Camp Sparkle

Yes, it's true, we're lacking a hot tub this year. {sadface} But in its place we can offer...



Recreate the pampered luxury lifestyle of a popstar, only with more Pixy Stix!


Some of you already know that I'm currently doing a course in beauty therapy. So, with all you gorgeous folk congregating for the weekend, I thought I'd take the opportunity to get in some practise. I need to leave on Tuesday, so I don't know exactly how many treatments I'll be able to fit in, but I want to have a quick check for interest levels. Which means, yes, another poll. :-)

[Poll #1144577]

(That's facial treatment, manicure, or both/either.)

First the bad news -- although we were hopeful it would happen in time, the cottage doesn't have internet access.

However!

The Lyndhurst public library offers free wifi access for laptops, and also a free guest computer. So there is at least internet access in the village, albeit with limited opening hours.

The library opening times are as follows:

Monday:	closed
Tuesday:	10am-1pm	4pm-7pm
Wednesday:		3pm-5pm
Thursday:	closed
Friday:	10am-1pm
Saturday:	10am-1pm
Sunday:	closed

Howdy!

If you enjoyed yourself at Camp Sparkle 2007 and you want to do it all again, or you missed all the cracktastic, sparkly, hot-tubbing fun then and you don't want to miss it this year, now's the time to act! One-time-only, opportunity of a lifetime! Don't miss your chance! This is POP! Sign ups for Camp Sparkle 2008 are open!


Camp Sparkle 2008

Date: Friday February 29th to Friday March 7th 2008.
Place: The Old Stables at Lyndhurst in the New Forest.
Cost for accommodation:
- Staying Fri/Sat/Sun nights PLUS any of the following nights up to the full week will cost 87 UKP.
- Staying Fri/Sat/Sun nights ONLY will cost 74 UKP.
- Staying Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs nights ONLY will cost 56 UKP.
Cost for food: 20 UKP (covers food for Fri-Sun only).
Registration deposit: 40 UKP.

ETA:The exact dates you'll be staying for can be changed later if necessary. We're asking for dates now so that we can assess a) how many people fall into which of the price bands, b) when minibus trips are likely to be needed, and c) catering needs. Please, book early and change, rather than delay.


How to register

- Send an e-mail to campsparkle@nsa.slashcity.org (which is where all 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 February. 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 28 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 29th January 2008, registrations can be cancelled without penalty and the deposit will be returned.
b) After the 29th January 2008, cancelled registrations will lose the deposit.
c) Very late cancellations, after the 22nd February 2008, 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.

Camp Sparkle 2008 will run from Friday February 29th to Friday March 7th. The accommodation we've booked is The Old Stables at Lyndhurst in the New Forest.

The 'main event' will be the first weekend as before, with 24 hour wall-to-wall sparkliness, fun and pixie stix. While we're sure that the rest of the week is going to be pretty damn sparkly too, we're also planning trips out from the cottage, etc.


The Place

The Old Stables is right in the centre of the village of Lyndhurst itself, which means that we'll have various pubs and restaurants and also local shops within walking distance.

There are plenty of pictures on the website to give you an idea of the cottage itself. For anyone concerned about the apparent lack of large-screen TV, I can assure you that we'll have one for the week, by one means or another. The cottage owners are looking at having a multimedia centre installed; if it isn't ready by then, Pen and I will hire a TV.

Within easy driving distance of Lyndhurst there are plenty of interesting places to visit, including lots of excellent historical sites, country walks, and the south coast. We'll be organising trips out for people who'd like an alternative to 24 hour sparkly dancing boys. (E.g. a sparkly dancing boy-themed picnic at Stonehenge.)


The Price

Accommodation at The Old Stables is charged at a fixed price per head, and therefore we can give a firm price right away.

The price for accommodation at The Old Stables will be £75 per person for the weekend only, or £87 for the full week (or part thereof if it includes the weekend). No one who responded to the previous poll suggested that they'd want to come for the latter part of the week only, but if this turns out to be the case for anyone then it can be arranged, and will be £56.

We haven't yet finalised the catering arrangements, but the most likely option is that Pen and I will provide a menu for the first weekend as before, adding a food budget for that to the base price; then depending on how people feel we will consider various options for the rest of the week. (Yes, we'll be polling!) Last time, food for the weekend cost £20 per head, and we expect this will be about the same.


Transport

A major consideration for the change of venue is better public transport and road access. Southampton is a mainline station, with direct trains from all over the country. National Express also run plenty of coaches to Southampton, and a few services into Lyndhurst itself. There is a regular and frequent bus service that runs between Southampton station and Lyndhurst village (the last bus from Southampton leaves there at 18:49, the first bus back in the morning leaves from Lyndhurst at 06:53). Lyndhurst is also easily accessible by road, being only a few miles from the M27.

In addition to these options, we plan to run a minibus from Stansted to the cottage on the opening Friday, and back again to Stansted the following Friday. If there is a demand for a group departure on the Monday or Tuesday, then there might be an additional run. We'll have the minibus at the house all week, to use for trips out, etc.


A registration post will follow soon, with exact details about when and how much you'll need to pay. For now we'd like an idea of how many people are planning to come, given the information here. Please fill in the poll, it really helps us to plan things as well as we can.


[Poll #1048944]


Please pimp this around, especially if you know anyone you think might like to come but who doesn't have this comm friended. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave them in the comments.