Camp Sparkle 2012

[nopseud]

We don't hang about around here :-)

For those of you who don't know, the owners of the house at Alfreton won't be letting it out next year. Pen and I have already started searching for an alternative venue.

Prices in general for holiday rentals have risen steeply since we started Camp Sparkle, and we have been very, very lucky in being able to use Beech Hill House for the last two years. For reference, The Old Stables in Lyndhurst now charges £3900 for a week in May, while Beech Hill House this year was £1250.

Unless we strike equally lucky again, we're unlikely to find somewhere else with such amazing facilities for such a low price. (And I promise, we will keep looking!) Without that luck, though, one of two things will have to happen -- the price for accommodation will have to go up, or the quality of the house will have to go down and we'll probably need to move back to a February/March date.

We won't be going back to Ebenezar Chapel, but if we keep the price even close to what it was last time (which worked out at £75 per person for 7 nights), then we're looking at somewhere much more plainly furnished, without a hot tub, and probably without the same quality of TV, kitchen, beds etc -- think more 'old fashioned guest house' than 'chic modern home'. On the other hand, the higher the price bracket Pen and I can look at, the more options we have when it comes to finding houses, and it also means that we can book months when the weather is likely to be better.

So a (locked) poll. I know it goes up a long way, but we wanted to get as clear an idea as possible of our options.

[Poll #1747746]

Another thing that determines price is the number of people who can make it. If we book a house that's too big, then we waste money on bedspace we don't use. On the other hand, if we go for a smaller house, then we might fill up and leave some people unable to come. However, considering houses that take 16 or 18 max would increase our options quite a lot. So, even though it's a long way in advance, we'd like to do some polls on when people would be able to come.

The first poll is for months in 2012 when you COULD come to Camp Sparkle. The second poll is for when you would PREFER Camp Sparkle to take place. October is missing because Pen can't make that month, and we ruled out December and January for weather, finances and people being busy. We've included July and August, but there is a significant price hike for properties during those months, because the UK schools have the main summer holidays then.

Please only fill in the poll if you definitely intend to come to Camp in 2012, barring Acts of God, unexpected unemployment etc. There's also a write-in option for specific dates you definitely can't make it.

[Poll #1747747]

Finally, we'd really like to hear your thoughts in more detail on the type of accommodation that you'd be happy with for Camp. For example: Is it important that there's one living room that seats everyone? Do you think we all need to be able to sit down to eat together? Would it be acceptable to have some sofabeds as well as real beds? Would you be happy without a shop in walking distance and having a schedule for shopping trips? Should we have a large flatscreen TV, or was the projector okay? What about hot tubs? What about having a swimming pool, or wireless broadband in the house? What's the minimum standard, what amenities do you really need to have a good holiday, what you can't live without and what you don't care about, etc, etc.

Comment away on anything and everything! (Or e-mail Pen and me if you'd rather.)

Comments

[rikes]

I don't have a job for next year yet so it's really hard to say. I'll do my very best to make it to Camp whenever, but June and July are the best because school's out so I'll have to be either on holiday or unemployed, thus free to travel either way. :D

As for requirements for the house, my thoughts:
- I think the projector worked fine, and we don't necessarily need a huge TV.
- We're probably getting better at estimating the amount of food needed, so schedules shopping trips might work.
- I don't know if we need one big dinner table or a huge living room, but I do think we've enjoyed having two main rooms to hang out in (ie. reasonably sized kitchen + living room).
- We've miraculously survived without wireless internet so far, so that shouldn't be an issue.

[turlough]

As far as I know right now I'm not doing anything else next year at all. That's the upside of being on a disability pension. The downside is of course the lack of money :-/

When it comes to the living room I don't think it's that important that it can seat everyone comfortably. As long as we can all squish in somehow during shorter periods it's probably okay if comfy seating is only available for a limited number of people at a time. I definitely think it's very important that we can all sit down and eat together though. Since I'm no longer very interested in a lot of the footage the meals have become one of the most important part of camp for me.

Which is why I think a good sized kitchen with lots of counter space for food preparation and with adequate seating for everyone, either in the kitchen or in an adjacent dining room, is much more important than almost anything else about the house. But as long as the house is neat and clean and has central heating I'm prepared to accept rather simple accomodations really. Well, as long as the beds aren't bad. But it definitely doesn't have to be of Beech Hill House standard.

[trumpeterofdoom.livejournal.com]

Late April-whole of May and September-October are blackout dates for me, they're peak periods at work.

