Contemplation
The 58th British National Science Fiction Convention
April 6th - 9th 2007
The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chester

Progress Report One and Only
March 2007
Convention Basic Details
Hotel: Crowne Plaza, Trinity Street, Chester CH1 2BD
Overflow: Express by Holiday Inn, Chester Racecourse CH1 2LY
Write: 379 Myrtle Road, Sheffield, S2 3HQ
Email: contemplation@con.org
Web: http://contemplation.conventions.org.uk

Contents
Welcome...........................................................................................3
Contacts ........................................................................................... 3
Volunteers........................................................................................ 3
Guest, or the lack thereof............................................................... 4
Membership Rates.......................................................................... 4
Hotel Information........................................................................... 5
Travel Information......................................................................... 6
Advance Preparation ..................................................................... 8
Planning Your Arrival and Departure .......................................... 9
Things to Bring............................................................................... 9
Things You Don't Need to Bring This Time ............................... 10
Novacon 2007................................................................................ 11
Orbital: Eastercon 2008............................................................... 11
Programme ................................................................................... 12
Policies........................................................................................... 14
Around and About........................................................................ 15

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Welcome
Welcome to PR The One And Only for Contemplation. Thanks for
joining us at short notice, and for the contributions everyone has
made to making this Eastercon a success.
This PR is supposed to give you all the information you need
beforehand; if there's anything you wanted to know that's missing,
please get in touch or check the convention web site.

Contacts
Committee
Fran Dowd Co-chair: Programme thesofa@gmail.com
Phone 0114 281 0674 07759 012057 from Wednesday 4th April
Chris Oâ€™Shea Co-chair: Ops chris@magician.co.uk
Phone 0776 990 3675
Steve Lawson Membership xl5@zoom.co.uk
Phone 0114 281 1572 07808 827278 from Wednesday 4th April
John Dowd Finance
Hayley Niuserre Hotel Liaison niuserre@gmail.com
Phone 01298 213344 07989 135218 from Wednesday 4th April
Harry Payne Cuddly Toy, pre-con publications
Others of note
Roger Robinson Dealers beccon@dial.pipex.com
Please start your subject line with â€œ[Eastercon]â€.
John Harold &
Robbie Bourget Art Show borrowedsword@aol.com
Website contemplation@con.org
Please start your subject line with â€œ[WEBSITE]â€.

Volunteers
Eastercon is run by members for members, and relies heavily on
everyone mucking in. Get in touch with us in advance, or turn up on
the day: choose an area where you get to meet a lot of new people
(like Registration), or where you get to learn a new skill (like Tech).

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Lots of people have volunteered for programme items, and we're still
steadily working through who we're asking to go on what. If you
haven't heard back from us at all, please email or write us again as
your message may have got lost in a spam filter, or Mount Pleasant
sorting office.

Guest, or the lack thereof
Unfortunately our planned Special Guest for the weekend, Sharyn
November, will be unable to join us due to work commitments.

Membership Rates
If you're still trying to get friends to join, you need to know that the
current rates are as follows:
Weekend Individual days
Attending (full) Â£45 Day Adult Junior
Attending (unwaged) Â£35
Supporting Â£20 Friday Â£10 Â£5
Junior (13 - 17) Â£20 Saturday Â£20 Â£10
Child (5 - 12) Â£5 Sunday Â£20 Â£10
Infant (under 5) Â£1 Monday Â£10 Â£5
Apocryphal / Soft toy Â£1
There are no Child and Infant day rates: you pay a week-end
membership. The same goes for unwaged rates: they only apply to
full weekend adult memberships.
If you bought or are going to buy an unwaged membership, please
bring proof that you still are unwaged (student, unemployed, OAP
etc.), as it applies to your status at the time of the convention, not
when you booked.
These prices are valid until 25th March. Postal and online bookings
will then close, and you will then have to buy on-the-door
memberships as follows:
Weekend Individual days
Attending (full) Â£55 Day Adult Junior
Attending (unwaged) Â£45 Friday Â£10 Â£5
Junior (13 - 17) Â£25 Saturday Â£20 Â£10
Child (5 - 12) Â£5 Sunday Â£20 Â£10
Infant (under 5) Â£1 Monday Â£10 Â£5
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If you buy a day membership and then wish to upgrade to a full
weekend on the door, you can trade in your day membership for full
credit (i.e. Friday is Â£10, full weekend Adult on the door is Â£55, so
you'd just have to pay the additional Â£45 to upgrade).
No apocryphal memberships will be taken on the door, so if you
want a badge for your Beeblebear, it needs to join in advance.

