I just wanted to note that I am not going to Worldcon.

The proximate reason is that Mater and I are going to her brother and sister-in-law's home near Winchester, where we will be joined by her son, nephew, niece and grand-niece to celebrate Mater's 70th, her grand-niece's 11th and my round-numbered birthdays.

The ultimate reason is because I cannot afford the money, the time nor the eco-footprint ...

I have been wondering, what did I do wrong that I used to get bored in the summer holidays as a child? That was 'before the Internet' (at least for normal kids), but I did use to hang around in libraries. I suppose part of the problem was that, as a child, I wasn't yet an independent agent nor running my own home. But there is now so much to do, so much to see and learn, so many places to visit ... and so little time.