I don't know about the others, but my minimum for Camp is a proper bed (back can't handle sofabeds, sorry) and decent showers. Wifi in a nearby area would be nice, but not necessary.

Hot tub/swimming pool, flatscreen TV I'm not fussed about. Rikes is right, I think we've got the shopping mostly manageable by now so scheduled shopping trips will probably be better for whoever is driving people to the shops.

[chalcopyrite.livejournal.com]

I agree that we're getting better with the food, so schedules would probably work, though still a hassle for whoever is driving. :\ I don't think we need to have enough couches or chairs for everyone -- as long as there's enough space and the floor's not cold, we can squish in. I thought the projector at the Chapel worked fine; we've managed so far without swimming pool or internet, and the hot tub is not a deal-breaker for me, nice as it was at BHH. I don't mind sharing beds, if the houses you end up looking at only have doubles, or mostly doubles.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_titch/]

I have nothing planned for next year at the moment, I did say no to July/August but working where I do I'm sure I could get time off if needed (those are the busy tourist months).

I think a decent kitchen/dining area is probably number 1 as it seems to be the place where we all get together. A smaller living room wouldn't be too much of an issue as not everyone watches footage. As long as we can all squeeze in at least one room for discussions, etc.

Not having wifi is fine. If there's a place nearby then great, but I think we can all manage without it. :)

The only thing I will say I really need is a bed to myself, but sofabeds aren't really an issue.

[msktrnanny.livejournal.com]

I'm going to go with 'who the hell knows' on dates... nothing is actually planned for next year, but there's at least one major surgery happening next year in the fam. Cost wise, the cheaper the better as flights seem to be climbing about a 100 bucks a year putting next years probably cost for flight restrictive to the rest, as new job doesn't pay for holiday. [hope that made sense outside of my head]

Beds over sleeper sofas, though I'd be good with an inflatable mattress on the floor. Agree with those who've said kitchen we can gather in being important and wifi not. Would love to see a new part of the UK!

[ihearthings-ii.livejournal.com]

As far as the kitchen goes it *is* nice to be able to all fit in and eat together, living room, well, I like lounging on the floor anyway! :P

I don't *need* shops in walking distance but I have to admit that it was nice having some 'real world' as close as it was, or at least in train distance. Internet --- well, we've done without so far, and besides, everyone I'd want to talk to would be there in person.

I can sleep most places but I think I'd insist on some musical bed type arrangement if it's for a whole week!

Moneywise, I'd love to be able to say a higher amount but right now, I'm not sure if I'd be able to swing it.

[simply-fly-away.livejournal.com]

I really can't do May-August because it's wedding season at work so would have to be a day-visit again. Earlier/later in the year are much more doable for me :)

[stellamira]

People (including myself) seem to be fine with sitting on the floor if there's not enough space on the couches. As long as the floor is comfy I'm good. I rather liked the big tv but I wasn't there in the projector year, so I don't have any experience with that.

Bed-wise I'm very easy to please. I sleep pretty much anywhere, and that includes sofabeds, bunk beds, and on an air mattress on the floor - although I'd prefer not to do a whole week of that. I don't need a hot tub (I didn't even use the last one) and I think not having wireless is actually a good thing. Otherwise people spend way too much time with their computers.

I think scheduled trips to a father supermarket are fine; relative closeness to an airport and/or a train station accessible from an aiport would be nice for people potentially flying in later - although that might very well only be me.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bettina_/]

As long as I know the dates as early as possible, it shouldn't be a problem to get the time off. But in general, summer months are bad because at my work people with children are more likely to get time off than I. I have to coordinate my vacation time with at least two other people at work, so I can't rule it out that I can't make it at any other time.

As stellamira said, a relative easy travel between the Camp place and an airport/train station would be great.

As others have said, everyone eating together would be great. So space for enough people in a kitchen/dinging room would be nice. I can make do with sitting on the floor in the living room as long as it's comfy.

Beds would be nice, I don't mind sharing double beds, sofabeds are good too.
I don't need WiFi. A projector instead of a big TV is good too.

[fadedsouls.livejournal.com]

No clue where I'll be work wise, as I'll hopefully finish up my thesis in November, and after that I'll be job hunting like crazy. The summer is likely to be fieldwork for me though (unless I get a permanent job somewhere, I'll be a field archaeologist for the season probably). But given some warning I could probably manage to schedule around Camp.

As for accommodations, a place to sleep that is not too shaggy and not overrun by spiders, and I'll be just fine.

Wifi would be one of those added bonuses (anyone not able to make Camp could skype in during the oblig Harry+Max viewing!!) but I am quite sure we can live without it for the week.