Hotel Information
If you have not yet booked your room, please contact either of the
hotels directly using the details below.
Hotels
CROWNE PLAZA CHESTER
Trinity Street, Chester CH1 2BD
Phone : 01244 899988. Quote group reference: con.
EXPRESS BY HOLIDAY INN, CHESTER RACECOURSE
Chester Racecourse CH1 2LY (about a minuteâ€™s walk from the
Crowne Plaza)
Phone: 0870 7522235 or book online at
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel/CHETR
You can find alternative accommodation at:
http://www.visitchester.com
Smoking
Due to the new legislation, Contemplation will be the last smoking
Eastercon! Smoking is permitted in the Crowne Plaza in designated
bedrooms and in the smoking lounge, which will be clearly signed.
There will be no smoking anywhere else, which includes the function
rooms, hotel or con bar areas, or the restaurant.
The Express is a completely non-smoking hotel.
Food and Drink
There will be a range of snacks available throughout the day. There
will also be a one course meal served in the restaurant at both lunch
and dinner for Â£6.95 per person. The bar will have Real Ale.
Leisure
There is a small swimming pool, gym, sauna etc. in the Crowne
Plaza.
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Travel Information
By Air
Manchester International Airport is about 40 minutes drive from
Chester. Regular trains (approx. 2 per hour) leave Manchester
Airport for Chester, with a journey time of 1Â½ hours with one
change.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is around 30 minutes drive from
Chester, with a regular bus service (every 15 to 30 minutes) into
Liverpool city centre. Direct trains to Chester depart every 30
minutes from 6am to 10.30pm from Liverpool Lime Street.
Alternatively, a taxi from either airport costs around Â£35-40.
By Rail
The nearest station is Chester Railway Station, City Road, Chester
CH1 3NS. It is 1.1 miles from the hotel.
The train between London Euston and Chester takes about 2Â½
hours but it will not be available from Good Friday to Easter
Monday due to engineering works. Multiple changes and bus
replacement services will add around two hours to this journey
time.
From the North, there are direct trains from Liverpool with most
others changing at Crewe.
A taxi to the Crowne Plaza from the station will cost in the region of
Â£3.00 from the rank outside.
If you want to walk from the station, come out on to Station Road.
Opposite you will be City Road, carry on down it until you get to a
major roundabout. At this point there is an underpass, which might
be a bit scary at night. The underpass comes out on Foregate Street.
Continue down to Eastgate Street (which is pedestrianised), which
will turn into The Cross (very briefly) and then in to Watergate
Street (also pedestrianised). Just before Watergate ends there is a
walkway on the right through to Trinity Street, and the street
entrance to the hotel.
If you are staying at the Express, continue on Watergate, across the
main road (St Martin's Way), down New Crane Street, and the hotel
is on your left.

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By Coach
The National Bus and Coach station is just under a mile from the
hotel. National Express coaches arrive by the Tourist Information
area next to the Roman Amphitheatre in Vicars Lane, CH1 1QX.
None of us have tried this, but if you're on foot, you should be able
to follow Saint John Street up into the pedestrianised city centre
until it crosses Eastgate Street, turn left onto Eastgate, which will
turn into The Cross (very briefly) and then in to Watergate Street
(also pedestrianised). Just before Watergate ends there is a walkway
on the right through to Trinity Street, and the street entrance to the
hotel.
If you are staying at the Express, continue on Watergate, across the
main road (St Martin's Way), down New Crane Street, and the hotel
is on your left.
By Car
CROWNE PLAZA
Members of the committee who have tried it would not advise
downloading the personalised directions from the hotel website:
they try to take you through a part of Chester city centre that's been
pedestrianised since the Romans were here.
From the North M6: Leave M6 at J20 onto M56. Leave M56 at J15
onto M53. Leave M53 at J12 onto A56 signposted Chester. At the
roundabout, turn right onto A5268. After approx. 1 mile, turn left
onto Princess Street and almost immediately right onto Trinity
Street. The hotel entrance is on your right, and the hotel car park
ramp entrance is at the end of the street.
From the South M6: Leave M6 at J16 onto A500, signposted
Nantwich. Leave A500 at Nantwich onto A51 signposted Chester.
Follow A51 for approx. 18 miles then turn right onto A5268. After
approx. 1 mile, turn left onto Princess Street and almost
immediately right onto Trinity Street. The hotel entrance is on your
right, and the hotel car park ramp entrance is at the end of the
street.
GPS: If you have GPS, the Crowne Plaza's postcode is CH1 2BD
(Trinity Street).

