2013 Meet

[giraffe]

Looby, I'm very sorry to hear that.

[chazzie]

Really sorry to hear your news Looby.

[maisie ladybird]

Sorry to hear your sad news, Looby.

[Bunnylump]

Thinking of you Looby, much love, Hx

[Looby]

Thanks to all for their kind thoughts

[giraffe]

What is the current state of play on the meet? My husband likes the idea of dumping me to go and play golf. We would have a slight preference for the second weekend of half term, but can do the weekend before, if that suits Looby.

Who is aiming to be there?

Giraffe (& Lally?)
Bunnylump
MBH
Clvrlad
LAT?
Looby?
Gill?

Have I missed anyone out?

Or are we abandoning the idea for now?

[Looby]

I will come if it is the weekend of Sat Oct 26th.

I have a bad back at present so if I'm coming alone I will get the train. If LAT is coming too then I'll drive but we will have to make frequent stops as I can't drive standing up!

Can't do Sat Nov 2nd as I have tickets for England/Australia at Twickenham.

Just needs someone to make a definite decision

[Wulfruna]

Sadly, the North East is out of the question from the South West without allowing a day either side for travel - not to mention the cost of railfare even if booked in advance. I'd love to meet people, but no chance this time! - but would like to encourage others to go for it if you can.

[Bunnylump]

I will come if it is the weekend of Sat Oct 26th.

I have a bad back at present so if I'm coming alone I will get the train. If LAT is coming too then I'll drive but we will have to make frequent stops as I can't drive standing up!

Can't do Sat Nov 2nd as I have tickets for England/Australia at Twickenham.

Just needs someone to make a definite decision

Don't suppose you could fit another little one in??

I NEED to book another weekend away in October next week (I've already agreed to that ages ago so it's not negotiable) - if there isn't a firm decision then I can't definitively rule out either weekend. I would like to come, but the train fare is pretty prohibitive bearing in mind my other commitments in October (assuming it all fits in). I have (slightly) considered driving, but that is further than I have ever driven in my life and I'm not at all confident about driving on my own somewhere I don't know. So I'm not saying no, but I do have some fairly serious difficulty / reservations as things stand.

[LAT]

What is the current state of play on the meet? My husband likes the idea of dumping me to go and play golf. We would have a slight preference for the second weekend of half term, but can do the weekend before, if that suits Looby.

Who is aiming to be there?

Giraffe (& Lally?)
Bunnylump
MBH
Clvrlad
LAT?
Looby?
Gill?

Have I missed anyone out?

Chazzie?

[giraffe]

Oops!

[chazzie]

Dont worry Giraffe - as of this weekend cant make either date - as at long last agreed some dates for my late summer holiday.........

[MBH]

I think I finally got myself motivated to complete the walking puzzle for the quayside walk. [I was two letters short in the answer ]. Now I need to print it out and test it.

My thoughts were this could be a morning wander seeing some of the area most people miss, before wandering across one of our many bridges to take in the Sage music centre and the Baltic art centre (a place I've never actually been ).

There has been a request to visit the Angel - that is either a car or bus trip to get the the hill where it stands, although most views of it are from a distance. Again, it's something I've seen a million times but never visited it's foot and looked around it.

I think a visit here may well be more looking upwards at things rather than looking down from swaying, bouncing things. NONE of our many bridges sway or bounce (although one does tilt and 'wink' when nobody is on it).

For the other day it will be a case of what surroundins people want. 8 miles one way you're walking on the beach. A few miles the other way and you're in the heart of the countryside exploring Gibside estate. If I remember rightly there are not a lot of shoppers, but obviously Eldon Square in Newcastle and the MetroCentre in Gateshead are here and available. Food could be pub lunches or fish & chips from a bag.

The centre of Newcastle has a host of old buildings and interesting sights - but my total lack of knowlage in interest in history make me a lousy guide. I probably could lead you to the Vampire Rabbit,

Rabbit.JPG (29.52 KiB) Viewed 1370 times

but a local city walk or puzzle guide might be an option.


So...... Thoughts and ideas? I can scout for stuff ahead of time, and get as much time available for the visit as possible - but my life is in a bit of a mess (and not likely to get better, so putting off a visit doesn't help anything). I would love to see you all up at this end of the country, and I think we could all have a good time.

[gill216]

Just to volunteer myself as a car driver so if others would prefer the train then I can help with driving around.

Is Grey's monument still open for a birds eye view of the city? St Mary's lighthouse for a coastal view? Beamish museum (I've forgottten how far away that is!) ?

Incidentally, I have 2 spare beds and a sofa if anyone wanted to get to me the day before and I'd drive them the rest of the way. I've already offered first refusal to Lat though.

Edit: The museum that was on the town moor? Jesmond Dene, Armstrong bridge on Sunday morning in Jesmond Dene if the art students still display their wares?

Just suggestions.

[LAT]

As far as I'm concerned, assuming I do make it up there, I just want to see the Angel which I would do if Looby and I drive. I would also definitely prefer not to spend time shopping!

Museums could be good though depending on the weather. It may be that we would rather not spend all our time outside!

What area should we be looking in for accommodation?

[Bunnylump]

That sounds very cool MBH, I really hope I can come, I've just got a lot of things which might throw a spanner in the works now!!

[MBH]

That sounds very cool MBH, I really hope I can come

LOL - I threw the word 'bridges' in there just for you

Jesmond Dene was an obvious 'other day walk', as is the Quayside market on Sunday morning. Lots of choices.

[clvrlad]

So has a final date been sorted?

[LAT]

I think the status at the moment is that Looby has said she can do it if we go for the weekend of 26th October. I can also do that weekend.
So now I think we need others to confirm whether they would be able to join us so we can see if the whole event is a go-er.

Then next we need to have an idea of where to try to book a hotel. I looked up Premier Inn Newcastle and 10 options came up. So I imagine most of those would not be in the most convenient area. Obviously if we have driven miles to get there it could be helpful to stay in an area that is at least convenient for part of the planned weekend activities. Although available parking would be helpful too. And obviously it doesn't have to be Premier Inn, I just picked that as an example.

[MBH]

Having a quiet class, so done some compilation work in Paint A handy way to pull things together.

First a quick couple of maps showing locations for 4 of the 'big names' - I could have put the Hilton on (just on the South of the river), but I figured this was a good start.

If people do their own Internet exploring and want specific things checked or confirmed, then I'm happy to pay hotels a visit and report back on them.