campsparkle | Entries tagged with camp sparkle 2007

bubbleforest.livejournal.com

I'm getting more and more excited about Camp Sparkle! It's going to be really fun. :) I hope it's okay to post this here - I made a couple of icons (literally; I've only got two) for Camp Sparkle and thought I might as well share them. You're more than welcome to snag!

Looking forward to seeing you guys soon. :)

nopseud

We're working on a plan to provide transport from Stansted to Camp Sparkle on Friday, and then back to Stansted on both Sunday and Monday. To make sure it's feasible, I need a clear idea of exactly when everyone is arriving at Stansted, and when they need to be back there.

Please fill this in if either:

1. You are coming from abroad and arriving/departing via Stansted.
2. You are one of the London contingent and would like to make your way to Stansted and get a lift to Camp Sparkle from there, (and possibly a lift back).

[Poll #903674]

pensnest

Attention Stansted people: I think I have found you a minibus driver.

I'm going to check on details to make sure he's suitably licensed for the vehicle in question, etc, but it sounds promising.

pensnest

I don't know at what point it's appropriate to start talking about travel arrangements, so it may as well be now!

Our booking actually starts at 4pm on the Friday evening, but apparently there is a pub about half a mile away (looks as though it is called the Craven Arms), and I propose that those of us who travel to Ludlow earlier that day should make our way to this pub and have a convivial luncheon there.

We have to be out of the place by 10 on Monday morning (though I imagine many if not most of you will leave at some point on Sunday).

Anyway, the point of this post is,Travel Arrangements. Can I suggest that people comment to this thread with things like

- where in the UK you're travelling from, and when you expect to be travelling

- if you have discovered a convenient and reasonably-priced means of making the journey via public transport, do share the details

- if you can give a lift/would appreciate a lift. If there are some who can collect others on the way, I'm sure suitable arrangements regarding petrol can be made.

ephemera_pop and I were discussing travel arrangements a few weeks ago - unfortunately her might-have-been-available minibus Is No More. But perhaps there is among the London contingent someone who would be willing to hire a car for the weekend, and could make it a peoplecarrier, and thus bring a good handful of you? I know there are several London-dwellers who, ahem, will be signing up, and probably some of our Euro-sparklers will be flying in, and glad of a journey in company. Cost shared between six or seven ought to be quite reasonable, and a lot more convenient than trains.

It may well be necessary for us to figure out who will be dashing off to not-too-distant bus or railway stations to pick up people, so if you're planning on driving and are willing to be drafted for this duty, say so!

I hope this will be a reasonably easy way for us all to figure out where we can help each other. At least, it should provide a place to start.

The postcode of the cottage is SY7 0HH, if you want to check it on www.streetmap.co.uk, and I'll put up a reminder of this, plus the directions I have received, when we get into March.

pensnest

I see we now have thirteen people signed up for Camp Sparkle - excellent! I'd *really* like to see us get up to fifteen before paying the remainder of the cottage rental, which falls due in a little over two weeks from now. So (she says, eyeing the UK contingent), head back to this post and put your name down! And if there's anyone, UK or Euro-based in particular, whom you've been hoping to meet, you could always give her/him an encouraging nudge in this direction.

And how about this for incentive. I already have a bottom drawer devoted to Camp Sparkle, and yesterday, I put a box of Cream-Filled Chocolate Willies into it - they were given me for Christmas, and I can think of no better fate for cream-filled chocolate willies than to be shared at a sparkly gathering. No?

Squee!

pensnest

( By special request... )

pensnest

Anybody want a Camp Sparkle icon?

( Help yourself )

nopseud

So, you love the idea of a weekend of sparkle, fun and (hopefully) hot tubbing at Camp Sparkle 2007, and now you want to register, right? Well this is your chance, because registrations are now open.

Here's a summary of the details:

Date: 16th March - 19th March 2007 (accommodation provided for Fri, Sat and Sun nights).
Place: Little Brampton, Clunbury, near Ludlow, UK.
Total cost for food + accommodation: ~£75 (exact cost depends on numbers, but it will be between £55 and £90 - the final payment amount will be announced on the 16th February).
Registration deposit: £35.

