UK MeFi Meetup needs sidebar shout

September 20, 2003 10:05 AM

6 days to go and counting... Matt, could you drop a sidebar link to the upcoming UK MeFi Meetup. (discussed here). Oh, and can I have a pony too please.
posted by seanyboy to MetaFilter Gatherings at 10:05 AM (57 comments total)

Some questions:

* Do we have to book a table for the Hi-Lo Jamaican place, and if so, for how many? Seems like at least six, so far.

* Several people are arriving before 7pm (dinner time); maybe we should organise some kind of meetup place and phone number swap? I for one think that G&D's ice cream should clearly factor into the plan somehow.

* Exactly how will we be recording nylon's gig? Does this need to be set up in advance?

* Avast, are all me british mateys be partakin' o' the grog? Ye must all be landlubber scum to be missing thar Oxfordian meetup!
posted by adrianhon at 12:58 PM on September 20, 2003

the other end of the country and will have just moved house so busy busy busy ... what mattr said and looking forward to something in the North some time soon
posted by feelinglistless at 1:08 PM on September 20, 2003

I think the next meetup should be a European meetup. Somewhere Spanish that we (and our EEC compatriats) can all get to (relatively) cheaply. Plus. We could get to meet Miguel. (not that he's Spanish - I understand that)
posted by seanyboy at 6:15 PM on September 20, 2003

Miguel: Not Spanish, but close enough.
posted by wendell at 7:14 PM on September 20, 2003

That would be superb, seanyboy - but I think we continentals are in a minority and so should come to you Brits and Irish. A great place for an all-European meet-up would be Dublin.

Wendell: a Portuguese is about as far as you can get from a Spaniard. Sort of like the Irish and the English, if the Irish had never lost their independence but had spent their historical existence fighting for it.

Portugal has the oldest borders in Europe and is entirely homogeneous. Spain is a federation and a fairly recent country.

I'll let it pass, this time! ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:21 PM on September 20, 2003

clarification needed...
Miguel: Not Spanish, but geographically close enough...
(Isn't Madrid closer to Lisbon than San Francisco is to Los Angeles, or am I geographially-illiterate too?)
posted by wendell at 2:44 AM on September 21, 2003

Any waverers/possibles/not-sure-yets:
There may be a couple of spaces for sleeping - will know for def. later on.

Phone no.s: dash_slot has mine.

adrian: Me+better half (who is getting slightly worried about this event!) are arriving 5ish so in for anything that the residents can offer...yes to HiLo too.

I'll have iBook with WiFi & good quality audio in/out with me so as long as I can get a line out of the desk, I can record. However, if we're streaming, I'll need help with that. Let me know.

And yes, we'll be grogging altho' the plan is not to get too blind...I may have to take delivery of some cement on Sat!

Euro meetup: I'm hoping to be in Portugal next summer (Euro04 footie) and if I'm there I should be cocktailing with a certain high-profile MeFite...Lisbon '04 anyone?

wendell: Lisbon to Madrid is 621Km. LA to SF is 626Km
posted by i_cola at 5:59 AM on September 21, 2003

I don't want to assume the choice of The Hi-Lo Jamaican Eating house (I have it on good authority that it's good, but I haven't eaten there myself), - any dissenting voices? I'll find out if booking is required, should that be the consensus.

I guess we're recordng on a mini disc, for uploading to music.metaflter.com, that's a sensible idea adrianhon had. Streaming - i hadn't thought about that!

G & D's is a good, central location (if it's the St. Aldates branch you mean - just opposite & down a bit from the Town Hall), but is unlicensed, don't forget - so it may be a brief rendezvous for the earlier attendees before hitting a pub. pm till 5.30?

Miguel: I'm definitely into a EuroMefi in Dublin - say, next spring? Who's our man in Eire? I guess accommodation in Lisbon 2004 will be at a premium, eh?

[1 floorspace left at Casa Dashie, for this friday, if anyone's interested...]
posted by dash_slot- at 8:32 AM on September 21, 2003

dash - check yo' email!
posted by i_cola at 11:54 AM on September 21, 2003

Yeah, I only regard G&Ds as a quick place to stop off at on any possible tour, not as a long term drinking proposition. I actually live right on St. Aldates, at Speedwell Street, so it's all pretty central for me.

