How about a January London WOS / CSS meetup?

edited February 2011 in Sinclair Miscellaneous
This seems to be a good point in time to ride the wave of relative harmony and goodwill in the Speccy scene and suggest that we all go to a pub and get pissed.

I guess we're looking at January, as anything before then is either too short notice or too tied-up-in-the-whole-winter-festival-of-your-choosing-thing. So - London? Pub? (The Green Man on Great Portland Street is the traditional choice, and I have many happy memories of meetups there, but I seem to recall that whenever I suggest it there's usually someone saying "nah, it's crap since the new owner took over" or "actually the downstairs bit is knee deep in raw sewage at the moment" or something.) Is it worth setting up a thing on whichweekend.com to decide on a date?
Post edited by gasman on
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Comments

  • edited November 2010
    Really ought to be at http://www.thegipsymothgreenwich.co.uk/. I'll stay away if anyone objects to my being there.
  • edited November 2010
    How about The Baron Of Beef pub in Cambridge? Would seem more apt I would have thought.
  • edited November 2010
    pasty72 wrote: »
    How about The Baron Of Beef pub in Cambridge? Would seem more apt I would have thought.

    Better not speculate on who's most likely to be hitting who with a rolled up newspaper then... ;-) It'd be excellent to do the Baron Of Beef some time, but Cambridge isn't brilliantly placed for transport links, and it's hard enough to get a critical mass of Spec-chums at the best of times.

    I should add that everyone is welcome - which does mean that people who have an issue with other people also being welcome will need to sort it out between themselves. Or something. Thankyou, anonymised one, for your gracious concession... I hope it won't be needed.
  • edited November 2010
    gasman wrote: »
    Cambridge isn't brilliantly placed for transport links

    Yes it is [size=-4]if you start from my house[/size].
  • edited November 2010
    I'd like to do a London one -- so long as I've got a place to stay (London's very easy for me to get to, just a bit expensive for me to get to, since Aer Arann seem to think anyone coming from here to London is a wealthy banker going to do some banking and price their fares accordingly...)
  • edited November 2010
    Would like to if at all possible ... and I've no objections to anyone being there.

    Although - yes, the Baron of Beef would be fun for the history element :)
    No one important.
  • edited November 2010
    I'm up for a London meet if nobody objects. Don't think I've offended too many people too much recently, but if anyone is spoiling for a fight please let me know in advance so I can hide a horseshoe in my boxing gloves (I'm assuming Marquess of Queensbury Rules...).
  • edited November 2010
    ccowley wrote: »
    I'm up for a London meet if nobody objects. Don't think I've offended too many people too much recently, but if anyone is spoiling for a fight please let me know in advance so I can hide a horseshoe in my boxing gloves (I'm assuming Marquess of Queensbury Rules...).

    hah, I'm gonna hide an anvil in my gloves, so you better watch out, ;p
    So far, so meh :)
  • edited November 2010
    It would be good to meet you all. London is good for me.
  • edited November 2010
    It's quite a distance for me, never mind the length of time it takes to get there, but I may be able to sort it out. What about B&Bs down there? What are they like, and what do they cost, :)
    So far, so meh :)
  • edited December 2010
    OK, let's give this a go then. http://whichweekend.com/londonspeccymeetup - sign up and fill in the dates you can make. Or, if you don't buy in to all this Web 2.0 malarkey, just do it the old fashioned way and reply here. Either is good.
    polomint wrote: »
    What about B&Bs down there? What are they like, and what do they cost, :)

    No idea (although I'm sure there's plenty of choice) - anyone?

    (re: Cambridge not being brilliantly placed for transport)
    Yes it is [size=-4]if you start from my house[/size].
    Cool! Party round your place, then stagger into Cambridge centre in the morning - that was an invitation, right...? :-)
  • edited December 2010
    I've heard about the beer but, what do you guys eat? :)

    I'm imagining what it would be like if all the Specchums visited Gasman's place. Who would cook? :p
  • edited December 2010
    zxbruno wrote: »
    I've heard about the beer but, what do you guys eat? :)

    All you need is beer . . .
  • edited December 2010
    Sounds fun and London is convenient.
  • edited December 2010
    *bump*

    Last chance to get your preferred dates down on the Which Weekend page (now featuring special contributions from a certain famed compulsive form filling enthusiast...) - this weekend I'll settle on a final date. (Doesn't look like there's one that works for everyone, unfortunately.)
    zxbruno wrote: »
    I'm imagining what it would be like if all the Specchums visited Gasman's place.

    Crowded. I only have a two room flat :-)
  • edited December 2010
    Righto! Looks like Saturday 12th February has emerged as the preferred one, seeing as it's only got Chris Cowley's 'maybe' counting against it rather than any outright 'no' votes (I'm going to boldly assume that Roger was just drawing a pattern rather than stating a preference for any particular weekends...)