Here's how to register:

- Send an e-mail to campsparkle@nsa.slashcity.org (which is where any e-mail about the con should go).

- I'll then e-mail you a registration form, plus various options for how to get the deposit money to me.

- Once your registration has arrived, I'll add your name to the table on this filtered post, and put you on the filter for it. When your deposit has been paid into the Camp Sparkle account, I'll note that on the table, and likewise when the final payment happens closer to March. So you'll be able to check at a glance that you're registered, and whether or not your money has made it here safely.

The cottage we're renting will sleep up to 24 people. At the moment we aren't expecting more people than we can accommodate, but if that happens, then registrations will be made on a first-come first-served basis.

Refunds:

a) Up to the 16th February, registrations can be cancelled without penalty and the deposit will be returned.
b) After the 16th February, cancelled registrations will lose the £35 deposit.
c) Very late cancellations, after the 12th March, will lose the whole payment.

Exception to b) and c) -- if the con is fully booked, and there are people waiting for places, then provided that a replacement can be found for you, your payment(s) will be refunded.

pensnest

Typical - the minute I make a post in here, I get new information which...

Okay. I've now had confirmation of the cottage rent, which is up a whopping 40% since last year. We'd factored in a rise along the same pattern as the 2005 price progress, but...

Never mind. What it means is that our 15 Camp Sparkle participants are looking at £75 each rather than £65. And again, if we get more than 15, the price goes down. And it's still a fantastic bargain for a place which looks so nice! (Did you notice, *bathrobes* included? Hee!)

I've also received a floor plan of the place, from which it is clear that all the bedrooms have double beds. Several of them also have at least one single. So, guys - you can start thinking about who you want to room with, and whether or not you're happy to share a bed. Also, there are a couple of bedrooms on the ground floor, so if anyone needs/prefers to avoid stairs, let us know when you sign up.

Just to remind you, the cottage is here, do take a look if you haven't already done so!

Registration opening soon!

pensnest

Time for some Camp Sparkle news.

Yay!

Perhaps the most crucial thing you need to know (now that you know the dates) is, how much will it cost?

Well, unfortunately I don't get confirmation of the cottage rental price until November, so the accommodation part of the deal is estimated based on the way the prices ran in 2005/2006. If there's a humungous price bump, we may have to re-think, but assuming it's reasonable we should be fine. Then

nopseud and I spent quite a long time figuring out what we're going to eat during the weekend (more about that another day).

Our conclusion is that we reckon the weekend should cost around £65 per person.

Is there a better bargain *anywhere*? :-D

There are some variables, of course. The £65 figure is based on an attendance count of 15 people, otherwise everyone will have to pay a bit more for the accommodation. (Food, obviously, is per head anyway.) On the other hand, if we get 20 people, it'll be cheaper for all! So if there is someone on your flist who hasn't found out about us yet, an ardent popslasher you think should be there, someone you really want to meet, nudge that person into having a look at this community, okay?

What we propose to do is ask you to pay a deposit of £30 when you sign up. The remainder of the money will be due much closer to March 16th, by which time we shall know how many people are going to be there and will be able to say exactly how much everyone needs to pay.

We'll open Registrations very soon.

pensnest

Right, then, you can ink it in. Barring catastrophe, Camp Sparkle will start on Friday 16th March 2007. Yay!

For the moment,

nopseud and I are trying to work out approximately what it will cost. We'll start asking for actual bookings when we can give you a clear idea. Remember, though, the more people we have in our fancy cottage-with-hot-tub, the cheaper it'll be for us all - and the more sparklyfolk you'll be able to meet in the utterly fabulous flesh. So feel free to pimp the Grand Event, and this community, to anyone you'd like to see there.

