Driving up the M3 in the pitch dark with the rain pelting down on the windscreen isn't normally my idea of fun, even if I have got my bubbly and wonderful daughter next to me in awe at the clouds and the big sky. It makes it even more nerve wracking when, close to our destination and traveling down dark country lanes full of what can only be described as small lakes, you are suddenly overtaken by a maniac in a white van who seems to have appeared from nowhere.
However, this was a trip that I had to make as the destination was a chance to see, in the flesh, 'our lord' Richard Dawkins do his thing.
Another reason for my excitable state and my tentative anticipation was the prospect of actually meeting some of the members of this illustrious forum, in the flesh, for real, in real life. (I think you get my point) Up until that point I had only ever thought about my fellow members in a rather distant and almost fictional manner, almost like characters from a book that you could interact with. It's all very well typing things here but what would it be like when we actually met. We might hate each other or have nothing to say!
Back to the journey. After about 90 minutes of being skillfully guided by Jane (my satnav) we eventually ended up in what we thought was the right place. It was a quaint little high street. Quiet, cold, dark and wet. We looked around for the Iron Duke, the pub where we were all to meet but the area seemed as totally devoid of any form of drinking establishment as it did people. We wandered around a little and eventually came across a couple of 'locals' sitting in a van munching sandwiches. They had never heard of it but just as we were saying thanks anyway another 'local' appeared on the scene and, pointing to an old, boarded up building, said "there it is, it's been closed for months!"
So, we went back to the car and brought it around to the front of the, now defunct, pub. When we got there we realised that we were not alone. We were parked next to a suspiciously familiar looking white van with a mysterious figure hovering around the door looking industrious. The figure said hello, I said hello. The figure came closer and revealed itself to be a man who bore more than striking resemblance to leo_rcc. Hi, I'm Leo, said the figure.
After we had chatted for a while and wondered where everyone else was, Leo suddenly went to the back of his van and produced a 'Robot Wars' style fighting robot. This thing then seemed to take on a life off its own as it hurled itself around the small car park in front of the ex pub with reckless abandonment, much to the excitement of a couple of children who had appeared on the scene and, I must admit, to myself and my daughter.
Shortly after a text message on Leo's phone informed us that the rest of the group were nicely gathered in a warm pub nearby. Quite how they managed to be there while we were shivering in the cold and dark I'm not sure but there you go. So off we went to the new pub.
It wasn't far away and I was happy to follow Leo in his suspiciously familiar looking white van.
In the pub we went to be greeted by Adrian, Rob, Super_Tux, and I assume, Lee. It turns out they are real after all! Strangely enough, for such confident and chatty people on the forum, everyone seemed rather quite and unsure of what to say. A bit like one of those awkward moments when you are forced to make polite conversation while waiting for a lift.
So, seven of us there in the pub, politely smiling at each other and not saying much and just one to go. Luckily, craveman turned up shortly after and so we all piled out of the pub and made our way to the college.
When we got there it was packed. People and cars everywhere, this debate had certainly sparked a lot of interest and promised to be everything that I had hoped it would be. We made our way into the hall and took our seats, all wearing our forum t-shirts
Shortly after it started....
However, this was a trip that I had to make as the destination was a chance to see, in the flesh, 'our lord' Richard Dawkins do his thing.
Another reason for my excitable state and my tentative anticipation was the prospect of actually meeting some of the members of this illustrious forum, in the flesh, for real, in real life. (I think you get my point) Up until that point I had only ever thought about my fellow members in a rather distant and almost fictional manner, almost like characters from a book that you could interact with. It's all very well typing things here but what would it be like when we actually met. We might hate each other or have nothing to say!
Back to the journey. After about 90 minutes of being skillfully guided by Jane (my satnav) we eventually ended up in what we thought was the right place. It was a quaint little high street. Quiet, cold, dark and wet. We looked around for the Iron Duke, the pub where we were all to meet but the area seemed as totally devoid of any form of drinking establishment as it did people. We wandered around a little and eventually came across a couple of 'locals' sitting in a van munching sandwiches. They had never heard of it but just as we were saying thanks anyway another 'local' appeared on the scene and, pointing to an old, boarded up building, said "there it is, it's been closed for months!"
So, we went back to the car and brought it around to the front of the, now defunct, pub. When we got there we realised that we were not alone. We were parked next to a suspiciously familiar looking white van with a mysterious figure hovering around the door looking industrious. The figure said hello, I said hello. The figure came closer and revealed itself to be a man who bore more than striking resemblance to leo_rcc. Hi, I'm Leo, said the figure.
After we had chatted for a while and wondered where everyone else was, Leo suddenly went to the back of his van and produced a 'Robot Wars' style fighting robot. This thing then seemed to take on a life off its own as it hurled itself around the small car park in front of the ex pub with reckless abandonment, much to the excitement of a couple of children who had appeared on the scene and, I must admit, to myself and my daughter.
Shortly after a text message on Leo's phone informed us that the rest of the group were nicely gathered in a warm pub nearby. Quite how they managed to be there while we were shivering in the cold and dark I'm not sure but there you go. So off we went to the new pub.
It wasn't far away and I was happy to follow Leo in his suspiciously familiar looking white van.
In the pub we went to be greeted by Adrian, Rob, Super_Tux, and I assume, Lee. It turns out they are real after all! Strangely enough, for such confident and chatty people on the forum, everyone seemed rather quite and unsure of what to say. A bit like one of those awkward moments when you are forced to make polite conversation while waiting for a lift.
So, seven of us there in the pub, politely smiling at each other and not saying much and just one to go. Luckily, craveman turned up shortly after and so we all piled out of the pub and made our way to the college.
When we got there it was packed. People and cars everywhere, this debate had certainly sparked a lot of interest and promised to be everything that I had hoped it would be. We made our way into the hall and took our seats, all wearing our forum t-shirts
Shortly after it started....
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