get/together

Hi team, for the record this is where and when everything's happening:

1) The main venue remains unchanged, though operational hours are different:

Seatoun Village Hall: 10am – 8pm Saturday, 10am – 6pm Sunday
22 Forres Street, Seatoun

Previously known as the Saint Christopher's Parish Hall, but still the same place. The church (yellow stickered) is on the corner of Forres and Ventnor Streets, the hall is next door. There's plenty of parking in the street outside for anyone driving. Anyone getting the bus from town should get the Seatoun 11, and get out at the Dundas Street shops.

2) Leisurely brunch on Friday, which will probably still involve hobbit types having first and second breakfast as successive waves of people drift in from the airport/elsewhere. We're trying somewhere new:

Maranui Surf Club Cafe: 11.30am Friday
7 Lyall Parade, Lyall Bay

Get the number 3 bus from town, or walk down Onepu Road from Kilbirnie.

3) Leisurely cocktails (noticing a theme?) where we will start early and again wait as other poor souls finish work (or critical Critical Role updates):

Library Bar: 4pm Friday
53 Courtenay Place, Wellington (upstairs)

Join us for after work/after flight/pre dinner cocktails. Drift in as and when you prefer. We'll head out again about 6.30.

4) We toyed, as we sometimes do, with a change here, but a chorus shouted TRADITION and I could not defy them:

Oaks Noodle House: 7pm Friday
71 Cuba Street, Wellington (upstairs)

From the sublime to the ridiculous, our "cheap and cheerful" mainstay of thirteen years' counting. The ambiance is terrible but the food is good, lightning fast, and they happily put up with the racket of fifteen to twenty fangirls who haven't seen each other in months.

4a) Depending on energy levels (mine have been known to flag of late):

Olive: 8.30pm Friday TBC!!!
170 Cuba Street, Wellington

TBC, but night owls/late arrivals have been known to go on for dessert and more drinks after dinner. Play this one by ear!

5) Back to an old faithful, and chosen by popular vote the evening of the not so popular vote:

Siam Thai Restaurant: 7pm Sunday
64 Kilbirnie Crescent, Kilbirnie

A return to Kilbirnie haunts of old.

6) And finally, a farewell brunch for those still in town and/or avoiding work and/or before venturing to D & D:

Fidel's: 11am Monday
234 Cuba Street, Wellington

We'll malinger here as always, but remember to wear a jumper, it can be windy outside!

Not that I'm calling us a band of ravening orcs or anything...

But food is a serious business.

One traditional fixture that will never change: welcome dinner at the Oaks on Friday night.

Saturday night: by popular acclaim, we will again be holding a pizza party at the hall, though with minor adjustments to timing and the setting up of tables. In the interests of smooth running, can everyone please acquaint themselves before Saturday with the Hell Pizza menu and think about what they are likely to want, so we can phone in an order during the afternoon tea break. It would also be great if you could bring something approximating the correct money.

Obviously if you're a late eater and you'd rather wait till 8pm and eat after, feel free to do so. Also, there are some kitchen facilities available, so if you would prefer to bring something from home that's fine too.

On Sunday we will be returning to our old haunts, at this stage 98% likelihood of the Thai restaurant in Kilbirnie (tbc once I've booked).

As far as lunches go, we have a one hour lunch break scheduled on both days. The Dundas Street shops are fairly rudimentary -- the Four Square is definitely a superette rather than a supermarket, so good for snacks/sundries but not great for food shopping. There is a fish and chip shop (very nice), and a cafe (good but slightly pricey) in the immediate vicinity.

ETA 2017: I'm told the dairy opposite the Four Square is branching out into hot food, but cannot confirm by personal experience.

If you're up for a ten minute walk then it's an easy stroll back to Strathmore (just through the tunnel) where there is a bakery/cafe, another fish and chip shop (more run of the mill), a Chinese takeaway, and an Indian place.

Obviously you can also bring a packed lunch from home if that is your preference, and we will have our usual assortment of snacks available throughout the day.

