2006 UK Gather - Nominations & Discussion Thread

[-H-]

If we want a gather in 2006 we should start discussing, and maybe planning now rather than later ;)

Nominations Please!!!!

I would like to nominate the West Midlands. Particularly somewhere in close proximity to both Birmingham and Bourneville (Cadbury World anyone :D)

Birmingham itself has direct Train, Coach services to most parts of the UK. Birmingham International Airport has domestic, european aswell as long haul flights from all over the world flying in and out daily.

There's lots to do and see in Birmingham itself - The new and swankey Bullring, (extensive shopping possibilities), Museums (i think), The Severn Valley Railway is relativily nearby ... (but count me out of that one ;)), or we could all just nip up to Pinkellie and badger her for freebie haircuts and stylings :evil:

But i especially like the idea of cadbury world :D :devil:

[Ian]

Hmm, I see I've been pre-empted with this one (though I did start it on the UK Gather Yahoo group ;) ). I'm going to nominate York again, even though (or possibly because) we've had one there before. OK, it doesn't have an airport (though Leeds/Bradford is less than an hour away), but it's certainly easy to get to by road & rail. Added to that, we know at least one possible hotel!

This brings me to another point which I forgot to mention in the Yahoo group (but will now), nominating a location is fine, but you need to think about a hotel within that town or city, & start looking at prices.

Also, we need a date as well as a location, & we have a nomination from the Yahoo group for late August (i.e. when the schools & universities are off (we have several students among our gatherers). The problem there is that a: it's peak period so prices are likely to be higher, & b: it's dangerously close to Dragon*Con (for those of us who hope to go again (or for the first time) next year!

So get nominating, & when we've got enough we'll hold polls for time & place :)

[Something Evil]

Why not Norway next year?
I'm sure that I can find an affordable place for everyone to stay ;)

This place for example, in Bergen, isn't too bad-- at least if several people share an appartment. It also allows people to make their own food instead of having to go out.

http://www.incity.no/en/

[Sran]

As long as it's not in June, I'd be interested in going.

I'm plannnoing to go to a con in June.

Birmingham sounds okay to me... not really that far away for me ish..

[-H-]

Another possibilty (if we have it further north ...) could be scarborough ! Lots of cheap BnB's competing against each other means cheap accomodation!! and i'm sure a few of us know of a hotel or too there ;)

[Ian]

Good point, after all it worked at Blackpool! Again though, the problem would be if we chose August, we'd have to book very early as that's peak season. There was a good reason for having the first two in early October!

The drawback with Scarborough, much as we love the place, is that it's not as easy to get to as places like Birmingham or York (but then neither was Blackpool ;) )

[maygirl]

Cadbury drooooooooooooool
dribble
yummy

[Jax]

What's wrong with having it over a weekend? Students could still attend then, couldn't they? Then you wouldn't have to hold it in August/peak time when prices are going to be up and crowds are going to be a pain...

[Ian]

We always hold it over a weekend Jax, but we start on a Friday, so peeps don't have to deal with travelling home on a Monday.

[KC.]

You know me - name the time and place and I'll be there whether its north, south, east or west :D

[Ian]

That's a great help :roll:

[JayEgo]

Another possibilty (if we have it further north ...) could be scarborough ! Lots of cheap BnB's competing against each other means cheap accomodation!! and i'm sure a few of us know of a hotel or too there ;)
Are you mad? :crazy: Scary-borough!!! :erm:

Now Whitby or Robin Hoods Bay I could p'raps cope with!?

---

Birmingham sounds good to me dependant as Ian says upon good accomodation and dates... But then, being a midlander now I'd be bias! A coastal gather would also be good and summer would mean we could consider beach activiites... Those So-Cal gatherers are always going on about their BBq's :roll:

I'll see if I can't set mine and Jayson's minds on this a little but with the way w**k's been, I can't promise anything...

°Alter xx

[JayEgo]

That's a great help :roll:That's staunch flexibility which we could do with more of... :evil:

°Alter xx

[j_mercuryuk]

I'm happy as long as there's a forbidden planet type place I can go to. :D
Norway wouldn't be in the UK Something evil. Besides I doubt I could afford the flight.
Is the gather gonna be in October or earlier (cause we didn't really have one this year).

[woollymouse]

Can I suggest Eastern England for a change (Not Scarboro') Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire are all beautiful and steeped in history. You could go for Colchester in Essex, Ipswich in Suffolk, Cambridge (although it can be a bit pricey) in Cambridgeshire and Norwich in Norfolk all have direct rail links with London so getting from the London Airports won't be a problem, not just that Norwich does have an 'International airport' too

Arrange it for the end of October and you can link it with the Norwich Beer Festival where you can get a Dragon glass.

I'm not pushing Norwich but it would be nice to be able to attend even if I have to travel a short distance.

[j_mercuryuk]

We were in London in 2004, that's eastern England, so's York for that matter.

