Promised update, although it doesn't include anything more than what I
found poking through websites over the weekend. I sent in a few
"enquiry" forms at the various venues; waiting to hear back.
I've concentrated on universities, as they also provide cheap(ish!)
accommodation, and they have nice lecture theatres normally with AV
gear. Of course, there are plenty more dedicated conference venues
around, which could be something to look into, but I'd bet they'd be
more expensive. It also been suggested that we just provide a venue,
and let everyone sort out their own accommodation. I'm not keen on
that idea, myself.
Interestingly, many universities seem to have suprisingly small
lecture theatres. I've looked for places which can seat at least 400
in one room, which has ruled out Brighton and Manchester Met.
So anyway, prices for accomm (halls of residence) and room hire:
Warick: £40 a day attendance fee :o - forget it!
Brum: £25ppn B&B, £11ppn dinner, £25 day rate , 400 seat LT £500/day
(only one with hire prices on the web), not inc AV, all ex VAT
Reading: £20ppn B&B, £10ppn dinner, 400 seat LT (check? I've been in
it, I swear it's bigger), website seems to suggest there's no day rate
(which=no tea and biscuits :o ), not inc AV, ex VAT, management team
available
Cardiff: £27pn B&B inc VAT, dunno about dinner, 460 seat LT, no day
rate info, management team availabe
Manchester: Upto 1,000 seats (not that I anticipate needing that...),
day rate £25-£30, no accomm cost.
I'm guessing, but don't know for sure, that everyone pays the day
rates, and on-site accomm doesn't include that. But hey, one can
hope... Should find out for sure in a day or two.
If people think I'm way off track here, please tell me!
Dan
Would there be any interest in meeting with Michael Hart (Project
Gutenberg founder) in the UK in early 2006? He has emailed a contact
group of which I am member with some tentative plans.
Any ideas? A formal talk, a discussion or perhaps include him in
something bigger?
Regards,
Gordon (London, UK).
--
"Think Feynman"/////////
http://pobox.com/~gordo/
gordon.joly(a)pobox.com///
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After speaking to a family friend who has been a board-member of several
large and well-known British charities, she recommended that we should
talk both to the Charities Commission and to the National Council for
Voluntary Organisations. Anyone feel like joining me to try going there
for advice at some point? A group of three would probably work out best.
Anyway, more on this at the wikimeet, perhaps?
Further, she said some good things: firstly, that we wouldn't need to
set up separate charities for S and NI over the E&W one (not sure about
RoI); and, secondly, that there are definitely legal and Charities
Commission-approved ways of granting monies to overseas charities as
we'd want to do with the WMF. She also said that it is normal to have
dissolution proceedure with a named charity for all residual assets to
go to, even an overseas one (whereas article 19 of the proposed by-laws
says merely that the liquidators will get to decide).
Yours sincerely,
- --
James D. Forrester
Wikimedia : [[W:en:User:Jdforrester|James F.]]
E-Mail : james(a)jdforrester.org
IM (MSN) : jamesdforrester(a)hotmail.com
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(Sorry for spamming the two lists, but... :-))
This is just a notice that the next London Meetup will be as follows:
Date : Sunday the 11th September 2005
Time : 13:00 onwards
Place : A pub, yet again, this time The Archery Tavern just next to
Lancaster Gate tube station (they do food, too).
People : All welcome, especially people who haven't made it to one of
the London meetups yet.
Topics : Anything and everything wiki, including further discussions
on setting up a UK Chapter. Maybe.
Meetups are always fun (well, they have been so far); feel free to come
along. If you are going to do so, please add your name to the list on
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/London (yes, I
know, it should probably be on Meta; it isn't for hysterical raisins).
If you're already on the list, please check that you can still make it,
and possible upgrade your status to "definite". :-)
Look forward to seeing as many as possible of you all there.
Yours sincerely,
- --
James D. Forrester
Wikimedia : [[W:en:User:Jdforrester|James F.]]