Locations for Friday and Monday brunches tbc very shortly.

Got a new fandom to pimp? (Someone must, surely...)

Got an old fandom to reminisce about? (Inevitable Smallville Renaissance anyone???)

Got a hot topic to discuss? (Mod it yourself if you want, demand suggest someone else do so if you prefer.)

Got a character that everyone would love if they only knew them? (Or someone we already love but would enjoy being reminded about?)

Got a vaguely fannish game to play?

Please volunteer in comments to this post, or @ or DM me on twitter.

THE MORE THE MERRIER!

Also, shihadchick has asked me to draw your attention to this Pictionary Farming poll: https://t.co/vzr8PT16du, so please go forth and submit.

Lastly, a reminder that there was considerable interest expressed last year in "two minute pimps" (which in practice, I think, means "single digit minute pimps" at your own discretion). So if you've never presented before but would like to try in the most low-pressure way imaginable, or you have several small things you'd like to introduce but not bother doing a full presentation on, then please put your hand up for as many or as few as you'd like, and I will sort them into some kind of thematic structure.

Please also feel free to think outside the box -- last year we had a couple of quite "different" presentations, in the form of historical/literary primers, art and audio presentations, etc. The official g/t17 definition of fannish content (by V fiat) is "friends and fellow fangirls will be interested in seeing/hearing this". So seriously, go wild.

*****

Pictionary -- shihadchick
Pub Quiz -- arysteia china_shop
Saturday night vidshow -- maudlinrose
Sunday night vidshow -- meelie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt -- maudlinrose
That Superhero Thing I've Been Threatening for Three Years -- arysteia
Rivers of London -- sixth_light
Cozy British TV Murder Mysteries -- sixth_light
Supergirl -- erilyn
Smallville Nostalgia -- erilyn
Bright Sessions -- labellementeuse ???
Stardew Valley -- labellementeuse
Adventure Zone -- aworldinside stickmarionette
Wonder Woman -- arysteia stickmarionette
Quantum Break -- blademistress
Dirk Gently -- blademistress
Star Trek Retrospective -- mab_browne
K-Drama -- china_shop
Pod Save America -- jocondite
SKAM -- jocondite
Battle Creek -- cross_stitchery
The Good Place -- shihadchick

Hey guys,

It's not really quite that time yet, but I have been devilishly organised -- WORSHIP ME -- and started making bookings. So can confirm at this early juncture that the dates for this year's get/together will be the weekend of 7 and 8 October, and as always the bracketting 6 and 9 for those who are in town/can take leave/would like to make a long weekend of it.

I do strongly recommend out-of-towners make accommodation plans as quickly as they reasonably can, as the World of Wearable Arts complication seems to be multiplying with each passing year.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to offer feedback on last year's g/t, and apologies for never quite getting around to responding. I did hugely appreciate it all, and fortunately totally agreed too. Love it when that happens!

Extended Hours Saturday:

"I really enjoyed the longer run time on Saturday. It made my day feel less pressured, and I felt positive about being able to have more breaks between scheduled items instead of rushing." -- arysteia

"I too really enjoyed the longer runtime on Saturday this year. THOUGH I AM DOOMED TO NEVER BE ABLE TO FINISH MY VIDSHOWS. DDD: Maybe book the hall until even later - not so we'd necessarily plan on using it, but so the time's there if we need it." -- maudlinrose

"Saturday! I liked it long, too, and pub quiz & vids are actually pretty fun to have later. (I would have happily stuck around for the last five vids, personally.)" -- labellementeuse

"In principle I think the longer Saturday is a good idea. This year it was just a problem of me not listening to my body telling me to take it easy *g*." -- kiwisue

"Obviously I don't have previous years to compare to, but I really enjoyed the long Saturday. It felt like just the right length, with enough time to get lots of content in, but still have breaks and not feel rushed." -- owlishfun

I feel like there's a quorum here for keeping extended hours. Obviously self care something to bear in mind.

