Day
Back in London... A city I can appreciate on many levels, but can never quite warm to. My last visit had been in 1999 or 2000, probably for a Fortean Times UnConvention. My lightning-raid incursions tend to happen over weekends of busy intensity, so I'm perhaps unqualified to judge the place. Besides, the denizens seem to be managing quite well with out me.

London provides a home to several of my friends. Mark Pilkington, of the Strange Attractor posse, was involved in putting on Megalithomania in conjunction with Third Stone magazine, in Holborn's Conway Hall. A delegations of the Blather Inner Circle decided to attend. So we did.

Mr. Kavanagh - Blather.net's Man In London - was up and gone early on Saturday morning, in order to catch John Michell's talk and to help out. The lovely Ms. Maria Behan and myself, after coffees and cake, sailed into Conway Hall about 1200hrs, completely missing Michell's apparently bewildering 'Introduction to Megalithomania' and Andy Worthington's History of the Stonehenge Free Festivals.

After catching up Flaneur Joe McNally and having blowing some quid Sterling on books, we caught some of Andy Letcher's talk on 'encounters with fairies by road protestors', before availing of some urban antiquarianism by way of Rob Stephenson's discussion of London as 'The Legendary City'. Stephenson led us through what lies behind and below London, mixing archeology, history, prehistory and myth to paint a picture of London's past. Stephenson, a registered London guide, knows the ancient city backwards... It's impossible to adequately summarise the extent of his talk, such was its breadth (The following day, we joined Mr. Stephenson on walk through The City, more of which later).