It was an April Fools’ Joke!

Gaelcon is bigger and stronger than ever. Don’t believe me? Come inside our site and take a look!
I’d like to apologise to everyone upset or hurt by this joke, but I’m honestly not a good enough person.

This has been hilarious. Thanks everyone who believed me.

Everyone else? You are a cynical, cold person and I am ashamed of you…..

The full site, with a proper address from this years Gaelcon’s con director is up for your reading pleasure at www.gaelcon.com

GAELCON 2009 CANCELLED

I am sorry to inform you all that Gaelcon has been cancelled due to the economic circumstances we find ourselves in.

I have, for the last three months, been privileged to be the con director Gaelcon 21. During that time I’ve had little time to myself but in all honesty I’ve loved being part of this committee. They have all been positive and diligent in getting their respective departments ready for the con. I honestly believe that this year would have been spectacular.

The problems have been around since my inception as con director. Moving to a larger, more central location brought with it financial burdens as did the new merchandise we’d planned.

There have also been some personal issues which have made everything a struggle when it comes to organising things and trying to go to other conventions to promote Gaelcon. These all pale however in comparison to the trouble caused by the simple fact of the recession we find ourselves in. Trade, sponsorship, attendance, even shirt prices have been affected

In the past Gaelcon has seemed to me to be the unmissable event of the gaming calendar. I met many of my closest friends at Gaelcon in Croke Park and renew acquaintances there that I meet nowhere else.

I remember some of the troubles surmounted by other con directors and I have to admit feeling humbled. Between us the committee has tried to think of any and every way out of this problem.

I’m sorry. We couldn’t.

Gaelcon is canceled until further notice and I’m so sorry.
Andrew

www.gaelcon.com

Gaelcon’s website will be updated at midnight www.gaelcon.com

Last night pretty much at the last minute I got the chance to attend a talk in the ScienceGallery which was hosted by the science gallery and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience as part of Brain Awareness Week.

B.A.W. is an international campaign for raising public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. It has been running for the last 12 year and this years theme is “Living with a neurological condition: The impact on families and carers”.

The panel which was on living with brain injury was part of Brain Awareness Week a to promote the work of headway.

The panelists were:

Professor Ian Robertson – leading brain expert and author, who spoke about how complex the brain is, how much is not known and a brain injury can often lead to living a different life but different doesn’t’ mean bad just different.

Allison Bingham who has brain injury and struggled for year to get a grasp on what has happening to her in her life but still kept determindedly living her live on her terms getting married and having children and who is no a Headway Board Member who attends Headway’s Rehabilitative Training Centre in Limerick helping to support others.

Ger Robinson who is a Family carer and had to become so when her husband Greg, suffered brain injury in a car accident and who spoke so opening about the changes it caused in her family’s life and the impact on her children and the support she and her family have gotten form headway.

and Christy Kenneally author of a number of books, including “Life after Loss” who spoke to all the carers about how to be real and not take on too much, how to use their angry and make it work for them to be sad to be as real as they can and not let anyone undermine them or put them on pedestals.

Last night I certainly got more then I ever bargained for. My Dad has epilepsy he sustained it due to a brain injury a few scant months before he was married and I was born shortly after.I have grown up with a parent who has a brain injury ( which is more then just the epilepsy ) and never grasped how much of an impact that has had on my own life, esp over the last 2 years as he has also suffered strokes. All of which brought sharply into focus for me what headway do.

There are so many differing and diverse services all over the country all of which can be hard to learn about and acess and part of what headway to do to put people in touch with them and to offer support services ranging from the helpline to rehab centers to socail and support groups.

As hard and horrible as having to suddenly be facing having a brain injury or a family member with a brain injury having other people who have been through the rollercoaster and who can listen and share thier story and make suggestions from having been there can make a big difference.

www.headway.ie
Headway lo-call National Information and Support Telephone Helpline (1890 200 278) operates Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm to answer questions on all aspects of acquired brain injury, or to provide a listening ear where needed. You can also contact us through email on helpline@headway.ie

Gaelcon has a new home just outside Dublin city center. This year we will be in the conference center of the D4hotels Ballsbridge Inn on Pembroke Road. This is an excellent choice as we will have the conference center to ourselves for the weekend including over night for the running late, late night games and events and for those who will be staying up the on site pizza palour will be open until 2am.
So how do you get there and back again?