As for EuroMefi, I'm up for it - but Lisbon 2004, damn, that would be good. Let's all stay over at Miguel's place!
posted by adrianhon at 1:06 PM on September 21, 2003

Do we have to book a table for the Hi-Lo Jamaican place?

ha! you've got to be kidding, right? the hi-lo is laid back and disorganised even by jamaican standards. and it may have changed since i was last there, but it does seem that the price of food varies considerably according to whether they like you or not (a friend of mine once asked for the bill and was asked in return 'well, how much have you got?').

gig recording: we can take a line out of the front of house mixing desk, no problem. i'll supply cable.
posted by nylon at 1:42 PM on September 21, 2003

Dash_slot and I just talked about the Hi-Lo place - the problem with going there might be that we don't know whether we'd be able to get a table on time, and we'd have absolutely no idea when we might leave - and that'd have to be some time in advance of the gig. But I think dash is going to do some ringing around tomorrow and investigate various poskibilities.

BTW Darilo, do you have anyone's mobile number or anything like that? I notice that you'll be getting in to Oxford at 2pm, there are some other people arriving early as well.
posted by adrianhon at 2:03 PM on September 21, 2003

Yup, Lisbon is booked solid for the Euro 2004. And the last thing I need is a cackle of drunken Mefi colleagues, all supporting the wrong countries, jeering me and taking the piss.

I'm respected here, strange as the concept may seem to the godless horde here and intend to keep it that way. Any lout or loutess waving a beer bottle and screaming "Migs!" in my home town will be delivered the "mistaken identity" speech I've specially prepared, should the occasion arise. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 2:04 PM on September 21, 2003

"Senhor, eu lamento dizer que você está confundido. Eu não sou o Miguel Cardoso quem você procura. Parta por favor."
posted by languagehat at 2:12 PM on September 21, 2003

Cheers i_cola!

OK, the plan so far:
5pm: G & D's Ice Cream Cafe, Pembroke Street/St Aldates corner;
maybe head off 5.30/6pm, p'raps via pubs, eventually by...
7pm: Eats. I worry that the Hi-Lo Jamaican place won't be 'fast food', it seems to be a little laid back. Maybe the Noodle bar? Either way, we're on foot, & therefore a little way from ...
9pm: Nylon's gig @ The Wheatsheaf, too.

I suggest we either
(a) Forget G & D's (I'm a big fan of their's and don't say this lightly!)
(b) Forget the Cowley Rd. for food.

The walking hither & thither, on a friday night in Oxford town centre can be a less than joyous experience, imho.

Hmm, Oxford buses... hmmm.

There's a cafe on Cowley Road, called CoCo's, much closer to the suggested eateries & to The Wheatsheaf. It is a little harder to find, maybe, but there's a car park on St Clements, just over the road, and the Buses from the Rail Station go past it, too...

Just my tuppence-worth.
posted by dash_slot- at 2:42 PM on September 21, 2003

And as G & D's ice cream cafe is open till 12, we could go there for coffee after the gig maybe?

So I guess i'm suggesting an itinerary like this:

- CoCo's for rendezvous at 5pm; possibly eat there too.
- Decant to another pub, or to a restaurant (serious doubts about the Jamaican Hi-Lo Eaterie)
- 9pm: to the Wheatsheaf!
- Gig over, off to another pub, or finish off at G & D's Ice Cream Cafe.

Any thoughts?
posted by dash_slot- at 4:19 PM on September 21, 2003

so migs , the english are banned from visiting you but all other nations are welcome, i'm glad you've cleared that one up : )
posted by sgt.serenity at 10:21 PM on September 21, 2003

IF I can make it, (and that's very questionable), I can capture the gig on video and host it for streaming some time after the event.
posted by walrus at 3:51 AM on September 22, 2003

I'm in for a 5pm meet-up. Does anyone know where St. Johns college is? City centre?
Portugal sounds good to me too, I usually get down their in the summer anyway, though can do without hundreds of my sozzled, educationally subnormal countrymen along.
posted by biffa at 4:01 AM on September 22, 2003

As a proud member of the MeFiEU contingent, I should be happy to represent the nation of Belgium although I'm not Belgian, Portugese or Irish.

And no matter whre I am, at one point, I will wave my bottle of my drink of choice and yell, "Migs". Just so I can say I have. Whether or not Illustrious Member 10947 is anywhere in the vicinity matter not.

The Dublin meetup shoudl be doable for me though..
posted by Dagobert at 5:12 AM on September 22, 2003

Biffa: St. John's college is very central. I don't mind meeting up at CoCos at 5pm - just walked past it today, seemed quite nice.
posted by adrianhon at 6:05 AM on September 22, 2003

Cheers, adrianhon, that's a much better map than the one I'd found (and considerably better than the non-existent one the Conference of British Psychics had provided).
posted by biffa at 6:30 AM on September 22, 2003

Seeing all the arrangements is making me jealous...yet I will be DJ'ing at the time of the great event...can I attend by SMS? or at least something!

