South London hmmm, People could get there but the likelyhood of leaving in one piece is up for debate, not a fan of much south of the Thames. as it seems to cost me a car window every time I park down there.
There’s also Pjen (or similar) the raving Grauniad reader from sunny Cornwall - always taking on the raving loons in GD for the Moral High Ground. If ever anyone needed a pint or two …
And also APB who frequents GQ and seems to be an anonymous Donnish type from we know not where
I honestly thought Mangetout was in West London … no idea why …
** … git orf me barrar … that I luv Lunnon town-ah**
London_Calling your cockney barritones keep reminding me of what happened in my local on saturday - the old guy in the corner taught us all the words to My Old Man.
My awld man sez "folla the van! and dan’t dilly-dally on the way…
I had a thought - how about we share a cottage for the weekend? I think it’ll work out cheaper than us all booking seperate rooms. I found this place that looks very nice and it says the cottages are from £95 a night. And it looks within a cab ride from the city centre. What do you reckon?
depends - what are brummy cabs like? 
A pub I’d like to visit is The Barton Arms on Aston Hight Street. Last month’s CAMRA newsletter featured it as a Heritage pub, built between 1899-1901.
And for those more interested in bicycles than chocolate, The Bike Show is at the NEC that weekend.
(Just two of the advantages of being a card-carrying member of both CAMRA and CTC).
Knock it off, L_C and garius, or I’ll be forced to start doing Dick van Dyke impersonations: Ow, hit’s a jawly awly-die wiv May-ree…
awright luv, keep ya barnet on - didn’t mean to cause any barney.
The Barton Arms certainly looks impressive, Kferr.
Does your info give any clue where on the High Street it is? It’s a bus ride away from the centre, I should think.
It does look good. However, can I point out that Aston is renowned for being, shall we say, not the friendliest part of Birmimgham…
Hi Fran. Another very good site for finding cottages is ‘Hidays’:
I’ve used their services and they seem pretty good.
Potential point to ponder: booking a place like a holiday cottage, as opposed to rooms at a B&B, is only cheaper per head if you, for example, hire a place meant to sleep 2 and then have extra people sleeping on floor / sofa / bath etc. Unfortunately, most agencies regard this as against the rules and even fraudulent. If a place is meant to ‘sleep 2’, then you are only supposed to have 2 people there. And the actualy property owner is usually near enough to be able to check. Not trying to be negative, but it’s just a thought.
The paper lists the address of the Bartons Arms as 152 Aston Hight Street. From the city centre they recommend buses 33, 34, 51, 52 or a taxi.
That pub looks fine to me. I’m sure a gang as tough and rough as dopers could frighten off any unsavoury elements in the Aston area. Ianzin - fair enough, might be best to get B & Bs after all.
Also, further to ianzin’s point, holiday cottages that sleep 6 tend to be in the format of 3 double beds or 2 doubles and a twin room. Some people might prefer twins or singles. Not a dealbreaker per se, just a thought.
oops, sorry, simulposted with you there, Fran. Didn’t want it to look like I was piling on when you’d already said "good point
So i probably shouldn’t get my hair dyed pink again?
Cool 
garius, pink hair will only cause some stares
Does this mean we have a change of plan then? Or do we still meet at the Iron Man, nad then go on to the Barton Arms? If so, then I’ll find out how close it is to Aston train station, so that getting to the curry house isn’t going to be too difficult.
actually i think i’ll designate this month a “colour free” month - i’m sure my hair will appreciate the chance to recover
We should still meet somewhere central and fairly easy to find. Then if we decide to move later, we’ll have someone with local knowledge to follow. However, there is the tradition of following the person who is hardest to see, so we may end up following Fran anyway.
I’ll bring a flag on a stick.