Pizza Party:

"I also thought the 'pizza party' went very smoothly, and I want to take this opportunity to give a big thumbs up to everyone's ordering and cashing up skills." -- arysteia

"Next year I'd suggest we move some tables into the main hall for pizza/quiz, and that way people can eat while quizzing; I think that'd work well." -- maudlinrose

I think the only thing I didn't like was pub quiz being broken up by dinner/eating off non-plates in the room. (This is because I am a nut who hates lap dinner.) I think I would have preferred it if a 30-minute dinner break had been scheduled in before or after pub quiz instead of in the middle just so I could stretch my legs a little bit, sit at the table and eat, etc. -- labellementeuse

The idea of tables for pizza is a great one! I liked the pizza quiz and thought it fit nicely in the evening time slot. -- dewey3067

"I really loved the Saturday format & agree that pizza while playing pub quiz would be A+." -- blademistress

Can I get some follow up/additional opinions on the 'set up tables for pizza during quiz' vs 'dinner first, quiz second' suggestions?

Reduced Hours Sunday:

"Sunday was less good for me; we were up against the clock, and we made the best of it, but it felt like a little bit of an anti climax. I would return to a full day here for preference." -- arysteia

"For Sunday, I think you're right, and a return to the traditional 5-6pm finish would be better." -- maudlinrose

"Sunday I agree, it was a tad wee bit rushed..." -- labellementeuse

"I agree that the Sunday did end somewhat anticlimactically (though it was still a brilliant day!), and I really regret not being able to attend the dinner but my ankle was killing me by the then and I was ready to head home." -- owlishfun

Again, I think there's a quorum here for returning to standard hours. Self care still a good thing!

Sunday Dinner/Drinks:

"It was a bit of a marathon for me coming up with a way for us to spend Sunday afternoon together; I was very conscious that transport is an issue, as well as finding a venue that can handle a large boisterous group, and there really aren't a lot of combined restaurant/bars that are happy for people to sit around all afternoon. I actually thought the Cutting did the job well, given our limitations, and I quite enjoyed being able to have a couple of drinks before dinner. I know it's not the most salubrious of venues, however, and I'm open to all suggestions re preferences for Sunday dinner next year." -- arysteia

"I did really enjoy spending a couple of hours drinking cider in a pub." -- maudlinrose

"I quite liked the drink before dinner and I thought the food was very nice! (Although food is my 11th priority on g/t weekend.) So not all bad, and it did mean that people who were on their last legs/had trains and planes to catch could make it. I didn't even mind the Cutting - hilariously out of our usual scene but it was warm and dry and the drinks were very, very cheap. (On the other hand: somewhere slightly more central would have made staying later a bit more comfortable for me.)" -- labellementeuse

Can I especially ask for further comments/suggestions here? The way I see it we have a few options: a) straight to Kilbirnie at ~7pm as in years past, choice of the Indian or the Thai based on majority vote; b) drinks at the Cutting, stay there for dinner (ie as last year but starting later); c) quick drink at the Cutting (or alternatively Gasworks in Miramar?) then to Kilbirnie for dinner. Otoh that's probably pushing dinner a bit late for some, otoh it may suit early leavers to come for a drink but skip dinner? Please make your voice heard here if nowhere else.

Content:

"There was some mention of maybe making the art segment a regular feature the way we do vids and I am very much in favour of that. I think if we have a full day on Sunday like we used to, that I'd also like another discussion panel." -- dewey3067

"I always enjoy the discussion sessions, any chance of another on Sunday if the program is expanded? Apart from talking about stuff, I enjoyed all the presentations with a special shout-out to the history ones, and both the art and podfic ones." -- kiwisue

"Thirding - I loved the shit out of the art presentation especially, and would greatly enjoy that becoming a regular event." -- maudlinrose

"An opportunity for 2 minute informal mini pimps." -- blademistress

Yes to all these things, but if you have any other ideas let's be having them.