Switches Gathering 3 was held in Paris on September 20 – 21st 2025. We always have a great time at conventions, but sometimes the adventures start long before any of the cast walk on stage.
There was a French air traffic controllers strike announced for Thursday the 18th, when many of us were travelling. We have learned that travelling the day before a con is risky, no margin for things to go wrong. But the air strike was a significant problem. Some people just had to fly and hope. Some people changed to the train. I had always intended to go by the Eurostar, because it is easy for me to get there.
But half the world seemed to have decided to go by the Eurostar, so it was packed out, with extra carriages and was so full that I was sitting in one carriage and my suitcase was in a luggage rack two carriages away. It was just bonkers, but we made it to Paris. Gare Du Nord had major roadworks going on so traffic in the area was diverted, slow or just at a standstill. Luckily I was going to the hotel by RER B. But that was affected by strikes too.
Only about 50% of the trains were running, but they had extra carriages and were absolutely packed. Paris is further south than the Midlands in the UK, so it was several degrees warmer. I abandoned the jacket and hoodie I had been wearing and was down to a T-shirt. But the heat hit you when you got into the RER carriages. We were rammed in like sardines. I was literally dripping with sweat for most of the journey to CDG airport.
Even at the airport, finding the hotel shuttle was difficult. Lack of signs, nobody to ask…. Eventually I found the area and no shuttle for the Novotel. It may have been bad timing, but they are supposed to be every half hour. I eventually saw another Switch and got to talking and she was booked on a specific shuttle and had paid. So we had a time for it and we were at the right location. I decided to stick with her and find that shuttle, which did turn up and I was able to pay my €5 and get to the hotel. I needed a cup of tea, a beer and a shower, not necessarily in that order.
The hotel bar was the social centre for the evening as people arrived and told their travel stories. From cancelled flights to delays and missed connections. Some people didn’t make it till the Friday. But people were happy to see welcoming familiar faces and destress by telling their stories. Even getting to the hotel from the airport was a major source of stress for some people. Somewhere about 1 am it was time to turn in. To be fair, with the time difference, that was only about midnight in the UK.
The next morning, I abandoned my plans for sightseeing in Paris. Travel was too stressful. But plenty to do at the hotel.
Pass pick up was after lunch
And there was merchandise and extras to buy.
We were especially keen on the trading cards. These were very popular, with people trying to swop and complete their sets over the weekend.
There were 4 cards per pack and 21 cards in a set. The Lyne Renee card seemed particularly hard to find. We made sure that each member of the cast got a copy of their two cards and that they had one of their character’s badges.
Of course the Switch Welcome Desk was there. There was a new bookmark. As well as information about Taylor and Dom’s film Magic and about Citydrop. In answer to the two most popular questions, ‘Yes, I have seen it’, and ‘Yes, it is good’. There is a fundraising programme to try to get the money to make a full length movie. For more information about that go to makingmagic.pictures
Citydrop convention will take place in Vancouver October 17 – 18th 2026. Keep the 16th free too. They haven’t announced why, but we widely suspect a day of visiting Motherland filming locations.
There was a birthday card to sign for Ashley and a Thank You card to sign for Taylor. We got several of these signed at Witchbomb, but got many more signed here. Sign the card, keep the pen. I spoke at length to Ashley’s assistant for the weekend and she made sure that Ashley got her card on Saturday. We wanted to make sure that she had them during the convention rather than at the end.
And another evening of socialising in the hotel bar with a lot of Switches. Lots of familiar faces and lots to catch up on.
Switches know how to party, even before the convention starts
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