[Ian]

At the moment we're just in the nomination stage, so people can suggest anywhere they like, once we goet plenty of nominations we'll put them to a vote :) Remember though, this is a UK gather, not an English gather, and the far north is difficult (& expensive) for those from the extreme south (Nanooka for example), just as the far south is going to be for those from Scotland (Lanen, Jor, Korin, etc.). But, as I said, right now it's just a case of nominating places, then democracy takes over ;)

[KC.]

I'm happy as long as there's a forbidden planet type place I can go to. :D
Norway wouldn't be in the UK Something evil. Besides I doubt I could afford the flight.
Is the gather gonna be in October or earlier (cause we didn't really have one this year).

Well there's a small forbidden planet in Leeds and its going to be revamped soon (I spoke to one of the Scottish branch people in Glasgow who told me) thats not so far away from York ;)

[Ian]

Isn't there a Travelling Man in Leeds too? (j_merc wanted to buy eveything they had at the York branch!)

[-H-]

Theres a forbidden planet in Birmingham somewhere .... but i've never been able to find it :roll:

[KC.]

Isn't there a Travelling Man in Leeds too? (j_merc wanted to buy eveything they had at the York branch!)


Never heard of that one before.

Ah..... ,after looking up the website, its in the Corn Exchange and does games and thingies ;) which I don't :D

May take a look one day though :D

mmmmm Jayson likes the Corn Exchange, wonder if he's frequented that particular shop

[j_mercuryuk]

I nominate Leeds...or Glasgow/Edingburgh. It might be nice to go to Scotland (ok, I here they have great Forbidden planets), but expensive proberly.

[pinkellie]

Midlands!!! YAY!!!
I may even have the time and the money to go then!!
Even if we cant get a hotel with a function room, if we have it in Redditch I can even hold the evening festivities!! LOL!!

Seriously tho, Redditch is possibly too small but Birmingham would be an excellent place to hold a gather, as long as they dont bring in the congestion charge for a little while....

[Steven B]

Remember though, this is a UK gather, not an English gather, and the far north is difficult (& expensive) for those from the extreme south (Nanooka for example), just as the far south is going to be for those from Scotland (Lanen, Jor, Korin, etc.).

The travel expense is more complicated than just the distance. You can fly from Edinburgh to Bristol, Cardiff or East Midlands airport (or vice versa) quite cheaply (bmibaby) but a train ride between Edinburgh and southern England is very expensive. So a southern Gather close to Bristol, Cardiff or East Midlands would be easier for someone travelling from Scotland.

Having said that, I don't like flying, so I much prefer locations in the north. :) I agree with Ian's suggestion of York. It's on a main rail route and easy to get to from north and south, and the accomodation was good last time. There's also Durham - another beautiful cathedral city on the main north/south rail link (and it's eastern England too...).

I can second the suggestion of Edinburgh. It has a "Forbidden Planet" and it's relatively easy to get to by air or rail (very easy for me :) ). Unfortunately, the accommodation in the city centre can be ridiculously expensive (even more so during the festival in August). :(

Steven

[Steven B]

Since I mentioned Edinburgh, this is a hotel I would recommend if we had a Gather in Edinburgh:

http://www.kildonanlodgehotel.co.uk/

It's on a main bus route into the city centre in a street full of B&Bs. It's the hotel that the university and observatory recommend for visitors and (for interest) the same hotel that Pam Melroy and the space shuttle astronauts stayed in when they visited Edinburgh. I just wish this hotel wasn't so expensive, as are most Edinburgh hotels. (The surrounding B&Bs are cheaper but still above average).

Steven.

[JayEgo]

Never heard of that one before.

Ah..... ,after looking up the website, its in the Corn Exchange and does games and thingies ;) which I don't :D

May take a look one day though :D

mmmmm Jayson likes the Corn Exchange, wonder if he's frequented that particular shopThe only shop I remember was the Condomania! :evil:

Ja¥son xx

[Ian]

What we'll do is let the nominations run until the end of the month, then I'll make up a poll with all the places nominated, so peeps can vote on a location. I'll do another poll for dates too (which will include an "other" option since we haven't had many sugestions for dates yet).

[Bamy]

If we want a gather in 2006 we should start discussing, and maybe planning now rather than later ;)

Nominations Please!!!!

I would like to nominate the West Midlands. Particularly somewhere in close proximity to both Birmingham and Bourneville (Cadbury World anyone :D)

Birmingham itself has direct Train, Coach services to most parts of the UK. Birmingham International Airport has domestic, european aswell as long haul flights from all over the world flying in and out daily.

There's lots to do and see in Birmingham itself - The new and swankey Bullring, (extensive shopping possibilities), Museums (i think), The Severn Valley Railway is relativily nearby ... (but count me out of that one ;)), or we could all just nip up to Pinkellie and badger her for freebie haircuts and stylings :evil:

But i especially like the idea of cadbury world :D :devil:Sounds good to me!

[Bamy]

Besides, it sounds like there are lots of peeps from the midlands area, plus it is not as far for the far northerners and southerners to travel and cadbury world is well worth the visit - trust me I know this!

