London Meet-up Round 2

January 12, 2009 11:02 AM

Let's try this again... London meet-up, late January?

I'll be in town from January 22-February 4th, staying in Bloomsbury, and would love to meet any/all of you. A meet-up would be nice; I'll happily accept any and all offers of lunch dates or morning strolls and museum trips, tours of your various neighborhoods, etc. I'll be staying at a small hotel in Bloomsbury. Any recommendations/locale suggestions involving Belgian beer will make it easier for me to coax the boyfriend out with me in the evening when he's finished work. So, should I just throw out some dates? When are people available?

posted by booknerd to MetaFilter gatherings at 11:02 AM (38 comments total)

Dunno if I've been on MeFi through my various incarnations enough but I'd be up for a London meetup...
posted by almostwitty at 11:41 AM on January 12

I'm in London on 3 Feb, and could be in on other days. A meetup would be good.
posted by athenian at 1:26 PM on January 12

I'm in. And I'm going to use my early-commenter status to suggest that we avoid Saturday 24th, because I've got a party that night. Maybe Thursday 29th, Friday 30th or Saturday 31st? Anybody?
posted by flashboy at 1:27 AM on January 13

Belgian beer suggests something like Belgos, one of which is in Covent Garden...
posted by adrianhon at 5:18 AM on January 13

What about that place in Farringdon?

(Dec 2007-ish meetup?)
posted by Grangousier at 5:21 AM on January 13

You may be thinking of the Dovetail.
posted by vacapinta at 6:06 AM on January 13

Lowlander, Drury Lane...
posted by sagwalla at 9:17 AM on January 13

I'm in, can't do Jan 22-25 but any other time would be grand.
posted by freya_lamb at 1:36 PM on January 13

I want to go see this Thursday the 29th, so are the 30th or the 31st good for people who want to come?
posted by booknerd at 8:54 AM on January 14

I'm in for the 30th or 31st for a meetup.
posted by Infinite Jest at 9:35 AM on January 14

Burns Night is the 25th....
posted by ahughey at 9:43 AM on January 14

My band is gigging in North London (Kentish Town) on Tuesday the 27th so let me know if you'd like details - you can tell your bf I'm pretty sure they have Belgian beer at the venue.

Also, it's about time I made it to a London meetup myself.
posted by motty at 11:12 AM on January 14

The 31st would likely work for me - sadly I have a work do on the 30th.
posted by generichuman at 11:28 AM on January 14

I'm in for any evening other than the 30th (training all day on the 31st, can't be hungover). What do people think of Bloomsbury Lanes? Bowling, karaoke and a decent bar (no Belgian beer on tap, though, sorry).
posted by goo at 12:11 PM on January 14

And booknerd - the evening with Hanif Kureishi sounds great! I also note that the same bookshop has Jenny Diski speaking on the 20th, which could be very interesting (particularly if we namedrop Metafilter...).
posted by goo at 12:18 PM on January 14

Okay, based on the responses so far, my vote goes for a meet-up Saturday evening, the 31st. I'm also throwing my venue vote behind the Dovetail, because a) their menus look tasty, and b) I used to live in Clerkenwell and wanted an excuse to run around there and show my boyfriend my old flat and see how things have changed.
posted by booknerd at 12:20 PM on January 14

Can't do anything around that time at all, sorry.

But yes, Dovetail again would be good.

I might actually make it to one more MeFi meetup before I leave London...
posted by randomination at 3:26 PM on January 14

... Okay, I hate to babysit this thread, but it's been quiet so I went ahead and put the 31st on the sidebar. I believe everyone posting in here who mentioned dates was available that night, so I don't think I'm excluding anyone specifically. I'll be checking on this until I leave next week, but after that if I don't hear from anyone, I'll be hanging out in the Dovetail around 7 with a big book and a boyfriend-in-tow, so come introduce yourselves!
posted by booknerd at 3:57 PM on January 15

I will be there at the dovetail around seven on the 31st
posted by Sparx at 6:00 PM on January 15

actually, googling it - is there a particular by dovetail postcode?
posted by Sparx at 6:04 PM on January 15

Dovetail in Clerkenwell, EC1V 4JP
posted by ahughey at 3:09 AM on January 16

I will totally be there. Looking forward to it.
posted by featherboa at 2:44 PM on January 16

I will be there. I love the Dovetail.
posted by flashboy at 10:28 AM on January 18

Specklet and I will be there.
posted by TheDonF at 3:01 PM on January 19

Ooh, Belgian beer and foor house? Two of my greatest weaknesses.
posted by generichuman at 10:58 AM on January 21

I'll be there. There is parking around there so I'll probably drive.
posted by essexjan at 11:17 AM on January 26

Wah: I'm going to be in London on Saturday, but I have a prior engagement in the evening (friend's birthday). Oh well.

Have fun everyone!
posted by pharm at 12:48 PM on January 26

I'll be in Leeds, daggnabit.
posted by armoured-ant at 7:25 AM on January 28

And I've just been called to be on-call for work - just got out of the shower too! Blegh. Hope you have a great night, all.
posted by goo at 9:37 AM on January 31

I'm at the Dovetail now (and have just realized I won't recognize most of you), but they're pretty much full up. Change of locale, perhaps, if anyone else is planning to come?
posted by booknerd at 11:12 AM on January 31

I'm not going to make it tonight - I've been ill all week, and am still ill now. Ugh.

Have a good evening, anybody who makes it!
posted by flashboy at 11:41 AM on January 31

Are you still there? I'm (t)here and there's no one I recognize. And I'm too nervous to approach random strangers.
posted by Grangousier at 12:21 PM on January 31

If you're facing the bar, we are sitting to the right. Come say hi!
posted by booknerd at 12:27 PM on January 31

i feel horribly guilty about not being there. Immense apologies. It's just that I am avoiding alcohol at the moment and a girl asked me out for an alcohol free date.
posted by Sparx at 3:54 PM on January 31

Hooray! I suspect I had more fun than anyone I was talking to. Or at. Or whatever.
posted by Grangousier at 4:14 PM on January 31

Sparx: dates beat meetups.
Grangousier: was a pleasure to meet and speak with you, neighbour.
Likewise to others, and sorry I didn't say hi to everyone.

I am definitely never going back to that bar though. The way they handled the bill was pathetic and they were rude about it when we went to settle up at the end.
posted by Infinite Jest at 4:22 PM on January 31

What happened with the bill?
posted by sagwalla at 3:01 PM on February 3

Sagwalla, they just gave us one big bill for the entire party and refused to split it at all, so it was difficult to sort out. Hopefully there wasn't any further confusion for whoever was last to leave, but it seemed to be a bit of an organizational clusterfuck from the get go.

I had a fantastic time though, and it was great to meet all of you that were there! I would have loved to have taken some photos, but my camera sadly died earlier in the day. Glad we got a chance to get together before London Snowstorm 2k9.
posted by booknerd at 12:58 PM on February 6