Enjoy...I shall raise my bottle of beer and snort a line of cocaine from a teenagers breasts in honour of the UKMEFI Meetup!
posted by mattr at 7:45 AM on September 22, 2003

Sooo .... I'm staying at Dash_slots, my train arrives at 8:30 ... and I've never been to Oxford before .... help!
posted by MintSauce at 7:52 AM on September 22, 2003

...and snort a line of cocaine from a teenagers breasts

Sod the MeFi meet-up. How do I get to your party?
posted by chrismear at 8:06 AM on September 22, 2003

mattr - where you playing?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:14 AM on September 22, 2003

MintSauce - hi!

When you get to Oxford send me a text [I'll briefly put my number on the Wiki tomorrow or Wednesday] and I'll assist as necessary...by then I guess it would be worth your while heading to the wheatsheaf, as I think we're hoping to get there about 9pm anyway. See the yellow arrow on this map. From the station, go down the approach road, head past the Royal Oxford Hotel, up Park End Street (past Office World & Richer Sounds), up New Road (past Oxford Castle & Mound), up Queen Street (past the Library, Marks & Spencers & Milletts). You are now at Carfax, the dead centre of the town, with Abbey National on your right, and Crabtree and Evelyn on your left. Stay on the right pavement, but cross over the crossroads, and walk for another 60 seconds or so: you will be on the High Street, with little alleys on the right. Go down the one opposite Ryman's, marked 'Wheatsheaf Yard' (big clue!), and follow the sound of technobabble, coke-snorting and handcuffs being applied, whereupon you've found us. The whole walk should take less than 10 minutes.

If you've evaded the police cordon, that is.
posted by dash_slot- at 12:31 PM on September 22, 2003

Walrus - I really hope you get here! Don't know what the gig will be like - it sounds from nylons own description that the "musicians" are strangers to the work of the Beach Boys, which is never a good sign - but the pleasure of putting our godawful fizzogs on the intarweb via mysterious protocols and transfers will be immense. To me, if no-one else.
posted by dash_slot- at 12:42 PM on September 22, 2003

... the non-existent one the Conference of British Psychics had provided
Why would psychics need a map?
posted by dg at 3:00 PM on September 22, 2003

snort a line of cocaine from a teenagers breasts

i tried that once, but chopping the line with a razor blade made a hell of a mess. maybe i'll use a credit card next time.

the "musicians" are strangers to the work of the Beach Boys

nonsense! they're our favourite band. we might even throw in a cover of wouldn't it be nice just to prove it. you might not recognize it as such, but believe me, it'll be spiritually identical.

we will also have a slide show featuring lions, shopping trolleys, words and chairs.
posted by nylon at 2:32 AM on September 23, 2003

... the non-existent one the Conference of British Psychics had provided
Why would psychics need a map?

I'll consider that a bite.
posted by biffa at 2:35 AM on September 23, 2003

you snort the coke and i'll deal with the breasts.
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:08 AM on September 23, 2003

I'll be in Fleet in Hampshire...spinning my funky, dirty house thing....oh yes, and the breasts...!
posted by mattr at 7:54 AM on September 23, 2003

If we drive up to Oxford, what is the parking like in the evening?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:07 AM on September 23, 2003

we will also have a slide show featuring lions, shopping trolleys, words and chairs
Dear Lord, what have I let myself in for...
posted by seanyboy at 8:09 AM on September 23, 2003

Sounds like The Notting Hill Arts Club.

which is good.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:59 AM on September 23, 2003

Frasermoo: I'm sure dash_slot will be able to answer your question better than I can, but AFAIK there are a few options. You could use the Park and Ride which is very cheap, has multiple sites and buses coming back until almost midnight. Alternatively, you could park in Oxford itself - this is more expensive but possibly more convenient. There are several car parks including the one behind Gloucester Green Bus Station.
posted by adrianhon at 9:46 AM on September 23, 2003

That's a fair assessment, adrianhon. Also, as we near the chosen date, we should decide which car park is most convenient: at the back of Cafe Coco, where I suggest we congregate at 5pm, is a convenient car park cutely named after the nearest green spaces "Angel & Greyhound Meadow". On that map, the nearest red line to my arrow is the incoming route from the Ring Road, known at that point as St. Clements, then Headington Hill Road, then London Road: it is the A40 (leading to/from the M40) at the Ring Road interchange. Just before that roundabout, as we used to call them, is a Park & Ride.

I hope all this detail is useful to somebody!
posted by dash_slot- at 10:49 AM on September 23, 2003

I'm likely to be carrying a black suit carrier if anyone needs something to spot us by (hopefully suit will be in it and not on me by this stage), my plan is to be at Coco's by 5pm.
posted by biffa at 11:44 AM on September 23, 2003

Biffa, if you're the first to arrive, can you try to get a big table - the ones on the right of the cafe near the back can accommodate 6 or so, I'd guess.