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EXPRESS BY HOLIDAY INN - CHESTER RACECOURSE
To drive to the Express hotel, follow the directions above but just
before you get to the Princess Street turn, take a right into New
Crane Street, and the hotel is a bit further on, on your left.
Parking
If you are coming by car, please be aware that there are only a
limited number of spaces in the hotel car park available on a first
come, first served basis at a cost of Â£7.50 per stay. Also that the
maximum height for access to the car park is 2m. There is a Pay &
Display car park next door to the hotel. Alternatively you can park at
the Race Course which is around a minute's walk from the Crowne
Plaza.

Advance Preparation
There are a few events and competitions that you may need to
prepare for in advance.
Paper Doll Masquerade
With this PR you'll find an A5 paper doll, for you to colour in,
decorate, or cut out and dress up in whatever style and detail you
like. You can copy them and make a group. If you want to work on a
larger scale, there is an A4 version available from the website. There
will be two doll masquerade events where you can parade your work
before a panel of expert judges, one of which will be a late night
event for more adult-themed dolls.
Easter Bonnet Parade
There will be an Easter Bonnet Parade and judging on Sunday
morning: there are no limitations on design other than the general
convention and hotel policies on weapons, explosives, and general
public health and safety.
Hall Costume Day
Sunday is also Hall Costume Day. Each convention member will be
given voting tokens in their pack on arrival. On Sunday, you can give
one or more of your tokens to people whose costume you deem
worthy of recognition, and there will be prizes for maximum
numbers of tokens collected. So if you want to dress up or show off a
costume, this is the day to do it - no need to enter it or show up at a

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particular time, just wear it around the convention. Please observe
the Weapons Policy (see page 14).
Battling Butlers
There will be a Balloon Debate featuring great butlers and valets of
fiction. If you intend entering, we'd like to know beforehand so we
don't get duplicate entries. Plus it gives you time for research.

Planning Your Arrival and Departure
There is no formal programming on Thursday, but many people
choose to travel then to avoid the Bank Holiday so many of us will be
at the hotel and would welcome any one that wants to arrive on
Thursday and help set up.
The Opening Ceremony is the first official programme item, and will
be at 15:30 on Friday afternoon. There will be two items beforehand:
a Beginner's Guide for those of you who are new to conventions
(Eastercons in particular), and a guide for people who are new to
being on programme items. We're making the sweeping assumption
that these groups are mutually exclusive, so both these items will be
at 14:30. Registration and the Art Show will open at 13:00, and the
Dealersâ€™ Room at 16:00. The main programme starts at 17:00.
The programme will run until the Closing Ceremony at 16:00 on
Monday. Following that will be a session to give feedback to future
Eastercons, a Dead Dog Party and doubtless various ad-hoc
entertainments running into the wee small hours.