By bus:
The Dublin bus routes 10, 18, 4/A, 5 and 7/A all run down Pembroke road and catching them from the city center will generally have you arriving right outside in 10 minutes.
The 4/A and the 7/A share the same bus stop and can be got on O’Connell street or right beside T.C.D. How many gamers will you be able to spot on the bus ?
The air coach from Dublin Airport also stops at the back of the hotel for those flying in.

By train:
The nearest Dart station to Gaelcon is Lansdowne Road DART Station a mere 5 minute walk to the Hotel.

By foot:
It is a 20 minute walk from the Stephens Green shopping center to Gaelcon.
Please check out the web site www.Gaelcon.com for more information and for any queries please contact info@Gaelcon.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all in Gaelcon’s new home October bank holiday weekend 2009.

Helpful links:
http://www.d4hotels.com/ballsbridge_inn.html
http://www.dublinbus.ie/
http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/dart/your_journey/maps_and_zones.asp

I went to no drama drama group workshop last night.
19 people there and had a lot of fun, 4 of whom I knew already ( 1 not from boards )
and the rest knew nothing about me what so ever but were very welcoming.

They moved to a new venue which is what has me having a wobble last night
as it literally a 5 mins walk away from the abode of someone who I recently
cut out of my life and even thinking about walking down that main street
which they live off had me worried then annoyed and then pissed off.
But I got over myself and went and am glad I did.

I was a figurehead on a ship, Roy Batty from blade runner
( I’ve seen things, you people can’t imagine)
a chimney, a receptionist in a sperm clinic, a tesco till jockey,
a wife trying to get her husband to take his meds
and a woman trying to buy a huge diaphragm.
None of the sex stuff was suggested by me at all, shower of smutty minded gits
and there were more women there then blokes which was nice.

I learned two new vocal exercises and then had two really nice pints of Guinness afterward.

gs: cons, gaming, kids, larp, spring, weekend
It wasn’t the weekend I expected or planned for but for the most part it was good.

Lepercon was on but due to unexpected overtime and pudges with sick tummys I only got to attend
The Saturday and was only there until 3pmish.

I did get to play the second part of [info]kshandr jumptech larp, it went well the use of the
media transmissions (starring [info]paperfl0wers ) was well done
and it was great to see people reacting. I didn’t giggle as much at all it was a lot more somber of a larp.
I did discover that I had over looked something on my char sheet right at the end which has had me kicking
myself and would have changed how I went about things and could have changed a far
bit of the game. This is the first time ever in my short experience larping that I am
dissapointed with myself, must do better.

Thankfully I don’t have long to wait before I get to do just at as the next installment
of the larp happens this comming weekend at Itzacon.
I didn’t get to hang about and chat to people but hopefully most of them will be at itzacon
I did get tackle hugged by [info]niamhybeag who was wielding a large mace and got to chat
briefly to a few people.

I meet up with [info]tsubhdearg for a late lunch and dragged [info]sarky along in my wake
and then we inflicted lush on him 🙂 and then it was home to be with the brats.

My daughter came down with one of those tummy bugs and was up late not being well,
thankfully it was short lived and she bounced back by late Sunday afternoon.
So we decided to do a family activity, I am very appreciative that we can as parents
who are not a couple head off for the day with the kids as a family.

There was a vote taken and we headed off to go for a walk arround the old college campus
in Maynooth, I had wanted to go to the phenoix park but was voted down.
The kids like it there, we took pics of all the spring flower that were out
and noted all the other signs of spring and found frog spawn.

By the time we were done it was getting late far to late for the roast dinner
I had planned so we opted to go get a take away, there is a chinese restaurant and take away
in clonee that is a favorite, who are great with odd orders and smaller portions
for the children, so we go take away, came home and chilled out before getting the kids
to bed and doing the prep work for the kids being back in school the next morning.

Not the weekend I expected but a good one all the same.