E-Mail : james(a)jdforrester.org
IM (MSN) : jamesdforrester(a)hotmail.com
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> Finally, Reading got back to me by e-mail (*still* no phone number,
> lol!). They can offer a newly-refurbished building including 400 and
> 150 seat LTs, lots of computer rooms and class rooms, coffee bar, full
> AV gear, WiFi etc *in the same building* + all the accommodation we
> want right next door. No prices for room hire in the e-mail though, so
> I've asked for a quote. But as they offer the cheapest accommodation
> they are looking strong at the moment.
Regarding the accomodation at Reading, I know this sounds funny, but ask
about the power supply in the rooms.
The reason I say this is I went to Reading Uni and lived for a year in a
halls of residence (Childs specifically) and for some bizarre reason it was
not running a 13 amp power supply and had sockets like these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Type_D_.28O
ld_British_3-pin.29
This is coming up for 10 years ago now and they may have replaced them and
they may not even rent those rooms out to conference attendees, but if they
are then I can't see the idea of having to buy adapter plugs to charge
mobiles, laptops etc being popular with a largely techie crowd. (Some other
halls had proper plugs and power supplies so if they are the accomodation
offered no problemo)
James
(MrWeeble)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .
As an inhabitant of Birmingham I would back the second city as well.
(This may be biased btw as I live here, but I try to remain impartial ;)
It's early stages so I'll keep free of detail at the moment.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Air: Birmingham International has a 15 minute rail journey time to the
city centre. The connection is easy too.
Rail: Birmingham New Street station is the central hub of the UK's
national rail network. It also has frequent services to London and
off-peak can be as little as £15 to London.
Accomodation: Hagley Road is 5 minutes from the city centre by bus and
has several hotels, there are also others on Broad Street which are
opposite Birmingham's International Convention Centre
http://www.theicc.co.uk/
Culture:
Plenty of bars/restaurants, Birmingham has a "cafe culture" about it.
Things to see:
The Bullring shopping centre is a local landmark, and a large quantity
of old redundant buildings have been knocked down as part of the housing
boom so it looks quite attractive, and will continue to improve over the
next year. There a some under-advertised [IHMO] attractions to visit.
People:
The University of Birmmingam and Aston University have high proportions
of Computer Science students and a good record of being helpful with
community projects. So possible "recruitment" opportunities exist.
Cost:
Far off London prices! £3 in London for a pint, £2 here. Public
transport could get you from transport hubs to major venues with ease,
Taxis wouldn't be too outrageous either.
Press:
Several local newspapers would run it and the council would be more than
happy to get involved.
I WOULD BE PREPARED TO HELP...
...with the initial bid at least, so long as we have the resources to
back it up. Ideally a 10-person group with some being available in the
Birmingham area. I have limited experience of organising such events,
but I'm a good communicator and have lived here long enough to know
where to look for help.
I think Birmingham would stand a good chance at getting to the final
rounds of voting at least.
Greg
[[User:GregRobson]]
Angela wrote:
> On 8/12/05, Dan Grey <dangrey(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>I live in Reading, but I'd advise against it myself. While the
>>transport links are excellent (particulary to Heathrow), and the uni
>>campus is nice, it's not the most exciting bit of the UK to visit, nor
>>very touristy.
>
>
> Frankfurt isn't touristy either, but there was very limited time to
> see much of the city, so I don't think this should be a primary
> concern if Reading was otherwise ok.
>
>
>>I'd back Brighton myself - reasonably close to Gatwick, not too far
>>from Dover, and a nice place to visit.
>
>
> Is flying to Gatwick the only way to get there? That might not be the
> most practical. Also, I'd expect Brighton to be more expensive than
> cities in the North.
>
>
>>Manchester as a close second
>>choice - more central in the UK, I believe Manchester Airport handles
>>trans-Atlantic flights (I wonder how their prices compare to
>>Gatwick?), and pretty cosmopolitan.
>
>
> I've never been to Manchester, so I've no idea how good this would be.
>
> My first choice is Birmingham. It's England's 2nd city, but much
> cheaper than London. It has an international airport which is just 10
> minutes by train to the city centre. It has a large range of
> conference venues and lots of cheap accommodation, from the 3
> universities and many youth hostels, and every other type of
> accommodation. Public transport is better than London (as in less
> crowded, less confusing). It's only a couple of hours on the train
> from London if people want to fly to Stansted (very cheap from Europe)
> or other London airports.
>
> Angela.