[Ian]

Don't foregt that this is a nominations thread, not a poll ;) Every place that gets nominated here will go into the poll, but each place will only go in once, no matter how many nominations it gets!

[Dux]

The only shop I remember was the Condomania! :evil:

Ja¥son xx

Is that Condo-mania or Condom-ania?

<----Has a strange feeling she knows the answer to that one. :erm: :roll:

(I know I'm not in the UK, but I always have the hope that I'll get to go back one day soon)

[I LOVE Dashboard]

I'm hoping to be in the UK in...oh, wait, 2007. Never mind.

[JayEgo]

I'm hoping to be in the UK in...oh, wait, 2007. Never mind.We'll have a gather then I'm sure... One way or another! ;)

---

CONDOMania!

:evil:

Can't recall what they sold though :noface:

°Alter xx

[Apocalypse]

Well, I should nominate Bristol as it's really close to home, but I suspect the Midlands (West please!) would be more practical for everyone else?

[Bamy]

I definitely vote for West Midlands!

[Ian]

People! Look at what I posted further up the thread! This is not a poll, this is for nominations, & if a place has been nominated once there's no need to nominate it again, it'll go into the poll anyway. No matter how many peeps nominate a place it's still only going to get one slot in the poll! Also, you really need to be more specific than an area like "west midlands", because someone who nominated a place is going to have to find a suitable hotel there, so narrowing it down to one town or city will make that job easier.

[Elisabetha]

Does it have to be a hotel? I know hostels in The Netherlands that are very affordable, welcome groups and don't have an age limit. Having the gather in a hostel could make it cheaper and could mean that people from outside the uk could come as wel, because it would leave more money for the journey.

I found this site, www.independenthostelguide.co.uk/
Maybe it is an idea?

:bouncy: :bouncy: :bouncy:

[Ian]

We've discussed this before (in previous years), & very few people were in favour of the idea. Ideally we like to get a hotel that we can pretty much take over for the weekend (so it needs to be fairly small), & hostels (at least over here) don't usually do block bookings like that. Also, facilities tend to be a bit limited.

Of course, if you want to organise a European gather... ;)

[Elisabetha]

That is a good point Ian.
I don't know about a European gather. It is a good idea, but I don't know if I would be the right person to organize it. I still haven't managed to meet Hans, Though that will happen sooner now rather than later.
Anyway, I will try to save a lot of money so that I can come to the UK gather this year.

:bouncy: :bouncy: :bouncy:

[Ishy]

i definately like the sound of leeds, maybe because i live there.....could be a deciding factor muahahahaha, as long as its not too far away i dont mind a bit of travel.

[Simon HoneyBear]

Hey hey folks... I wanna gather... I've not gathered for aaaagggggeeeeeeeessssssssss.... Not fussed where (though at the moment Brum is handy for me). Would prefer later in the year than september though, Cos of how I work (in Pubs) weekends in the summer are all out for me, besides, as has been mentioned before, its soooo much cheaper at in early october!

Kinda going round in circles... if Ian would be happy to organise again I think a return to York could be fun! Cheap women, fine booze! Erm Cheap Booze fine women? Hmmmm could some one hand me a shovel so I can dig quicker!!!

Simon

:heartbeat

[Dancer]

I'm happy as long as there's a forbidden planet type place I can go to. :D
Norway wouldn't be in the UK Something evil. Besides I doubt I could afford the flight.
Is the gather gonna be in October or earlier (cause we didn't really have one this year).

In Leeds, there is also a Travelling man (RPG & comics & books) in Leeds and OK Comics which now has a coffee/reading room upstairs :D Vote Leeds.. you know you want to....

[j_mercuryuk]

Kinda going round in circles... if Ian would be happy to organise again I think a return to York could be fun! Cheap women, fine booze! Erm Cheap Booze fine women? Hmmmm could some one hand me a shovel so I can dig quicker!!!
:heartbeat


:redfruit: Are you making subtle hints about me? :D Though it would be fun if you came again.

[Stewart]

aberdeen anyone? plenty of hotels around and bars as well we have direct rail links to most english places not to mention an airport .scott only lives just outside aberdeen and im sure him and i could put our heads together and find some where cheep and suitable for us to stay for the weekend:ok:

[Hans]

That is a good point Ian.
I don't know about a European gather. It is a good idea, but I don't know if I would be the right person to organize it. I still haven't managed to meet Hans, Though that will happen sooner now rather than later.
Anyway, I will try to save a lot of money so that I can come to the UK gather this year.

:bouncy: :bouncy: :bouncy:
By now we managed to meet :)

And I tried to organise a Euro Gather but nothing came of it.

[Simon HoneyBear]

:redfruit: Are you making subtle hints about me? :D Though it would be fun if you came again.

Me, subtle? Never! I'd quite like to get to another gather... hopefully will have a slightly more stable job by next year! Will book time off as soon as dates are set!!!!

Shight in Nining Armour!

[Ian]

Weyremaster, nominations are closed now, we have a location poll up. Guess I should've said so earlier, but I thought it would be obvious with the poll...

[j_mercuryuk]

There's a poll???
*goes to find it*