Being Conventional

Despite having a name that resembles the noise I make when I get out of bed, the PCEC, or as us locals call it The Convention Centre, is not too shabby.  It's none too grande either because it has taken me nearly three days to write about it.  Maybe it was the shock of meeting Mahesh there that has caused the delay =).

We went last Friday and the place was packed.  In the main foyer they had empty showbags that could be purchased through a donation to the Flying Doctor.  After dutifully helping to save a few regional lives we, bag in hand, headed to the far end and worked our way back through the exhibits.  Was there ever a lot of them - and we quickly worked out that the showbags were designed to carry all the goodies you bought from the exhibits.  Apart from the free pack from the workers compensation stall ours remained empty.

As for stand-out exhibits the only ones that stick in my mind are the RAC exhibit, because they were giving away 5 VMoto scooters - unfortunately it seems we failed to win one, and the Screenwest exhibit, because it was so mindnumbingly insipid.  It was camped amongst all the other arts and culture exhibits, but whereas the others had real people to talk to, the Screenwest one only had a widescreen tv running the sort of arthouse films that SBS reject.  Bloody pathetic.  We have great film-makers making great films.  At least Screenwest could have had the decency of supporting them, but alas they didn't.

Overall, I like the place, but as I looked around the various halls, ballrooms and boardrooms I kept having the one image in my mind. Thousands of screaming Sci-Fi geeks at a Worldcon. Now that is a scary thought indeed, because the place would be perfect.