*taps mic*

Ahem - is anyone still reading this comm?

If you are, would you like to meet up in London and go on a mini meet-up? Before we started to organise the larger Coventry WriterconUK events we did some smaller get-togethers at interesting places in London, followed by lunch somewhere reasonable.

To give you an idea of what we could do, we went to Highgate Cemetery one year, the London Aquarium (now known as Sea Life) another year, and the British Museum too.

If anyone would be interested in something like that in 2025 I'm happy to organise it and book a venue for lunch afterwards.  There are so many places for free in London, and even if they aren't we can get entry ticket discounts if we are a reasonably sized group.

Let me know!

I do hope that all is well with you and your loved ones.

I thought you might be interested to hear that one of our Writercon regulars, lilachigh, has had a book published -- planned as the first of a series of ten! -- which is available for pre-order at Amazon. The book is called 'The Cousins of Pemberley: Cassandra' and it's published under lilachigh's real name. lilachigh says: "Actual publication date is 23rd December, but you are allowed to order the e-book now. Just type in the title in Amazon Books and it appears. I am beyond excited!"

Here's the blurb from Amazon's website:

Many years have passed since the dramatic events of Pride and Prejudice. In The Cousins of Pemberley series we follow a new generation of heroines - cousins with lives as different and interesting as those enjoyed by their mothers.

Cassandra: Cassandra Wickham, daughter of a flirt and a scoundrel, an innocent abroad in a world where money can buy you anything, even a bride.

When danger threatens and the man she thought she could rely on fails her, there is only one place she can turn to for help - Pemberley. Surely the Darcys will protect her, no matter what happened in the past to divide the two families?

lilachigh's own post about it can be seen here.

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As for Writercon itself, I'm thinking that, assuming this new sort of stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears-and-pretend-it's-all-back-to-normal normality is still operating early next year, we should start in February/March with a blank slate, decide whether we want to try holding an event in Coventry or, perhaps, doing it online instead, and take it from there?

First, I apologise for not having posted this sooner.

A few weeks ago, the committee took the decision to cancel this year's Writercon event. We are now tentatively planning to hold an event on the same weekend next year, 6th - 8th August 2021, but nothing is yet confirmed, and we can make firmer plans, discuss dates and decide other details early next year, when we should have a clearer picture of what is possible.

I hope that everyone is staying safe and is in good spirits, and making the difficult transition from Lockdown to whatever this is!

Happy Birthday

Have a wonderful day

X

I’m sitting in the bar at the Ramada hotel, waiting for everyone to arrive. The projector’s set up and we’re ready to go!

lilachigh asked me about the route to the hotel round the back streets to avoid the dreaded Inner Ring Road. Just in case anyone else is driving and doesn't know the trick, here it is:

From the M1 - take M45, which becomes the A45. Stay on that road till you reach the roundabout in Coventry next to a big BP garage. Turn right here, by a big car showroom. You are now on the Leamington Road,

Follow this road to the end, then bear right at the traffic lights but join the left lane. A couple of hundred yards further on there is a large Victorian mock-Tudor school on the left. Turn left just before it, onto Spencer Avenue.

At the end of Spencer Avenue turn right onto Albany Road. Continue downhill until you go under the railway bridge.

Take the next right onto Bedford St (elderly terraced houses), then at the end, turn left onto Gordon St.

At the end of that street the Ramada is directly ahead of you, so turn right to get to the car park.

If you are relying on a SatNav and feel this is too complicated, put "Albany Road, Earlsdon" or CV5 6JU in, which will get you to the road leading to the way round the back.

Hope this helps!

Some details!

The Lebanese restaurant. A table for 13 has been booked for 8.00 on Friday night :-)

Programme Here is this year's programme, with a craft session, talks and discussions:



Saturday Lunchtime. Because we're fewer in number than usual, the hotel is happy for us to choose lunch from the regular menus, so there will be a very wide choice.

