If you haven't paid already can you send payment as PayPal gift to alex_wilson2@me.com in the notes please state your name and days that you'll be attending , ALSO if I haven't updated the list below , or if it's wrong in some way , please PM me.
PLEASE check I've got all your details correct and the days you intend to attend.
Especially check that if you've paid already I've marked you as such.
Hi everyone
Since I posted some feelers about an Acorn meetup in the East Midlands back in March, I've attended both Wakefield and the Halifax ABug. I loved every minute of Halifax and after receiving encouragement from Simon (sydney), Dave (Arcadian) and other members, I've taken the plunge and booked a venue in Leicestershire for the first-ever East Midlands ABug.
The meet will take place from Friday 27th - Sunday 29th January 2017 in the Charnwood Suite at the Fieldhead Hotel, Markfield Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire LE67 9PS.
It is a country hotel with bar, restaurant and free parking - so hopefully we'll be able to replicate the atmosphere and setup that worked so well in Halifax. The venue is a short distance from J22 of the M1 and is about 7-8 miles north-west of Leicester city centre. If anybody is planning to travel by rail to the city centre, I'm sure we can arrange a pickup or two (please leave a message in the thread).
The room will be available at the following times:
Friday 27th: 4pm - Midnight
Saturday 28th: 7am - Midnight
Sunday 29th: 7am - 10pm (not that I expect anybody to stay that late!)
Costs: 20 places are available and an advance contribution of £15 is requested from each attending member, payable preferably by Paypal 'Friends and Family' (which won't incur fees). Each attendee can expect to be allocated half-a-table (or equivalent space) to set up their Acorn gear and/or laptops etc.
The room is costing £250 to hire - if all 20 places are taken, that will result in a surplus of £50, which will be used to buy drinks and snacks. I'll also bring a kettle and teabags/coffee (please bring a mug!).
N.B. If you are also attending ABug Bolton (November), please don't feel obliged to send payment until after Bolton has passed.
If you wish to stay at the hotel, the prices I've been quoted are £55 for the Friday night, £75 for the Saturday night or £125 for both nights. Rooms can be booked direct with the hotel on 01530 245454.
Thinking we use the hotel restaurant on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon, leaving the option of heading into Markfield on the Saturday evening for a curry. Let me know what you guys want to do!
Finally, the Retro Computer Museum is nearby in Leicester and is open on Sundays (until 5pm) so we could also opt to pay a visit there in the afternoon. It's likely we'll make a decision on the Saturday, but feel free to post your thoughts in this thread.
Ok, that's the specifics out of the way - here's the standard blurb for those not already familiar with the ABug events:
Acorn & BBC Micro User Group (ABug) meetups are open to enthusiasts of the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Atom and Archimedes/RISC OS machines. Attendees will typically stay for two if not all three days. The meets are always very informal and can involve:
- members bringing their own hardware to set up and show off**
- time spent working on hardware and programming/games projects
- exchange of ideas/knowledge
- upgrade and repair of poorly Acorn machines
- collaborative work on community projects, such as software preservation, preparation/planning for displays at other events etc.
- sale of items by members (not guaranteed, but there are often opportunities to buy bits)
- general socialising, food/drink and the odd hi-score competition!
** = Important! Ensure that any hardware you bring that features the RIFA/Paper-type capacitors with a tendency to go POP (e.g. Beebs) have had the caps changed! We can't risk setting any smoke alarms off as that may incur charges!
Please post in this thread to reserve your place then send me a PM to confirm payment information and to have your name added to the list (20 places available).
Hopefully this will be a big success and will result in the East Midlands becoming a regular fixture on the ABug calendar! I've already drummed up some interest amongst the members of the Acorn & BBC Micro Facebook group and will be pointing them towards this thread!
Thanks
Alex
CONFIRMED
NO KITTERS
- Sixxdog_uk (Alex) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- Arcadian (Dave) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- JonC (Jon) PAID Arriving Saturday , leaving Sunday(ish)
- MattyJ (Matt) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- Flaxcottage (John) PAID Arriving Saturday , leaving Saturday?
- LazarusR (Robert) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- Prime (Phill)PAID Arriving Friday Afternoon, leaving Sunday
- JMS2 (John) PAID Arriving Saturday , leaving Saturday
- SarahWalker (Sarah) PAID Arriving Sometime , leaving Whenever
- FlynnJS (flynnjs) PAID Arriving Sometime , leaving Whenever
- Flibble (Peter) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- RetroClinic (Mark H) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- Andy Birch (Andy) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- nudelooney (Kris) PAID Saturday Only
- Simon Morris (Simon) Arriving Friday Afternoon, leaving Sunday
- 1024MAK (Mark)PAID Arriving Friday Afternoon, leaving Sunday
- IanS (Ian) PAID Arriving Friday afternoon, leaving Sunday
- JG Harston (Jonathan) PAIDArriving Friday Afternoon, leaving Sunday
- Tricky (Richard) PAID Arriving Saturday, leaving Sunday
[/list]
- BigED (ED) PAID Arriving Sunday, leaving Sunday
- Revaldinho (Rich) PAID Arriving Sunday, leaving Sunday
- Paul V (Paul) Saturday Only
- Kieranhj (kieran) Fri/Sat/Sun
) 
