Claire and I are back from QMoon now (in Italy, as you’ll have guessed if you read the four virtual postcards I posted to my blog), and it was a fantastic trip right up until we went to come home and everything went wrong. You’d be amazed how much trouble you can cause for yourself by when language barriers get in your way. For example, something I’ve learned is that when you’re trying to explain to an airport official who speaks only Italian why it is that the zip on your bag is broken, you should not use the words, "I’m sorry, my bag is exploding," because it turns out that doesn’t translate very well. I’ve also learnt that the correct way to get through passport control without trouble is not to be deliberately enigmatic: for instance, when an immigration officer says "That’s an unusual name you’ve got, isn’t it, sir?" you should not respond, "Why yes, yes it is."
There’s a story for another day in there somewhere, but suffice to say that despite the fact that we were not allowed to get onto the flight we were supposed to be on – to Liverpool – we were eventually allowed onto a ‘plane headed to Stansted, London, which isn’t quite the same thing but is still in the UK so that’s a step.
We’re back in Preston, now, and we’ll be back in Aberystwyth tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.
In any case, what I wanted to do was to share with you links to the great number of fantastic posts that people have made online about QParty. I’ll say more about QParty itself later, but for now – here’s what other people have been saying:
- Kit raises n to the power of Q.
- Andy K is next to write a post in the Q.
- Andy R makes puns and muses (friends only).
- Ruth rebels against abnib, and points people at Andy R’s post.
- Matt makes better (well, cheesier) puns.
- Hayley says nice things, and links to one of her photos of the event.
- Adam says happy soppy things.
- JTA says nice things about how it all came together in the end.
- Ruth announces QMoon for us (remind me to give you a big hug).
- Paul points out that everybody’s already said everything that’s to be said about QParty.
- Jimmy eventually writes a few curious words.
The official QParty photo gallery will launch this week, too, and I’ll be sharing with you some of the many pictures our friends took of the event in nice hi-res, printable glory, as well as sharing with you the results of the QFrame idea (remember those big clip frames at QParty? no; of course you don’t, you were completely pissed). Until then…
A couple of deeds poll later, and Claire and I are half-way to having changed our surnames. Our new surname: Q. I hereby declare this blog post to be the official FAQ of the Dan/Claire name change. So there, Ms Q. 1. You’ve changed your names? Yes, we’ve changed our names. I’m now “Dan Q”, and
Read more →
“Why yes, yes it is.”
Sounds like the obvious answer to me…
And I suppose the reason your zip was broken was because they don’t like you locking your bags and someone broke it looking in…
Didn’t lock my bag, and zip wasn’t broken while in their possession. Was a shoddy zip that just fell apart in Venice (the second time around) when the bag was only slightly over-stuffed. I was just trying to explain this situation to airport security when I made my unfortunate choice of words.
Still, back in Aber today.
Sounds like you had a good time both during and after the Q Party. Sorry we never made it but Mr Bank Manager wouldn’t give us any money to come out to play
quails eggs
quinnine
Quick bread
quince
quiche
erm … thats my lot so far
Note to self: Paul’s comment probably belongs on this post:
http://blog.scatmania.org/2009/09/09/foods-that-begin-with-the-letter-q/