The Buffet. We've agreed on the following menu at £25.00 per person:

Starters/Salad
Curried Cauliflower Soup with Onion Cream on the side allergens: dairy
Salad Station with Mixed Leaves, Peppers, Red Onion, Pomegranate
Meat & Cheese Board with Ham, Peppered Pastrami, Salami, Cheese, Tapenade allergens: dairy

Mains
Chicken Breast with a separate Arrabiatta Sauce allergens: none
Tilapia Fillets with a separate sauce of Sautee Leeks, Fennel & Mustard allergens: dairy, mustard
Courgette and Mushroom Strogonoff (v) allergens: dairy, mustard
Roasted Mediterranean Veg
Roast Potatoes

Desserts
Chocolate Torte allergens: dairy, trace of nuts
Mixed Fruit Eton Mess allergens: dairy
Fresh Fruit Salad (with no apple)

There will also be wine and soft drinks provided.

Cocktails. Since most/all of us cancelled our Saturday night cocktail last year, this year we've arranged just two cocktail sessions, on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and this is the menu:

Alcoholic Cocktails - £7.50 each
Mojito
Bacardi, mint leaves, lime, Sugar, soda water

Margarita
Tequila Blanco, Grand Marnier, lime

Sunrise
Cherry Brandy, Orange juice, cranberry juice

Aperol Spritz
Aperol, prosecco, soda water

Sicilian sunset
Absolut vodka, passionfruit syrup, grenadine, lime

Non-alcoholic Mocktails - £5.50 each
Virgin Mojito
Mint Leaves, Lime, Soda, Sugar

Orange & Lime Relaxer
Lime, Orange, Lemonade

Shirly Temple
Lemonade, Grenadine

Raffle. One of the highlights of the weekend is the free raffle, which we hold on the Sunday morning as part of our AGM. Everybody gets to choose a prize, and sometimes, thanks to the generosity of their fellow attendees, everybody gets to choose two!

In the past, we've had books, dvds, stationery, action figures and other fandom toys, wine, chocolates, offers of original artwork (including custom-made story banners), and beautiful knitted items, all donated by our generous attendees.

So, when you pack your suitcase, please don't forget to bring one or two items for the raffle!

Travel immoral_crow has pointed out that 13-15 September is welcome weekend for Coventry University so please be aware that the roads may be extra busy.

Checkout The hotel has asked me to remind everyone that checkout on Sunday is at 11 am.

For the past few years, most of us have been going to the Aqua Lebanese restaurant (which is just a few minutes' walk from the hotel) on the Friday night. The food is delicious and we have a lot of fun.

Please comment on this post if you'd like to eat at the restaurant, and I will book a table.

Just to save everyone else some time don't call to book your hotel room at the weekend. I just spent 20 mins getting transferred around until they eventually told me that they couldn't take a booking for an event and that I'd have to call back during the week when the dedicated reservations team is in (only from 9-4 so don't try calling after work either).

Technically, we are still two people short but, thanks to a generous offer of support, should it be needed, from Pixie, and another person, and with the surplus we have built up over the years, we have decided we can go ahead.

If you've already signed up but have not yet paid your membership fee, bogwitch will be chasing you, and if you're still thinking about joining us, there is lots of room!

Also, our contact at the Ramada has asked me to advise you to book your accommodation as soon as possible, because rooms are going fast.

As Treasurer, can I just remind everyone that has not paid yet (or made an arrangement to), that we will starting to pay for things soon and we will need your memberships paid in order for the event to go ahead.

If you are unsure of how you can pay, or if you have any other query related to the membership please just let me know or check the sign up page here.

Also, you can still sign up here! Come on, you know you want to!

We have fourteen people signed up so far but we need TWO more before 10 August so that we can contact the hotel and confirm that we are going ahead*, so if you are planning to come to Writercon UK 2019 (details below), please sign up NOW!!

This year's meeting will take place on Friday 13th September to Sunday 15th September at Ramada Hotel, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GG. The Membership Cost is £49 (to cover room hire, wine, goody bags, and a small contribution towards the craft materials).

* If we cancel on 10 August, we'll have to pay a token cancellation fee but anyone who has already paid their membership fee will be refunded in full. If we leave it any later, we'll have to pay whopping £300+, so we are being strict about this deadline!!

Once we have 16 people we are good to go but, obviously, the more the merrier!

Hi everybody -- another reminder: this year's meet-up will take place on Friday 13th September to Sunday 15th September at Ramada Hotel, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GG. The Membership Cost is £49 (to cover room hire, wine, goody bag, and a small contribution towards the craft materials).

We already have nine people signed up, but we need at least 16 people before 10 August for the event to go ahead, so please sign up here as soon as you can -- you can pay nearer the time if it's more convenient.

