My professional wanderings will take me to London three times in the next six weeks – I have first-thing-in-the-morning meetings on Friday 18th February and Friday 4th March, and a slightly more civilised Friday-during-the-day meeting on 18th March. So I hope to make it to the First Thursday on 3rd March, which I understand is now going to be in the Silver Cross in Whitehall (correct me if I’m wrong), and will perhaps see some of you there.

I’m devastated by the news that New Worlds, the sf section of Murder One on Charing Cross Road, is to close as part of the shop’s coming relocation. I always found it just that bit more user-friendly than Forbidden Planet, and thanks to recent events I am of course boycotting Waterstone’s. The (modest) silver lining is that they don’t close until the end of March so I have three last opportunities to visit it to look forward to.

What decent sf bookshops does this leave in London? I only know the one on Holloway Road, and Forbidden Planet as mentioned above. Are there any others I should start to explore?

(Oh, yes, and should I consider extending the first of these trips to take in PicoCon?)

All of this information thanks to Ansible, which also includes the cheering information that asteroid 2001 DA 42 has been given the official name Douglasadams. (It is also officially asteroid #25924 and was first identified as 1999 VX 149.)