First off, sorry about today's cartoon going up late at Dorktower.com. Even though it's been three days since we returned from London, both Judith and I have been hit hard with some variant of the common cold that's leaner and meaner for the new Millennium. It seems to be fading at last, but my mind's still a little muddy. On the other hand, what's new?

Dragonmeet itself was magnificent. The flight over was fantastic, and the convention itself couldn't have gone any better. WHAT an experience it was.

I arrived at Kensington Town Hall around 9:30 am. The new location is fantastic, and I believe it's already been booked for next year's show. It's a nice facility and allowed the convention to grow by at least 50% without any pains whatsoever. It has room to grow still, a good thing since I'm sure next year's Dragonmeet will be even bigger.

I shipped about eight boxes of product (many thanks to both Esdevium Games and Hogshead for getting the items there without any headaches or hitches, by the way), and was rushing to set up my booth by the time the doors were scheduled to open. They were late, however, which was a good thing for me, as I just finished getting things in order when, at 10:30 am, the line at the booth began to form.

And form.

And form.

Honestly, in all my days, I've never experienced a response to my work like this. The line lasted for -- get this -- five HOURS.

Yes, hours. Five...straight...hours. I sat down at my booth at 10:30 am, and didn't stop signing things until 3:30 pm. It wasn't until the early afternoon that I actually had a chance to even simply take a drink of water (thanks to Matt Goodman of Heliograph dropping off a bottle in the morning, by the way.) It was just incredible.

EVERYTHING sold. By the end of the day, I'd sold out of Chez Dork, Warhamster Rally and Munchkin. By lunchtime every single copy of Dork Tower 15 was gone. The smaller sizes of the t-shirts sold out first, but then people started buying the sizes that didn't even fit them! The only t-shirt left by the end of the day (a XXXL "Warhamster") I gave to Hogshead Games superdude James Wallis as too, too small thanks for one of the most amazing days at a convention I've ever had.

And the crowd was absolutely one of the greatest I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Some people had brought British junk food. Others brought Belgian beer...all the way from the continent! People had come from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, giving the con a nice international feel. But everyone was pleasant (even though some people had waited in line for an hour or more), and it was wonderful meeting so many great folks.

By 4 p.m., I got my only chance to wander around the hall. The gaming tables were full, and folks seemed to be having a grand time. I was able to hang with gaming luminaries and all-around good guys such as Don Perrin, Matt Goodman, Clockworks Games' Aaron Rosenberg, Ground Zero Game's Jon Tuffley (Jon and I will have a really neat announcement out soon, by the way...), Profantasy's Simon Rogers and many others.

As you may have guessed, I didn't get much of a chance to actually buy anything, but I did check out the English edition of Apples to Apples (and if having a separate English edition seems a bit strange, you obviously haven't seen the need for cards like "The Jarrow March," "Delia Smith" and "Cilla Black.")

But if the day itself was incredible (there was a rush on the booth at the end of the show which was almost as crazy as the line at the start), the last two functions of Dragonmeet for me were just fabulous.

Functions

First off was the charity auction, in which the original artwork for the Dragonmeet t-shirt (plus some sketches of earlier designs for it), sold for just over $300 (many thanks to Andy Beck for getting them AND giving a goodly amount to a fine cause). I heard that the first set of PokeTHULHU miniatures went for nearly $150 (more sets will be in stores in February, according to Steve Jackson Games), and a few bottles of wine I signed went for nearly $100. (Next year I promised to supply wine from my own cellar, and maybe even brew a special beer for the auction).

The Guest of Honor talk was really the cherry on top of it all, though. Many folks waited patiently and with good humor for it to start as the auction wound down and I arrived fashionably -- if rudely -- late. But the audience was fantastic, politely listening to my incoherent ramblings, and the room was standing room only. In all honesty, the people at Dragonmeet couldn't have made me feel any more welcome if they'd tried.

That night Judith and I also got to spend time with my sister (whose 30th birthday it was), my parents and some of my sister's fab friends, overlooking the Thames from the South side. It was a beautiful night, and capped a nearly perfect day. Tower Bridge looked every part the magical Victorian piece of whimsey it is, its lights sparkling in the crisp December night like a giant Christmas ornament over the Thames.

Once more, I've just got to say to EVERYONE involved with Dragonmeet, organizers and attendees alike, thank you SO much for a day that I can honestly say I'll never forget. I just can't say enough about it.

And next year, I'll even remember to take a drink of water.