So it's been a week now since I got back from Eurofurence and I thought I'd do a little write up about my experience of it. I've been doing Eurofurence every other year since EF12 (2006) and apart from the language barrier, i have largely enjoyed them. However when Eurofurence moved to the Maritim in 2010 for EF16, I felt that the convention lost some of it's charm. Partly because the con had got to around 1000 attendees and it didn't feel like the friendly little con of previous years, but also the hotel just didn't feel very good for a furry con. It felt like there wasn't as much opportunity to socialise and wandering around the atrium became boring after a while.

Fortunately, this year's Eurofurence was much better, at least for me, than it was in 2010. They had made a number of improvements which comes with experience of them now being there their third year. The most notable improvement I only realised when the convention had ended and the hotel staff were returning the hotel to normal which was the large round tables at the back end of the atrium were lower and had seats rather than being standing height and no seating like it was in 2010. This created a lot more space where you could sit about and socialise and I also noticed artists were taking advantage by using the space for drawing stuff.

I suppose another reason I didn't enjoy EF16 so much was because I didn't have my fursuit with me. I was getting a bit fed up with the suit and couldn't be bothered with the luggage hassle bringing it would be. I ended up getting a bit bored having points where I didn't have anything to do at EF16 whereas at EF18, I just fursuited when there wasn't anything better to do. I think of all the conventions I've attended, I fursuited most at EF18 and I really enjoyed myself as a result. Which is amusing when you think I first got my fursuit (at least the head and paws) just in time for EF12. The fursuit is really starting to show its age however. I'm no good with repairs so it's getting in a worse state. It also doesn't help that the suit never fit me well in the first place as there's a gap at the back of the neck despite the flap on the head and the arms aren't really long enough to cover the paws so you keep on seeing my wrists. I'd love a new fursuit but sadly other things are far more important to pay for.

Anyway, I'll try to stop focusing on the negatives of my time at EF16 and focus on the positives of EF18. I met lots of great people, ranging from people I knew well, to some I kinda knew from the internet, to those I had never met before at all. One great conversation starter was the Necomimi Brainwave Controlled Cat Ears I was wearing from time to time as people were often just asking how they worked and where could they get themselves a pair. I really should be working on commission for Universal Publications considering how many people I've sent to their website where I bought mine :P

I had my new Panasonic Lumix TZ30 with me which I intended to take plenty of photos and 1080p 50fps video with. I also had a rather useful pistol grip style handle for the camera so I could take video easier and people would know it was video rather than me taking photos. I ended up capturing over 950 photos and 32gb of video. I managed to cull the photos down to around 320 and have uploaded them all to my gallery: http://g3.slycat.co.uk/index.php/furrycon/Eurofurence-18-2012. Next step is to work through the video footage. I'm kinda torn between doing a convention feature like I've done before, or upload smaller vignettes of individual events. That said, I've still got my Confuzzled 2012 video to work through though I wasn't so pleased with that footage due to the camcorder I was using not having a very wide lens.

In summary, I really enjoyed this year's Eurofurence. Certainly enjoyed it a lot more than EF16 but I think Confuzzled is still my favourite convention of those I've attended recently. Specifically I like the size and hotel layout over EF. I've yet to register for Confuzzled due to funds not permitting and I want to be more sensible with my cash. I've another event I need to pay for at the end of this month too so it's all stacking up. I'd really love to get back to California for Further Confusion or maybe go to MFF as I'm missing America and my friends over there. Last time I did go to America was in 2009. Hopefully I'll be able to go next year but it seems doubtful at the current time. Would love to get to Australia at some point too but that's even more of an expense!