Country to country (C2C) is a country music festival that is held in the UK.

This year is was in London, Glasgow and Belfast. Headliners and acts further down the bill circulate between the three venues over the three day festival.

Having visited Nashville a couple of years ago and in an attempt ...

The local Bruges beer is Brugge Zot.

That is really a session beer.

I'd not recommend the unfiltered version (made me quite ill) but some like it.

Not really a film goer but have seem some things.

Best is probably a film version of a play called Prima Facie which stars Julie (Judy?) Comer. Excellent one handed play.

Worst film? Not in 2024 but I hated all the Hunger Games films which my kids forced me to watch.

I'm composing a sci fi story on another thread.

It's going slower than I had hoped.

I have however managed to finish a short piece which I've present called Clock speed.

This is below.

It's circa 3,500 words - I hope it fits this platform - if not I'll divide it up - it's raw - it's a decent but ...

You are correct William.

The novel/novella version can have all the build up and reasoning and it needs to give the story depth and balance.

I think that I need to start the story at the point of crisis (an inability to slow the entire ship) and include in it enough hints and nods to the drama of ...

Morning.

I'm struggling with a couple of issues at the moment.

One is a lack of time as I'm involved in an impending case before a Tribunal (acting on behalf of my clients) and am reviewing literally thousands of documents.

Second, is struggling to reduce what in my head is a story into a short ...

I'll pick my team, Southampton for 20th.

I now have a name for my captain - Larissa Flynn.

Whilst she is a character who will be only in the first part of the story, her back story and her character as expressed through her daughters is important and therefore I wanted a strong name.

I have also pondered on a potential plot hole and ...

Note above about the "ultimate objective".

Putting this simply, I'd say "survival" of the human race.

Given the distance and length of journey I think there has to be a good bit of discretion for the command crew but their mission has to be safe delivery of potential colonists.

So I'm thinking that a ship which has taken 10/15 years to build and which is carrying the hope of humanity is likely to require not just those on board to launch but also "permission" from the ground/moon.

My captain - female - not named yet - is required to attend a conference on the moon ...

I will be in Maine (near Portland) from 5 June.

We go on a road trip to Niagara, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec from 10 June to 19 June. Then back to Maine until perhaps the end of June.

Any tips?

Hopefully you're safe and well (and getting fitter) in New Zealand, Paul.

We (my wife and I) were there from around 8th Nov 2024 to 18 December 2024.

Toured both islands - not in a camper van thank heavens - and had a fantastic time.

We were in Auckland for the final few days and had dinner in ...

Thanks William.

I've thought about AI (not I confess AE) and what that might add or detract from the mix. I'm still undecided.

An active AI which intervenes in some way is a little too close to 2001. Aside from not wishing to be that close, I seriously doubt my writing is good enough to be ...

The idea of two or more minds coming together has fascinated me ever since I read the lensman books back in the 70's.

Those books - having re-read some of them last year - are teenage drivel, one dimensional characters and frankly bad writing. However they were pipped tot he top prize in sci-fi ...

Picking up on Williams earlier point about a relatable character/her/villain, I want this to be the ship.

Bruised, battered, broken into pieces, cast adrift but still protecting all aboard. The humans are transient.

My protagonist groups have personality.

The passengers are all young and without ...

Thanks all - some good ideas and thoughts here.

I did write a long response earlier but it seems to have disappeared.

The original idea (see elevator pitch below) was a novel length (120,000 words) first volume covering launch and first planetfall.

The second novel would be the struggle to bring ...

Thanks Mike.

Originally I had the construction at the Legrange points around the Earths orbit. Then I moved it close to the moon. This is a short story and in the longer version, the preparation period is longer - say 50 years - and we'd be establishing a base on the moon and stocking it. The idea ...

Last year before my sabbatical, I exchanged some messages about a possible science fiction story I wanted to create.

I took some time whilst on leave to think on this and whilst I think that the full story would be a multibook effort, a short story covering all the main points - a sort of extended ...

plummy wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 12:17 pm I like this thread. I'll not be making any appearances though as I'm more of a "2 steps forward, 1 step back" kinda guy at the moment.

I'm just the one step back kinda guy tight now!

My wife is a keen Crossfit member.

She was encouraging me to try varying the drag on the C2. Apparently it's something they do in the "box".

I normally go along at 130 or close thereto.

That gives me a SPM whilst cruising of around 23/24 and in bursts up to 28/30.

Well, tried that last week on ...

I tend to suffer cramp after a sessions rather than during it and having learnt this the hard way now take salt tablets before and after long sessions. These seem to work.

When I do get cramp, on the recommendation of a sports physio and massager, I spray on magnesium oil. (It's not actually oil ...

Agreed Iain.

I was thinking of setting the initial ladders at 6k, 30 minutes and 10k.

I was also toying with an interval piece, perhaps 6x500 r1

All the above are good ideas.

I see at least ladders being run simultaneously starting at different initial distances.

Perhaps 1k (and increasing by 100m steps), 2k (200m) and 5k (250m).

You can be on a ladder only once a month (but with three ladders you can be on each one).

Booking days in ...

Here's an idea which is going to need somebody with some excel skills.

Let's pick a starting distance. Let's call that 500m.

Team mate A rows that as a discrete distance, noted on their log on say 1st March.

On 2nd March we need a team mate to row say 525m - again a discrete, recorded piece in ...

I was at that game Ian. Great memories.

I was at Saints as a trainee (aged 14 to 18). I can remember being invited to The Dell by the club as a youngster and watching a game (forget which) from the "luxury" of the back of the director's box.

We (the under 15 squad) were told to wait in the box at ...