So, watcha bin doon? Me, I've been quite social lately. I went up to Birmingham, using a last minute decision to attend BICS as an excuse to catch up with old friends who live in the city. It was fantastic to see them, but I must confess that BICS was disappointing this year. I don't think it was just me who felt a bit disappointed, judging from what other people have said, but I do think that's a pity, and not just because the event is organised by two of my friends and I want it to be successful for their sakes.
In terms of enjoyment of the con, it probably didn't help that I missed all of the panels I had any interest in attending, due to travel and seeing friends. Seeing those people was actually the highlight of my weekend, so I didn't really mind missing the panels, but it did mean that paying £16 for a weekend pass was a steep price to pay just to go into a couple of rooms and look at some comics on some tables (especially as one of the BICS organisers told me I could have got a free pass if he'd known I was going — not that he reimbursed me, mind you). It was also the first time that I've ever come home without having bought a single comic at all. There was nothing which screamed that I must buy it right now, and that was pretty disappointing. Maybe I've just got higher standards than I used to have — in some ways, I'd like to think so, given that I've been to about 25 comics conventions in the last eight years, and have bought an awful lot of dross in that time. That's a more cheery thought than the notion that comics are all shit right now — and I really don't think that's true! Eesh, I hope not, anyway.
My highlight of the weekend was nothing to do with BICS or comics at all. I always like going to these events to see the people, anyway, and it was fantastic to catch up with friends I hadn't seen for ages. I hadn't seen Pete for about a year, and it was even longer since I'd seen Olulabelle and Mix, and it was lovely to meet their two boys for the first time, as well.
We had brunch at the Kitchen Garden Cafe (the food took a bloody long time to reach us, but it was yummy, and they did knock half the items off the bill to make up for the slow service), and then we went to look at piles of rice in an old warehouse in the jewellery district.
That was actually way more interesting than it sounds, and not just because Birmingham's jewellery district is a really interesting place historically and visually. The piles of rice formed an exhibition called Of All The People In All The World, aka thericeshow. You might not think that seeing piles of rice would be interesting, but each pile represented a fascinating statistic, many of which challenged our preconceptions and prejudices in a way that really got us thinking and talking. Some of them were very poignant, some filled me with disgust, some were admirable, and some were just plain silly. We were encouraged to take photos, so you can see some of the more interesting statistics in this photoset.
One in particular made us laugh, the one about John William Gott being the last man in the UK to be jailed for blasphemy after comparing Jesus to a clown. Not that this is intrinsically funny in itself (although it is ironic that his surname means "god" in German — God thought Jesus was a clown!), but because earlier, outside the warehouse, we'd spotted a figure stencilled on a wall, with a face on its chest, and we couldn't work out if the face was supposed to be Jesus or Charles Manson (which is quite a difference, I think you'll agree!). Maybe Charles Manson was really just a stand-up comic. He's certainly as self-obsessed as most stand-up comedians.
The exhibition is worth checking out if you get a chance. It's moving to Barcelona, and then continues to tour the world, so it might show up in your hometown eventually.
