Darryal : My experience as an actress

Yesterday Darryal gave a brilliant talk, supported by her acting crew (including the crowd favourite, Dr Smith). It was extremely well received; feedback included "the most interesting talk of the conference" and "this really made me think - excellent!".

Well done Darr!

Here she is in the spotlight...

The end of Annalu

It was all too much for our great leader.

2 Papers down...

Martin and Ha did great today. Their papers were so professional and well received. Ha even presented data hot off the press.

Annalu is so proud - like a mother hen with all her chicks. Well done you two!

Kidnapped!

Sparks, Christine, Rachel and Kathleen were almost seperated from each other when a taxi pulled away with only Sparks and Kathleen on board. Following frantic hand gestures from Kathleen, the taxi returned to pick up C & R! Phew... It's buses from now on!

In the meantime...Annalu managed to attend FOUR talks - amazing feat as it is difficult to avoid eye contact with friends and collegues we only see once every four years.

Our leader has decreed that AAC-Dundee may not 'hunt' in a pack. We now have a league table to see who can meet the most new people. Annalu want double points seeing as it is more difficult for her to find people she doesn't know!

We also have the daily challenge! Sparks was sent to meet the Lightwriter booth and to ask them about their new mobile phone utility. She surpassed the challenge and is ready for the next one!

Tomorrow is Spark's presentation - we are debating whether to clear the room of chairs first so we can act in the round...watch this space

ISAAC 2010 has started!

Here we are now, trying desperately to follow the Spanish welcome speech, clinging to every word! Could have cued for headphones but were assured most of the speeches would be in English... But great to hear: there are more than 1200 delegates, more than 100 AAC users, more than 57 countries and more than 350 papers! Well that’s bound to be interestingly exhausting....

How to get to nowhere slowly

Today Rolf and I were sent to reccy the accessibilityness of the Barcelona metro system in the searing afternoon heat. This was to make sure we could all get safely to the conference venue. After 2 hours of chlorinated lifts we gave up. One can access stations and possibly even trains if the driver gets out of the train to get the ramp. However it is impossible to change lines without it costing the earth. Step two was to try the trams. We couldn't find any. We found postcards, the information centre (free from bus timetables) and frozen water. After trekking several more miles in the excessive heat we found a bus which actually took us to the conference centre. The bus was accessible too. Rolf and I registered for the conference and then found a lido very near by - perfect for lunch times we reckoned. The next bit of the journey proved the most arduous as we had to find a specific tapas bar to see if it was indeed wheelchair accessible and then to try it out to make sure the food on offer was up to scratch. Passed on both accounts. We made it back to the flat (via the metro) 5 hours after we started, exhausted with the heat and the responsibility. Amen
Kathleen x

Asleep : Kathleen

The first of the photos of sleeping exhausted folks.

This one is particularly dangerous to upload. I'm sharing a room with Kathleen so I may not make it to the morning...


- Rachel