Getting to London’s no problem. Exeter—>London Megabus for £1. Spending five hours on an ordinary doubledecker with the most spectacular dregs of society. I just need to know when it is so I can book my ticket. And ponder accommodation. Any Doper willing to accommodate me would be welcome
I’ll post up where we’ll be at and on what date once folk decide - it’ll either be the 27th Nov or 4th Dec as far as i’m aware.
Details will include travel directions, nearest tube stations etc.
Have a better idea of whereabouts after Saturday too. We going pub crawling.
Just to check: are any of the other Dopers amongst those who have put a restraining order on me 
Not unless you’re kiera Knightley - that bitch just won’t leave me alone.
Are there enough Dopers in Northern England to have the second over here?
<Bump>
Depends on people chiming in from where they’re at I suppose.
Top of me head, I know theres folk in Nottingham, Birmingham, Yorkshire, Bolton, Newcastle obviously.
It’s just that everybody seems concentrated in London. I don’t know.
Another Ex-pat GomiBoy? There’s loads of us here!
There are also some dopers in Scotland that would probably find a Tyneside fest easier to attend.
Sorry for the hijack, but do you get lost here as well? I live in London, and I am forced to travel like a tourist - I have to have a map to hand, and am useless without an A-Z. I also need every part of an address to be able to find somewhere, as well as nearest tube stop and everything! And I have been in London for a bloody year!
I live about 45 minutes out of London by train (Farnborough) and don’t get into town that often, but I’m getting better at getting around. But then I’ve been here 10 years. My trade secret is to use a compass. When you pop up out of an unfamiliar tube station it helps you figure out which side of the road you’re on.
Concentrated? London? Bloody demented, more like! (All righty, only joking, really)
As Kferrr said, there are probably enough, including the few Dopers in Scotland, who might find a Geordieland meet-up geographically convenient. From my own point of view, if I would go to London, I can most probably crash with a friend in Thornton Heath, but, anyway, Newcastle-ish is nearer, so, … .whatever. In any case, as long I post a reply here, I can keep track of planning developments, so to speak, and decide later. I’m currently studying to be a proper hermit, but, then again, I quickly sort that one out soon after hitting the pub.
(Celyn, making mental note to investigate my messsy bookshelves for appropriate A-Zs)
An update, after a weekend excursion.
Right, we went looking on Saturday round Convenient Garden at some pubs, but didn’t find any. However, one of them gave us a lead as to a room we could book, which Mr Garius will be checking out this week sometime.
If it makes you feel any better, we had a good laugh doing it though.
We’re looking at November 27th for this too. Anyone any objections to that?
Wheee!! We have a time and a place. I think November 27th was generally agreed to be the best place. Where’s the pub that the intrepid Garius is looking into, and should we organise some food of some sort, like we’ve done for all other Fests?
Don’t let me stop you, but I can’t make the 27th. I will have a horde of folks at mine for a widows and orphans thanksgiving…
The Crown and Anchor. I’ll pop in on Wednesday.
Where is it? Still in Covert Garden?
Think he said Neil Street - which is just up of Conenient Garden
Do you mean the Crown & Anchor, 22 Neal Street?
Can’t say that I’ve ever been in, but if the write-up from Fancy A Pint.com is anything to go by, I won’t be in a hurry:
“Summer usually finds this place with crowds of people massed in the street outside. We’re not sure why (well apart from its location) because this place doesn’t know whether it’s a pub or a bar and the fantastically high prices charge[d] belie the mediocrity of the drink on offer. If you like crowds, average drink and paying through the nose for it, you’ll love it here.”
Take out a mortgage.
Hmm, I suggest we look elsewhere then. Proper annexing somewhere might be best, depending on how many disappear for food in the evening.
I’ll ask about tomorrow night. Someone must no somewhere, but if all else fails, suppose theres the Silver Cross or Prinny Lou. Gah!
Re Silver Cross… they always open the downstairs bar if there are enough punters to make it worthwhile, but not otherwise.
When I ‘booked’ it for a previous Dopefest, and for another (smaller) party once, they didn’t charge. They just asked me how many people I was going to bring into their luvverly pub and ‘allocated’ me a chunk of the downstairs bar area. But even so, on the day they won’t actually open it up until and unless they feel there are enough punters to justify it.