And...

Rising the following morning to re-encounter the German idea of breakfast (to which I don't suppose I'll ever get used, hopeless fry-up junkie that I am) we found that the morning was entirely devoted to workshops, which for me meant more time to relax and wander round the castle. Valerie tried to rope Magician and me into the Harmony Workshop (she wasn't running it, she just thought we might be useful, if only as extra male bods) but Chris wisely pleaded the headaches and I bottled out after only a few minutes of trying to puzzle out the notes while simultaneously keeping my eyes on Juliane's beat. I can find my own harmonies quite well, but formal harmony singing is a different kettle of fish, and mine wasn't coming to the boil any time soon.

Lunch recalled happy memories of Nycon Saturday lunches, the main dish being a species of burger (Freusburger? very nice anyway). More workshops followed: I really should have tried some of them, but I was kind of wiped, so much so that I missed Draketo's spot completely and only came in halfway through the DiPi-Maidens. DiPi is apparently a little cartoon creature who serves as mascot for the Deutsche Post (D.P., you see) and after the spot had finished (including, if I remember rightly, a killer filk of "Don't Pay The Ferryman") Franklin kicked off the auction by selling off numerous plush figures of the little fellow, followed by a seemingly endless supply of beanie zebras. They looked quite cute, but I had my eye on other things on the auction table, and I actually got some of them (German translations of Queen of the Damned and a fantasy novel I'd not heard of: I was getting seriously antsy about reviving my rusted-out German). I missed out on "Die Farben der Magie," though: Draketo got it, which I suppose served me right for missing his set.[g]

After the auction came the main concert, full of beautiful music and funny songs (I think this was where Alan Thiesen did a German version of "FTL Pizza" with Franklin and Katy helping out). I missed a chunk due to a somewhat overextended loo break, and at the moment (possibly due to this cold) I can't remember who sang what or in what order of the bit I did see, so I hope there will be recordings one day. Dinner followed the concert, and the fire-breathing and poi-spinning show followed that, but I missed it (the show, not dinner) and the two performance spots that followed. Sorry.

Eight-thirty struck, and I hurriedly got into one of my shalwar-kameez and went to Chris's room to warm up. Usually I don't bother (with my excuse for a voice, what's to warm up?) but I quite got into it this time, mainly by making a round out of the la-la-la-la-LA-la-la-la-la's, which made it more interesting, and do you know I think it actually helped. I shall be less sceptical next time. We picked up our props and made our way to the Musiksaal. We had asked that the hall be cleared for ten minutes before the set began, to give us time to tune and get ourselves organised: I don't know if this seems unnecessarily diva-ish or objectionable, but I found it easier to get into the performing mindset without a hundred pairs of eyes watching me. It's the next best thing to, you know, actually making an entrance. We got ready, and as the audience trooped back in and the synth started playing the overture (yes, I did an overture: so I want to be a classical composer, so sue me), I took up my position with my back to the audience and began conducting.

I'm not going to go into detail about our set. There were the usual fluffs and bum notes, mostly (from what I could tell) mine, but it seemed to work all right. I would have liked to stay up for one or other of the circles, but I knew I was going to need some sleep that weekend, and we were due to get up and out early on Monday morning, so I had promised myself an early night. I did drop into the Release party for the new FilkContinental CD (1999-2000) and cast longing eyes on Franklin's collection of alcoholic delicacies, but I was strong-willed and firm of purpose (read: dull and boring) and went back to bed and the dreaded top bunk, resolving to plan better next time.

Sunday morning dawned, and I added to the list a resolve to buy FilkContinental a toaster at some point. I should mention at this point that the weather had been splendid, not, I gather, a usual thing at these events. I spent quite a lot of the morning clambering about the castle taking pictures of what seemed to me to be interesting bits, of which there are many. I attended the E-guitar workshop, given by Volker, and found it rather difficult till Rafael suggested he do some of it in English. E-guitar, in this case, refers to electric guitar: I had had some vague ideas about playing the guitar over the Internet, but apparently we don't have the technology for that yet. Since I don't know how to play any kind of guitar, this was all pretty academic for me, but I was interested nonetheless, and I learned a bit. I think I know the shape of a power chord now...

A lot of the blank bits in this conrep should be filled in with simply sitting (or standing) and chatting to friends. I did a lot of that. As I said in part one, it's not something that seems to happen much at British filkcons, where if there is time for chatting it usually happens in a noisy bar where I can only hear one word in three and can't make myself heard at all. This was different, and I enjoyed it.

After lunch I got in Jan's way while she wrote out the chorus of one of our songs on a big flipchart for our second set, and then had to change even more hurriedly and zoom off to Chris's room. The second set, I've been told, wasn't as good as the first: it was certainly filkier (including as it did several filks of songs from the first set) and maybe had less impact for that reason. I don't know. I do know that we enjoyed ourselves, both times, and we got what I would categorise as enthusiastic applause (as opposed to polite applause) both times. So I think we did okay. The request concert that followed us was fun, including repeats of various items from earlier, including our version of "Necronomicon" (in which Chris and I have to act like zombies: not much change there then, at least in my case) and the "Ferryman" filk by the DiPi-Maidens. The Harmony Workshop performed the song they had been working on, a lovely arrangement by Ju of Cynthia McQuillin's "Ruby Wine," and I can tell you it worked much better without me messing it up. Then came the closing ceremony, enlivened by Jan and Marion presenting the Countess's Awards (Nycon may have gone into hiatus, but the Awards go on...) and the announcement that next year's guests would be....(da-da-da-DUM) Urban Tapestry!!!

At this point, or hereabouts, a number of things happened.

Someone (Sunny, I think) told Jan she was looking forward to the Countess's Awards next year.

Chris signed up for next year almost immediately. (I know this because I saw him filling in the form.)

Valerie signed up for next year, and asked David if she should book for him. Conversation ensued, and she signed him up too. (I heard this later.)

And I started to look at the fifty-Euro note remaining in my wallet...

So the con closed, and dinner happened, and I continued to agonise. I talked to Jan. She wanted to come back again. I wanted to come back again. Chris and Valerie were definitely planning to come back again. At least one of the Germans was actively expecting us to come back again. The fifty Euroes were still there. I went and got in the way of tech tear-down for a while. Then I went back to the room. Then I wrote some things on a piece of paper and went looking for Kirstin.

And we're going back next year!!! Don't know how yet, but we're going to do it. Freusburg is just too magical a place, and the Germans are just too wonderful a crowd, and with UT on top of all of that... what could a poor boy do?

he could go to the Dead Dog Circle, that's what. Jan and Mike and Alison came too, and we listened, and I sang a couple of songs (and I don't know whether I violated some sort of code of etiquette in getting up and using the big empty bit in the middle of the circle to perform in, but it seemed to work, especially with "Afraid Of The Park"). By the time I'd done the second song, though, the circle was getting rapidly smaller, and there was that departure time looming, so we said our goodnights, and went to bed.

And then it was Monday morning, and finishing off the packing Jan had mostly done the night before, and getting to breakfast, and giving my lift key to Keris so that they could load the tech, and having to go before we had said goodbye to everyone, and then we were back on the road home, me with the beginnings of a raging cold, and saying our goodbyes to Germany as the countryside raced past.

Thank yous above all to the FilkContinental committee for asking us to be guests and treating us royally while we were there, to Valerie and David for hospitality, transport, pastime with good company and friendship, to Valerie (again) and Magician for letting me be in a band with them, to Jan for coming with me and being my support, to everyone at the con for making us feel so welcome, and to the Freusburg and the staff who maintain it for giving us a place like no other to go and be filkers in.

And I didn't even mention the stunning costumes...