Things to Bring
MEDICATION: at least we're in a city centre, so you can get to a
chemist, but getting a brand new prescription will be a real
headache.
CAMERA: Sue Jones is leading a â€œShooting Chesterâ€ tour, starting at
08:45 on Saturday. Sue says: â€œNot quite sure where we'll go â€”
probably up to the cathedral and back if fine and into the market
hall if wet. We will return to the hotel by 10:00. If people want to
leave the group and wander off, that's fine. Non-photographic
hangers-on are welcome provided they don't get bored. I am aiming
for 'interesting picture' stuff rather than tourist snaps. If you want to
go into the cathedral, please note that there is an admission fee.â€
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X-FACTOR: a very short piece of really bad pro published writing.
Weâ€™ll have a panel of judges, you read your bit aloud, and theyâ€™ll
decide whether it goes through or not. Weâ€™re sure you have some
real turkeys by surprisingly famous people lurking in your librariesâ€¦
LAPTOP: the hotel has wifi, but itâ€™s expensive:
Short Access (30 minutes) Â£ 3.00
Quick Check (60 minutes over a 24 hour period) Â£ 6.50
Premium (24 hours) Â£ 15.00
Weekly Pass (7 days) Â£ 60.00
Youâ€™ll need to login and pay by credit card.
Last But Not Least: MONEY! There'll be lots of opportunities to
spend money: at the Art and Fan Fund Auctions, voting for JETS,
and buying a thousand and one things in the Dealersâ€™ Room and all
the nearby shops in Chester... and we're especially keen that you
spend money in the hotel.
Hotel finances have moved from â€œWeâ€™ll give you the function space if
you fill the hotelâ€ to â€œYou pay for the function space and weâ€™ll give
you the money back if your members spend enough with us on food
and drinkâ€. So if you buy the cheap food and drink that weâ€™ve
arranged, rather than popping out for a sandwich, youâ€™ll get a better
Souvenir Book and the committee wonâ€™t have to sell their houses.

Things You Don't Need to Bring This Time
There will be no Chaos Robots workshop, and although there will be
a Cyberdrome event, it will not involve real robots. So you don't
need to bring your robot, or any construction kit. Unless you want to
play with it in your hotel room.
There will be no Book Auction, so please don't bring books or other
material for us to sell on your behalf. There will be a League of Fan
Funds Charity Auction, though, so if you want to bring donations,
that would be helpful and gratefully received.
Weâ€™re not arranging specific signing sessions, due to lack of space. If
youâ€™re desperate to get a book signed, bring it by all means, but
please be considerate about when you ask an author to do it â€“ they
may be dying for a wee after a programme item, or having a relaxing
moment in the bar.

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Advertisement Links

Novacon 2007

Orbital: Eastercon 2008

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Programme
The big events that weâ€™re working around are:
George Hay Memorial Lecture
This is arranged for Eastercon by the Science Fiction Foundation,
and this yearâ€™s lecturer is Dr Guillaume Thierry, from the University
of Bangor, who will deliver â€œThe Braintrixâ€ on Saturday afternoon.
He says: â€œI will demonstrate that what we take for reality is nothing
other than an illusion constructed by our brain. Based on a series of
visual illusions, considerations on animal perception and review of
patients with brain lesions, I will show how the world in which we
live is a mental representation which can be deceived and distorted.
The immediate philosophical and fictional consequences of this
scientific fact will be considered in closing.â€ There will be a
discussion on how these ideas relate into SF later in the weekend.
Doctor Who
We are working around the BBC scheduling early Saturday evening,
for the now traditional mass viewing of Doctor Who.
BSFA Awards
As a member of Contemplation you are entitled to vote in the Novel,
Short Fiction and Artwork categories of the British Science Fiction
Association (BSFA) Awards. There will not be an individual award
for Non-Fiction; instead the shortlist below is recognised as the
BSFA Recommended Reading List.
NOVEL
Darkland, Liz Williams (Tor)
End of the World Blues, Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Gollancz)
Icarus, Roger Levy (Gollancz)
The Last Witchfinder, James Morrow (Weidenfield & Nicholson)
Nova Swing, M. John Harrison (Gollancz)
SHORT FICTION
The Djinn's Wife, Ian McDonald (Asimov's Science Fiction, June)
The Highway Men, Ken MacLeod (Sandstone Press Ltd)
The House Beyond Your Sky, Benjamin Rosenbaum (Strange
Horizons)
The Point of Roses, Margo Lanagan (Black Juice, Gollancz - original
to UK edition, 2006)
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Signal to Noise, Alastair Reynolds (Zima Blue and Other Stories,
Nightshade Books)
Sounding, Elizabeth Bear (Strange Horizons)
ARTWORK
Angelbot, Fangorn (Cover of Time Pieces, ed. Ian Whates)
Cover of Farthing magazine, issue 2, Spring 2006. Credited to
'Vertebrate Graphics'.
Droid, Fahrija Velic (Cover for Interzone 206)
The Return to Abalakin, Alexander Preuss
Ring of the Gods, William Li (Cover of Holland SF 226)
NON-FICTION - BSFA RECOMMENDED READING LIST
The Arthur C. Clarke Award: A Critical Anthology, ed. Paul Kincaid
with Andrew M. Butler (Serendip Foundation)
Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth
Century, Justine Larbalestier (Wesleyan University Press)
Great British Comics, Paul Gravett (Aurum Press Ltd)
James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, Julie
Phillips (St Martin's Press)
Polder: A Festschrift for John Clute and Judith Clute, ed. Farah
Mendlesohn (Old Earth Books)
Voting will close late Saturday afternoon, in preparation for the
presentation of the Awards at 21:00 on Saturday night. We are
working with the BSFA to provide extra programme items with
some tasters of the awards shortlists and discussion of the results.
Bidding Session for 2009
Judith Proctor of Orbital (2008) will be chairing the Bid Session for
Eastercon 2009, at noon on Sunday.
Inveigle - The David Wake Play
David is known for doing comedic productions at conventions, but
he has been working as a playwright and director with amateur and
professional theatre groups for some time now, and many of his
productions are, to coin a phrase, â€œdramaticâ€ (rather than comedic).
David will be providing us one of these on Sunday night at 21:00.
Itâ€™s called INVEIGLE and is not suitable for younger convention
members.