    Any objections to the Gypsy Moth, then? Don't think I've been there before, so happy to give it a go!
  • edited December 2010
    gasman wrote: »
    Any objections to the Gypsy Moth, then? Don't think I've been there before, so happy to give it a go!
    That sounds good to me (I haven't been there either, but it looks like a decent boozer from the website).
  • edited December 2010
    Is anyone offering floor space to crash on for the night? If not, any B&B recommendations before I go trawling the web?
  • edited December 2010
    Winston wrote: »
    Is anyone offering floor space to crash on for the night? If not, any B&B recommendations before I go trawling the web?

    Someone in #spin/#speccy mentioned it might be worth trying Travelodge/Premier Inn kinda places, should be cheap enough..

    Saturday 12th February seems good to me, so I will take a look at costs involved soon, I need to get down there from nearby Burnley, so quite a long trip. I will probably leave late-ish on Friday evening. Should be able to get down there by about 6am, then head to a place to hole up, :)
    So far, so meh :)
  • edited December 2010
    polomint wrote: »
    Someone in #spin/#speccy mentioned it might be worth trying Travelodge/Premier Inn kinda places, should be cheap enough..

    Their "From ?29.99" price is cheap, but you can almost never get it, more typically expect ?50 per night. And Premier Inn/Travelodge nickel-and-dime you to death, everything is an additional extra at exhorbitant cost: WiFi is ?10 per day or ?5 for just one hour, breakfast is expensive etc.

    The B&Bs that I've stayed in recently have been in the < ?35 bracket, include a home cooked full English breakfast and free WiFi. Much better value. (Not only that, the one in Bletchley had proper beer on tap, it was also a pub). The only thing is they weren't in London, it could be more expensive there... but I'll always consider a family owned B&B before Travelodge/Premier Inn.
  • fogfog
    edited December 2010
    the issue perhaps maybe also because it's the 12th , folk doing something for valentines.. just a thought. and yep what premiere advertise / the reality is 2 different things.

    if you go anywhere near the west end, you will get stung regarding costs

    I might go, if I have the time off work.

    there are certain bits of london which have cheaper hotels.. and well depends where that pub is... if your willing to take the tube, you prolly find things cheaper..

    Winston there are a few of them pub type premiere inns about, one on kenton road in wembley , but sure there are more
  • edited December 2010
    fog wrote: »
    the issue perhaps maybe also because it's the 12th , folk doing something for valentines.. just a thought. and yep what premiere advertise / the reality is 2 different things.

    if you go anywhere near the west end, you will get stung regarding costs

    I might go, if I have the time off work.

    there are certain bits of london which have cheaper hotels.. and well depends where that pub is... if your willing to take the tube, you prolly find things cheaper..

    You know the Thames map on Eastenders (don't deny watching it, :P ), its at the bottom of the loop of the Thames... :)
    So far, so meh :)
  • fogfog
    edited December 2010
    i am born / bred londoner.. so yer I know london :)

    errm moreso the north west as I use to do deliveries , south I have been to pick up some speccy and retro things :) , but no real reason to visit other than that.

    http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/

    if your from outside london and don't forget to buy an oyster card ..

    a lot of area's have permit parking , even where I live .. so it's impossible to park unless you live around here / or pay loads of money to park.
  • edited December 2010
    Guys, if the meeting takes a place, I wish You great fun! :)
    ZX81/ZX Spectrum/Amiga/Atari music: http://yerzmyey.i-demo.pl/
  • edited December 2010
    Yerzmyey wrote: »
    Guys, if the meeting takes a place, I wish You great fun! :)

    There will be fun,, Oh yes there will... :)
    So far, so meh :)
  • edited January 2011
    I actually arrive in London quite early on Saturday morning (8.45 at LCY) so if any of you are Londoners and want to meet up for a coffee somewhere before the pub, then let me know . . .
  • edited February 2011
    Bugger.

    Looks like I can't attend now due to a family commitment. Was really looking forward to this too :(

    Have a nice time, everyone who goes. Please have another meet in London soon.
  • edited February 2011
    *bump*

    One week to go! Just enough time to rearrange your weekend plans around being in Greenwich on Saturday afternoon. Go on, you know you want to...
  • edited February 2011
    I was hoping to make it down for this, but between travel costs (either ?50 on the train or ?25 on the bus - but this means over 7 hours of sitting on a coach) and most hotels doing a "valentines two-night minimum stay", it's not looking feasible :(

    Have a pint and a byte or two for me!
  • edited February 2011
    gasman wrote: »
    being in Greenwich on Saturday afternoon.
    What sort of time are people planning to get there? I could maybe get there for an hour or so depending on when everyone's planning on arriving (I'd be going by motorbike though, which would mean no beer for me :( ).
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