State of the Fandom: New Meetup Group in GB on 4 Feb, Plus Updates

 

State of the Fandom: New Meetup Group in GB on 4 Feb, Plus Updates

 with Foal Duke

Yesterday we sat down with Mas, the current chair of UK Ponycon, for an update on a new meetup he has planned for the Yorkshire area.

Read after the jump for this and a few more updates and gossip. 

Note: apologies for short article but needless to say I was very, very drunk at the time.

As we sat down the bar was playing the ingratiatingly English Scenic Railway Journeys discussing, fittingly, the restoration of Engine 5025, the oldest surviving Black Five locomotive, and its route across the Ribblehead Viaduct on the Yorkshire Moors. Mas tells me that the new meet, Yorkiecorns, is to take place at on Sunday 4^th Feburary at York central station and then move towards the nearby Wetherspoons.

He tells me that he has had quite a few people confirm, but is unsure of the numbers yet. However, if you're unable to make it to Harmony Con, and you live in Leeds, Manchester, Preston or that sort of way, then this might be for you. Note that there is a train strike at that weekend, but York is quite a large station so it's unlikely all trains will be cancelled, but check before you travel.

The idea of the meet is to fill the gap for fans in northern England who don't have a meetup of their own. On various British Discord and Telegram chatrooms, there is a lot of demand for meetups in large Northern towns, and since Mas has moved to York recently, which is an ideal location, he says, why not start one there?

Plus, given that the Manchester bronies haven't had an official meetup in over a year, owing to various people running it having other matters in their live take over, and the Lancashire meetup being not too far in Preston, but more sporadic, this will give the bronies in the area more options.

The Wetherspoons was chosen as it's something most bronies are familiar with, allows large parties, always has at least one large table available, and the regulars in there keep quiet as they have no right to judge you for being a freak.

Location selection involved the highly scientific process of visiting a pub near the train station, reviewing the service and stuffing one's face, before visiting another to repeat the process. There are several museums for transport and history in the area that will be included in future visits.

Meets will be the first Sunday of each month, and for the first one people are invited to design the mascot; themes may include Vikings, Yaks, and incorporate the official colours of the city (Royal Blue and Royal Red). These are just some ideas based on the city's history.

Also Mas was sent a takedown request for all the videos of BUCK, which ended in 2016. Friendly reminder that UKPC is nothing to do with BUCK and the mascots may look the same but are different species. And it's very late in the day to be doing that, isn't it?

I am also informed that this year the staff are looking to have a bit of a re-arrangement, especially in stage management, to be a bit more flexible. They are considering the possibility of a live stream, with some more events in LT2 as well, off the back of this change up.

And in case you're wondering why I was all the way up there, it wasn't anything illegal... this time. I was there to pass some footage from UKPC back in October over to Mas, specifically the concert, the auction and the Elements of Justice panel, so expect to see that soon. You're welcome.