Meanwhile, just to get you thinking ahead - one of the (many) possibilities under consideration is boyband-themed food. So what kind of foodstuffs are 'boyband-themed', in your opinion?

nopseud

pensnest and I have been doing some digging into locations for a sparkly minicon.

The current favourite option is this Hoseason's cottage near Ludlow. We were partucularly taken by the hot tub in the garden (for that authentic boyband debauchery feel) but more importantly it also has a big TV and a DVD player, which will save us dragging equipment across the country. We don't yet have an exact hire price, but assuming it doesn't change too much from this year, it will probably be somewhere in the region of £600-700 total for a three night stay. Split between us, this should be pretty reasonable.

For anyone thinking of coming from abroad, the house is approximately an hour and a half from Birmingham airport by car. (If we can coordinate arrivals, we might be able to arrange some kind of group transport from the airport.) There is also a train station in Ludlow.

This place is very popular. The soonest we can book a weekend is the 16-19th MARCH 2007 (that's fri/sat/sun nights). Before we pay the deposit, we'd like to be sure we'll have enough people for it to be worthwhile. This isn't an irreversible commitment, but please don't say 'yes' unless you definitely intend to come.

[Poll #727785]

Thanks, and feel free to spread the word.

pensnest

Well, now. It appears that other groups besides ours wish to vacation in Milton Keynes in November...

nopseud and I had a very busy time searching for alternative venues, and it looks as though probably, November isn't going to work out.

So we're thinking January or March. Actually, we're looking at a different venue now, but can't book or even find out whether it's available, until later this month. I will withhold details in case we can't book it, but the accommodation would be under £40 for three nights if there are 16 of us, and correspondingly less if more people join in.

Meanwhile, a Quickie Poll:

[Poll #713026]

Obviously, comments on the matter would be welcome.

And do, please, pimp this community to anyone you think might be interested in some sparkly fun.

nopseud

Yo! This is half of the coordinating committee for a potential popslash gathering, to be held in the UK this November. The other half of the committee is

pensnest.

So far, everything is very tentative, and we're planning a low-key event -- basically, a version of a sparkly-weekend-at-our-houses, only allowing for more people. Our current idea is for something between a general get-together and a proper con -- footage, food and drink, but also some panels, competitions, fandom pimping, and other more con-like things if people are interested. The focus would be Nsync/BSB, but other popslash or bandslash fans would be very welcome. Bring footage! Pimp to everyone!

Our favoured (for price) option at the moment it to rent a Youth Hostel Association hostel for our exclusive use for a weekend in November this year, possibly this place, which is in central England near Milton Keynes. It's only a mile and a half from MK train station, and it has a couple of pubs nearby. Hiring the hostel for two nights at a weekend would cost somewhere around £600 -- this is a fixed price, regardless of how many people come. So for 20-30 people, the cost for accommodation only for the whole weekend would be approximately £30-20. On top of that would be food. A YHA place is likely to be pretty basic, but by doing the catering ourselves and just charging cost for food and drink, this is the cheapest way we've come up with to hold the gathering. There maybe be other options available for food (such as a meal at a pub, or having some meals catered by the YHA staff), but we haven't priced those yet.

THIS PLAN IS NOT FINAL. It's just a starting point. Any final plan would depend primarily on how many people would like to take part. The Milton Keynes YA would be good for numbers between 20 and 30 -- for more or less, we'd need to rethink the venue. To get a rough idea of interest and the kind of thing we can plan for, we'd be grateful if people could fill in the poll below, and also pimp the gathering to other potentially interested folks.

[Poll #707551]

Any other suggestions or comments would be very welcome.

Thanks to

turps33 for letting us hijack her comm.

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Camp Sparkle

all sparkle all the time...now with added tea!

Entries tagged with camp sparkle 2007

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Stansted Transport Poll

Travel

Getting There

A Reminder

More icons

A little bit of fun

Camp Sparkle - REGISTRATION

How much will it cost, part 2

Okay, sparklyfolk, here we go

Get out your Diaries

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Camp Sparkle - European popslash gathering

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April 2024

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