good friends including but not limited to, natural20,mizkit,slovobooks,epheriel,nhw, xnamkrad,bellinghman,bellingwoman, sacristan. And others who either don't LJ or I don't know their names hereabouts. Lack of a mention is not intended as any slur!

Mind you, didn't get to exchange more than a brief 'hi' with captainlucy - but that's so often the way of it over a busy weekend. To balance that kind of thing out, there's meeting new folk, in this case irishkate. And the improving of my previous acquaintance with George R Green and Alastair Reynolds, both gentlemen proving to be excellent company on an informal basis and stimulating fellow=panellists, as is mizkit, and actually just about everyone else I was panelling with.

And then there was dining with assorted selection of pals and hearing about Worldcon in Japan from lucky folk who were able to make the trip and holiday there as well - the only sensible thing to do when going all that way!

And making some useful contacts in Dublin bookselling, and thanks to the generosity of Niall Stewart, taking in a quick visit the Jameson's distillery. Where I got to do whiskey tasting and have a certificate to prove it!

Niall is David Stewart's brother, and as anyone who spent even a little time with David will recall, he was another warm and generous soul, much missed as we marked a year since his death this weekend. Which did bring the news that his epitaph on his gravestone is 'To infinity and beyond!' Which is simply priceless.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Brian, David's youngest brother and his father, Terry. Who did remind me of David enormously. And about that generosity of spirit? The Stewart family are committed to funding a research project into the oesophageal cancer which is what took David far too young. This will be establishing a database and using DNA and gene data to identify those at risk to facilitate early screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Irish fandom have already been raising money at P-Con to support this project and there was a truly splendid total in excess of €2,500 raised at this Octocon's charity auction.

That's not including the money slovobooks has been raising selling David's books. If the opportunity presents itself, see if you can fill in any gaps in your own collections from the rest. Only you can't have the Charles Stross hardbacks coz they're now mine.

The books include a goodly number of hardback first editions, some of which are real collector's items, so if you're interested in such things, do keep an eye out for news of the planned auction for the choicest items. Especially since the money is going to such a good cause, remembering a lovely man.