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Post by bixaorellana on May 5, 2017 2:38:08 GMT
After 8 1/2 years, Anyport is having its first meet-up.
Although a few of us have managed to get together here and there, this is a concerted effort to have a social gathering with as many as can make it. We will be meeting on Friday, June 9 this year in central London ~ hooray!
Specific details will be announced as soon as a meeting spot easily accessible to everyone is decided upon. It will be someplace where we can eat and the idea is that we'll start noonish or a little before to allow for everyone to get there.
Please, if at all possible, try to make it! This really is a case of the more, the merrier and surely we are all curious about each others 3D selves, right? Also, if you could say that you're coming -- either on this thread, or rsvp me via PM if you're shy -- that would be great.
So exciting!
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Post by mickthecactus on May 5, 2017 8:54:12 GMT
After 8 1/2 years, Anyport is having its first meet-up. Although a few of us have managed to get together here and there, this is a concerted effort to have a social gathering with as many as can make it. We will be meeting on Friday, June 9 this year in central London ~ hooray! Specific details will be announced as soon as a meeting spot easily accessible to everyone is decided upon. It will be someplace where we can eat and the idea is that we'll start noonish or a little before to allow for everyone to get there. Please, if at all possible, try to make it! This really is a case of the more, the merrier and surely we are all curious about each others 3D selves, right? Also, if you could say that you're coming -- either on this thread, or rsvp me via PM if you're shy -- that would be great. So exciting! Me please!
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Post by lagatta on May 5, 2017 9:50:26 GMT
That sounds wonderful. No, I can't go, I should be in a (welcome) rush of work then. I can work a little while travelling, but not 15 hours a day!
It is a wonderful time of year as London is quite far north, so the days will be very long...
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Post by bixaorellana on May 5, 2017 15:39:11 GMT
Yaaaay, Mick! LaGatta, you will be missed but at least it's for a good cause. Thanks for at least considering it. I hope everyone will at least look into the possibilities of attending. You never know when a deal might drop into your lap.
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Post by lagatta on May 5, 2017 15:50:09 GMT
The English editor of the book I'm working on is in London (and the Italian in Rome) I may be able to get a trip out of this, but it would be later in the year, so days in London would be very short, as they are in Amsterdam.
It has been raining here in Montréal (and throughout at least western Québec and eastern Ontario) for weeks - record rain in April and it hasn't stopped in May, except for the odd warm, sunny day. So London or Amsterdam won't be worse from that standpoint (they are in the same weather system).
I've only been to London for a few days, working at a conference (I was in continental Europe at the time; no, they didn't call for me across the pond!) Bookshops one can only dream of...
London is an expensive city for lodging. If people have limited budgets, sometimes it is possible to stay at university residences.
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Post by rikita on May 5, 2017 17:33:22 GMT
i'd come, but i'll be in morocco at the time ... so, anyone who wants to meet up there ...
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Post by bixaorellana on May 5, 2017 17:50:29 GMT
Oh drat! I mean I'm super happy for you about Morocco and would love to see you there, but sure wish you were able to make London. LaGatta ~ your assignment is to figure out a way to wheedle a trip for June 9.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 5, 2017 19:04:18 GMT
Wild horses could not keep me away.....
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Post by mich64 on May 5, 2017 23:15:16 GMT
Best Wishes to this wonderful gathering! I so wish that I would be able to attend but our holiday to Italy in September is already booked. (Still hoping I will meet Tod in Venice!)
I look forward to photographs and stories of the get together! Enjoy everyone!
Cheers!
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 23:21:25 GMT
Well, I'll be arriving at Heathrow this time -- for once, Air France was cheaper than the Eurostar.
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Post by rikita on May 6, 2017 0:02:55 GMT
(Still hoping I will meet Tod in Venice!) sorry, can't help finding this a bit funny, as in "tod in venedig"/"death in venice" ...
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2017 1:01:18 GMT
Cheery, Cheery, Cheery ~ yaay yaay yaay! Kerouac the Channel hopper. Oh, Mich ~ fingers crossed you and Tod meet up. Yes, there will be pictures etc. so later everyone will be saying "Damn -- I shoulda gone to that!" Good one, Rikita!
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Post by mossie on May 6, 2017 8:04:46 GMT
I will be there, whatever.