Nylon - now that would be nice!
posted by dash_slot- at 11:47 AM on September 23, 2003

Well I'm probably going to drive up with my girldfriend, hang around for a few hours then head back south.

I have slash-dots number but any other mobile contacts may be useful, if anyone can email me. Ta.
posted by Frasermoo at 1:19 AM on September 24, 2003

Frasermoo, a few people have put up their mobile numbers on the wiki page (scroll down a bit).
posted by adrianhon at 2:25 AM on September 24, 2003

nice one.
posted by Frasermoo at 3:34 AM on September 24, 2003

The 'plan so far' bit on the Wiki is looking a bloody state at the moment, and it's freaking me out. Friday is only two days away, people! However, I'm too scared to do any mass editing.

I think we're pretty definite on Coco's from 5pm for the earlybirds, yes?

We seem to have come to the conclusion that the Hi-Lo is out, due to concerns about timing. So can we put down either Coco's or Noodle Bar for eats at 7pm?

Pub at 8pm? Bullingdon?

And Wheatsheaf for the gig at 9pm, definite.


Okay, now you can all slap me down for going all dictator on your collective asses.
posted by chrismear at 9:09 AM on September 24, 2003

Mwah-hah-hah, witness my fearful Wiki-editing-by-proxy.
posted by chrismear at 9:23 AM on September 24, 2003

What're you talking about, you lazy, non-Wiki-editing bastard? :) Someone (namely me) went and did all the hard work. The plan has been muchly simplified now and I've included maps for all the places we might be going to.

(Grumbles at mathowie for not putting a link to this meet on the Mefi sidebar. Bloody yanks, late for everything as usual... :)
posted by adrianhon at 9:35 AM on September 24, 2003

can we have a cd swap as well? CANWECANWECANWECANWE? PLEASE SAY YES!

but, like, what happens? do i do a cd for EVERYBODY? or just one, and then we do a pass-the-parcel thing where we all pass our cds to the left hand side? is it too late? or what? or too uninteresting?
posted by nylon at 9:40 AM on September 24, 2003

Someone (namely me) went and did all the hard work.

Yeah, hence "-by-proxy". :)

can we have a cd swap as well?

I'm sort of up for that, although I will probably be cursing on Thursday night once I realise I have no interesting music to offer. I suppose once you've made one, it's not too hard to burn a few more copies... but then there might be quite a few of us... but then again, CDRs aren't expensive these days... but... but...

Oh, I don't know. Can someone else do the hard work again, please?
posted by chrismear at 10:02 AM on September 24, 2003

I'm glad someone did that...

adrian: I emailed Matt re: sidebar but he obviously hates us...
posted by i_cola at 10:08 AM on September 24, 2003

Geek extra: Possibly 3 WiFi nodes near our meeting point.
posted by i_cola at 10:17 AM on September 24, 2003

Curses - work will prevent me from coming. A word of caution about the restaurant choice - in my experience the Hi-Lo can be a little interesting at times. While I'm sure this goes without saying to Mefites I'd be careful about flashing too much cash in there or annoying the staff.

I'm sure you'll all have a great time though.
posted by prentiz at 4:18 PM on September 24, 2003

i-cola: I wild be doing a jig on my head if we remain in line of sight, or within range of those nodes, sadly. Though - as a quick 'n easy get out - I find it a challenge to read a map without roads....

As to Mefi swap CD's, I have one or two which I'll randomly donate, should I get my act together. In a bid to recycle.
posted by dash_slot- at 4:39 PM on September 24, 2003

adriaanhon: thanks for tidying that up, I hope everybody's happy about that itenerary. Looks reasonably fun-packed, I'm sure that it's gonna be flexible as we want on the night.

Though I gotta say, nylon's gig is a definite - yeah?
posted by dash_slot- at 4:57 PM on September 24, 2003

I can tell you now I won't get my sh*t together to bring a CD, so don't count me in on that.

However feel free to buy me a beer.
posted by Frasermoo at 1:07 AM on September 25, 2003

Maybe I'll copy mattr's most excellent MeFi swap CD that I got last year. I honour of him not being there of course & nowt to do with my, er, busy workload. Yeah! Busy workload! That's the one.

dash: If you check the 'Get node info' button & then click on a node you'll get to the node listing screen that has a link to a streetmap.
posted by i_cola at 5:47 AM on September 25, 2003

o...

how intuitive....
posted by dash_slot- at 11:20 AM on September 25, 2003

[/gets retaliation in first]
I just want to say... take everything ....from now on...with a pinch of salt.

Everything.
[/ends retaliation]
posted by dash_slot- at 6:10 PM on September 26, 2003