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Fannish Stuff
We're still working with the hotel to arrange display space for items
you might have that are of interest to fans; especially photos
spanning the 70 years of UK convention history. Please be aware
though that such space is likely to be in or near a bar, and will not be
staffed or guarded.

Policies
Weapons Policy
No weapons, or replicas or facsimiles of weapons, will be allowed to
be carried at the convention; nor will any other object the committee
deems to be dangerous. Hall costumes are not exempt. If you are
intending to use a weapon (or a facsimile) as part of a programme
item, you should bring it to Ops on arrival at the convention.
Mobile Phones
When at a programme item mobile phones should be switched off or
silent. If you do have to take a call, take it outside the function room.
Food and drink
No food will be allowed in any of the function rooms. Drinks are
allowed in all function rooms except the dealers room and art show.
Only dealers are allowed to have food and drink in the dealers room.
Video Policy
You may video what you like, unless a programme participant
objects. Please use your common sense, be considerate, and do not
post your videos on the Internet for all the world to see unless you
have permission from everybody in them. Press may only film
individuals who grant their permission in advance, and they will
have been required to obtain Press badges etc. from Registration.
There will be some programme items where flash photography
would be a real pain for everybody else, like a play or a big-screen
presentation. Again, please use your common sense.
Hotel No-Nos
Please donâ€™t let people crash in your room, or bring food or drink
from outside into the hotel. If the hotel finds out you are doing these
things, the committee will not support you.

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If the hotel ask you to do something that seems silly, like putting
shoes on, please donâ€™t argue with the staff. Tell us instead so we can
establish if itâ€™s hotel policy and, if so, publish it in the newsletter.
After a certain time in the evening, the hotel will close their cash tills
and only guests will be allowed to purchase food and drink.

Around and About
If you're planning to stay over in Chester or nearby before or after
the convention, you might want to think about:
Chester Zoo
Home of the Komodo Dragons and the Zoofari monorail, both of
which feature in the Contemplation programme.
Blue Planet Aquarium
â€œHow often do you get the chance the meet a 10ft long sand tiger
shark? Well you can at Blue Planet Aquarium, the most magical
aquarium in the UKâ€ according to their website.
Chester's Roman history
There'll be a two-hour guided tour by Tony Keen on Sunday starting
at 13:00, but numbers are limited, you'll have to sign up at
Registration
Chester Food and Drink Festival 2007
â€œCelebrates everything that is good about local produce, providers
and venues in the Chester District.â€
McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Village
Europe's largest outlet centre is at Cheshire Oaks, only 5 miles away
Further Afield
Liverpool is 20 miles away, Manchester 40 miles, the Snowdonia
National Park 50 miles and Portmeirion (The Prisoner!) about 80
miles away.
Jodrell Bank Observatory
For the space fans among you, this is under 30 miles away, costs
Â£1.50 (adult admission) and has an â€œAsk An Astronomerâ€ feature at
2pm every day from the 2nd to the 5th of April (and again from the
10th to the 13th) at no extra charge.