Time Travellers Journal

Because of Kayla trying to attend the virtual Second Main WSFS Business Meeting of the 2025 Worldcon, and thus using up the middle four hours of our flight from LHR to DEN, we didn't get any sleep on the return home. I got back to RNO shortly after 10 PM PDT, got my luggage, retrieved the minivan, and got into the Best Western SureStay hotel literally across the street from the airport within an hour. I've been up since about 7 AM BST Saturday, meaning that I've been awake for more than 24 hours, and that's why I've booked the room. I'll have a longer write-up of the trip, and Kayla is apt to have more to say about the WSFS BM, but she has a commitment at 10 AM Sunday morning, so it's time for me to fall into bed and get enough sleep to get us safely home in the morning, get the house reactivated, and give her a chance to get ready for her meeting.

We had all day today to get from Ammanford to the hotel I'd booked at Heathrow, so we did not rush, spending a couple of hours at a forest garden in Swansea before taking the train to Paddington. As with a lot of these travel tales, I took more photos than I have time to write about. Click through them to read my photo notes, which are sometimes longer than my comments here.

( Ammanford to Heathrow )

We're here tonight, and do not have to be up at the crack of dawn. My flight is scheduled to board around 14:00, and there is a public bus that is only two stops from Heathrow Central. OTOH, there's thunderstorms forecast, so if it's chucking it down, we might take a taxi. In any event, with luck it should be a relatively easy trip. I did get another (relatively) inexpensive Polaris Business (first) class upgrade for the flight to Denver (and will be in First class from there to Reno, because $100 is IMO a cheap upgrade for that segment). Then we'll see if we can get online for the Second Main Business WSFS Business Meeting of Seattle 2025.

I did go ahead and book a hotel room in Reno at the Best Western SureStay that is literally across the street (as in, walk out of baggage claim, cross the street, and you are there) from the airport. My flight doesn't arrive until about 22:00 PDT, and I think it prudent to go to the hotel and sleep for a few hours before going home on Sunday morning.

I've said it in various places, but for the record:

I declined nomination to the seat that I have held for many years on the WSFS Mark Protection Committee. My current term ends (in effect) on the first day of Seattle 2025, when the MPC holds its final meeting of this term. Unusually, we will know who my successor is before then, because the election to fill the three seats up for election will be held during the virtual Business Meetings behind held before the in-person convention happens.

Please take note that my decision do to this was unrelated to anything having to do with the Hugo Awards. I have not been a Hugo Award administrator for many years, and in particular, I was not a member of the Hugo Awards Administration Subcommittee in 2023. Unfortunately, due to some intemperate remarks by me about how WSFS works, I was reprimanded by the MPC and resigned as Chair of the MPC, but did not resign my seat as a member of the MPC and the ex officio directorship of Worldcon Intellectual Property, the non-profit corporation that manages the WSFS service marks on behalf of the World Science Fiction Society.

It appears to me that there is a strong sentiment among a large-ish number of people who are apt to participate in the process that WSFS needs some change. Well, by golly, I'm going to give them changes, and this year, those people have an opportunity to elect at least two people who are not incumbents, as the only one of the three incumbents who stood for re-election is Nicholas Whyte. I wonder if those people who said that I personally was the person doing the most harm to WSFS are even members of Worldcon and if they are, will they vote. Yes, those accusations still rankle, as did being threatened with being sued into oblivion for malfeasance as an MPC director and officer. Such accusations tend to chase away our most valuable and useful people in an organization that depends on dedicated volunteers to keep it working.

I declined nomination to the Trial Committee that will hear disciplinary charges against certain WSFS members. If you want to know more, read the linked article from File 770. The entire issue was discussed in executive session at the July 13 virtual WSFS Business Meeting, and aside from what is in the Presiding Officer's official statement, I do not think I can discuss any of the substance of the issues.

I appreciate people nominating me, but I do not think that I can serve in good conscience. I do not even expect to be personally present when the results of the Trial Committee's deliberations are presented to the Business Meeting, although it's likely that Kayla will be there.

I took today off from the Day Jobbe and Cheryl and I set off to explore parts of Carmarthenshire, the county in which the lives. I wish I'd brought my pedometer, because I am sure I logged a whole lot of steps.

There are a lot of photos in this entry, but there more than sixty overall today. You can always click through to see more.

( Hill Forts, Donuts, Museum, a Castle, and a Great Meal )

Then it was time to head for "home" in Ammanford. We got back just before dark, tossed my still-damp clothes into the washer-dryer, and I set to work trying to tag all of these photos.

I have tomorrow off as well, but fortunately we don't have to be up that early. The plan is to pack and then head up to London, then to a hotel near Heathrow in order to be able to more conveniently catch my flight home on Saturday.

It's been a great week here with Cheryl. I wish I could stay longer, but things are pressing on me.