The sooner you sign up and we know your current fandoms, the easier it will be to organise talks, the craft project, the quiz and the goody bags, so expect to be chased :-)

Don't forget: this year's meet-up will take place on Friday 13th September to Sunday 15th September at Ramada Hotel, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GG. The Membership Cost is £49 (to cover room hire, wine, goody bag, and a small contribution towards the craft materials).

We need at least 16 people to sign up before 10 August for the event to go ahead, so please sign up here as soon as you can -- you can pay nearer the time if it's more convenient.

The sooner you sign up and we know your current fandoms, the easier it will be to organise talks, the craft project, the quiz and the goody bags, so expect to see more reminders :-)

For those who prefer to use Dreamwidth, there is also a sign-up post here.

Dates:
Friday 13th September to Sunday 15th September

Venue:
Ramada Hotel, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GG

Membership Cost: £49.
This covers room hire, refreshments (including tea, coffee, biscuits and cake!) during breaks on Saturday and on Sunday morning, a private room for the Saturday evening buffet (but not the cost of the buffet itself, nor of other meals) and a GOODY BAG!

Programme:
Friday evening: Introductions, quiz, goody bags and socialising.
Saturday: A full day of talks, workshops and a craft session, followed by more socialising and the buffet.
Sunday morning: Fun, the AGM, the raffle, even more socialising... and goodbyes :-(

Accommodation:
Members are responsible for booking their own accommodation. We have arranged a special rate, so do mention that you're attending the Writercon event. The price is £70 per night for a single room and £80 for a double, and includes a breakfast buffet (where you can choose anything from a full English breakfast to fruit and yogurt). Car parking is free as a special favour to us. The Ramada has asked us to point out that September is a particularly busy month, and once the rooms are gone they're gone, so please reserve your room early to avoid disappointment.

As usual, there will be optional alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, and an optional Friday evening trip to the Lebanese restaurant, Aqua.

...

Signing up

PLEASE SIGN UP BEFORE 10th AUGUST.

At £49 per person, we need 16 people to ensure that we can pay for the venue and refreshments (plus wine and goody bags). Should we have to cancel, the Ramada will charge us a cancellation fee, and if we leave it till less than 30 days before the event, it will more than wipe out Writercon UK's finances, so we have to have 16 people signed up before 10th August or Writercon UK 2019 cannot go ahead!

To sign up, please comment on this post by copying and pasting the template below and answering the questions. The comments are screened, and if we need to clarify anything, I'll contact you by PM.

Your answers are used to compile the quiz questions, choose the items for your goody bag, plan talks, workshops, and craft sessions, etc, and to select suitable menus for Saturday, so do, please, fill in the form and tell us your current fandoms and your dietary needs!

<b>Your online/fandom/preferred-on-badge name:</b> <b>Your real name/PayPal name:</b> <b>Your fandoms:</b> <b>Your favourite fandom and/or character/pairing (for goody bag purposes):</b> (If your fandom is rare, please suggest a source of pictures and other information): <b>Do you want to participate in the craft session:</b> <b>Any food allergies, intolerances, or special dietary requirements</b>: <b>Any foods you particularly dislike (we'll do our best, but it may not be possible to avoid everything you list)</b>: <b>Do you prefer wine or a soft drink?</b>: <b>Anything else we should know</b>:

Your data -- username, real name, email address and PayPal account name -- will be used for the purpose of organising Writercon UK meetings only. It will be stored securely for two years, after which time it will be deleted, but you can ask to be removed from our mailing list and have your data deleted at any time.

Payment
You can register now, and pay later. Last call for payments will be five weeks before the event, but we'll remind you before that if you haven’t paid up!

This year we're using PayPal's 'Send money to friends and family' facility.

( Instructions under the cut...Collapse )

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tlanti and kazzy_cee will be recruiting speakers/workshop leaders shortly, and we'll remind you about raffle prizes nearer the time.

Finally - don't forget to pimp Writercon UK to all of your friends!

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People signed up so far: (15)

bogwitch
enchantersnight
gillo
hils
hobbituk
immoral_crow
lilachigh
lonemagpie
ningloreth
• pixie barefoot
shapinglight
signe_chan
speakr2customrs
sweetheartwhale
tlanti