Did I say I had hopes for an easy and stress-free journey? I think I did. Well, here are some things to avoid, if you want hopes like this to become true.

- Take the actual train ticket with you, not only the seat reservations. Kudos to both the DB and Eurostar for letting us ride on these alone.
- Contrary to common knowledge, don't count on the high-speed trains being more punctual than your local and regional ones. The 80 minutes safety space in Cologne was more than plentiful, the 40 minutes in Bruxelles had us sprinting to get the connection.
- There's not much you can do to avoid a broken-down train blocking the whole tunnel for 2.5 hours. Well, except for flying of course.
- Don't leave your convention posters in the train when disembarking. Getting back out of the London tube and finding those poster is time-consuming and nerve-wracking. Kudos to both London Underground and Eurostar personnel for being extremely helpful and understanding. And for not giving a terrorist alarm.
- Check the timetables shortly before the trip, if you've booked two months earlier. Especially if there's been a fire in the tunnel in the meantime and damages are still being repaired. It could save you another sprint for the connection.
- Don't rely on the Eurostar personnel - extremely friendly as they are - to give you the correct platform for your connection. It might have been changed without their knowledge. This could save you yet another sprint through Bruxelles-Midi station.

I have to add that Eurostar was so gracious to offer anyone on the train with the 2.5 hours delay a free return-ticket on their next trip. I just hope they still remember that next year. Yes, despite all this, I'd still rather take the train than fly to London.

Oh, and Dragonmeet was a blast, as I'm sure you've experienced or heard.

Next Saturday is Dragonmeet time in London (Kensington Town Hall), and I'm looking forward to my annual visit at ProFantasy headquarters, meeting Simon, Sasha, Steve, et al. In addition, I'm excited to see Robin D. Laws and Kenneth Hite again who are special guests this year.

This year we'll be taking the Eurostar through the Chunnel. Hopefully the trip will be more relaxing than the usual airport security hassles, cramped Ryanair seating, and annoying Stansted Express transfer.

I'm really looking forward to being at Dragonmeet again.

Especially as it seems I might even meet Ken of DORK TOWER fame there? ;)