The 30th anniversary convention saw a return to Pontins at Southport - after a gap of 19 years - and also saw the return of the goody bag.
Included in the goody bag is a pen, keyfob, car sticker and stick of rock. There was also a raffle ticket to win a free trip to Montruex! I didn't win.
As always there was a convention t-shirt available to buy, this year it listed all 30 convention locations on the back, much as a tour t-shirt does.
(Apologies for the weird photo colour, not sure what happened!)
We had three fab bands on over the weekend - The Deputies, Robby Valentine & the Queen Kings - as well as various special guests taking part in Q&A sessions.
This years also saw the long awaited return of Tug Of War, an event that has not been held for many years due to that awful pairing - Health & Safety. Unfortunately, whilst many of us Queenies are able to stay up well into the early hours enjoying a convention water or two, a lot of us are getting a bit too fragile for something as physical as Tug Of War so there were only 4 teams taking part.
The only criticism from me was that the floor cameras were not used enough. We couldn't see the children's fancy dress, nor the fantastic floor routine from a talented young lady called Cerys. These could have been projected onto the screens so we could all enjoy them, instead of just the people lucky enough to get seats at the front (I started queueing well before 7pm but still ended up at the back each night) but the bands, who were up on the stage and therefore visible to all, were projected onto the side screens.
There was a charity auction - raising over £4000 for the Mercury Phoenix Trust (MPT), there were raffles for the fan club and the MPT, and collections for McMillan and the Poppy Appeal. A two minute silence was held at 11am.
This year you could also purchase the hard to get hold of, beer, vodka and wine.
Much as I am ashamed to admit it, what ruined it for me was the people I was with, if they weren't moaning about each other, they were complaining about the lack of facilities in the chalet. If they weren't complaining about that, then they were moaning about not being able to see what was going on on the floor, or that they couldn't hear what was being said.
I feel obliged to them as they have looked after me over the course of the last 15 years or so whilst I have been travelling up alone, but now I feel like I want to spend more time not being moaned at! Hopefully they didn't enjoy this year's event enough to go again next year. Selfish I know, but I need a break!
Plans are already being made for next year, who knows where we will be.....
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