And I am amazed at you Kerouac, when you factor in the horrible journeys between city and airport at each end compared to simply strolling on and off a train, there can be no contest. Even the terminal experiences alone put me off, so it may cost a few bob extra it is worth it.
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Post by onlyMark on May 6, 2017 8:25:26 GMT
I currently have planned to accompany Mrs M on her business trip to Zimbabwe then, so I'll shall raise a glass to you all at the same time.
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Post by lagatta on May 6, 2017 13:25:10 GMT
And yes, of course Tod in Venedig. I didn't think of that because I didn't read German then, so I read it either in French or in English; I forget. I think it was in French, though normally I'd read books written in other Germanic languages in English, but I think someone at the house where I was living back then had it in French. I should re-read it in German.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2017 16:27:31 GMT
Anyport's flyboy is not flying in, but will still be there ~ hooray!
Oh, Mark -- it's lovely that you & Mrs. M. are going to Zimbabwe and we eagerly await your report on that. Still, it would have been perfect if you could have returned to the land of your birth for this occasion. We will clink glasses in your direction.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 16:35:20 GMT
I believe that bixaorellana already has a list of 7 people who will be attending, some of whom are still lurking in the shadows.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2017 17:15:49 GMT
Well, here are the five attendees who have responded on this thread, in the order in which they responded: Bixa Mick Cheery Kerouac Mossie And yes, two more have committed to coming and there is one fence-sitter at present.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 17:35:47 GMT
Well, due to the very short notice, making arrangements from across the pond would cost a fortune.
I likely would have been able to pull it off with some more prior notice.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2017 18:09:56 GMT
Casimira, unfortunately it's no longer true that securing tickets early saves money. I just checked on what tickets would cost if I bought them right now instead of when I did, a while back. Not only are most of them the very same, some are even cheaper.
That said, it's expensive from Mexico and from the US. Sometimes people can save money and layover time by creating their own itineraries. In your case, for instance, you might be able to save a good bit by making your own itinerary from NO to NY, then NY to London.
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Post by lagatta on May 6, 2017 20:08:14 GMT
For some reason, it is often cheaper for me to arrive in Brussels. Obviously if heading to Amsterdam I simply take the train, but the Eurostar is often expensive.
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Post by onlyMark on May 6, 2017 21:51:33 GMT
Norwegian are cheap from the USA to London.
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Post by fumobici on May 6, 2017 21:55:37 GMT
Well, due to the very short notice, making arrangements from across the pond would cost a fortune. I likely would have been able to pull it off with some more prior notice. Same here. I was disappointed it was as soon as next month, I too cannot afford a peak season ticket, especially on such relatively short notice. I've been looking at prices and the flights are all (at least!) several hundred dollars more than I paid last year to go to Venice. Also accommodations in London are seemingly about double what they are in Paris or Rome, it's more like Zurich, maybe even worse. I may end up in a hostel or such next visit, as the one non-negotiable demand I make of lodging in a major city is that I must wake up within easy walking distance of the very center. I do very much want to go back to London before long, but it for sure won't be this summer and probably not this year at all either. I'm sure it will be a good time and you'll have fun.
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Post by questa on May 7, 2017 0:41:32 GMT
**looks wistfully at map and backpack** I will be there in spirit although not in the flesh. It is such a l-o-n-g way from Oz and I would almost have to mortgage my house to afford it. Please take lots of photos and share your stories with us. Travel safe...
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Post by bixaorellana on May 7, 2017 1:13:48 GMT
Wow, Questa -- I just looked (Adelaide to London) and that is a reeeeally long flight! On the bright side, your ticket would be significantly LESS than I paid for mine. But thanks for the kind thoughts and you will indeed be thought of.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 3:50:52 GMT
Well, due to the very short notice, making arrangements from across the pond would cost a fortune. I likely would have been able to pull it off with some more prior notice. Same here. I was disappointed it was as soon as next month, I too cannot afford a peak season ticket, especially on such relatively short notice. I've been looking at prices and the flights are all (at least!) several hundred dollars more than I paid last year to go to Venice. Also accommodations in London are seemingly about double what they are in Paris or Rome, it's more like Zurich, maybe even worse. I may end up in a hostel or such next visit, as the one non-negotiable demand I make of lodging in a major city is that I must wake up within easy walking distance of the very center. I do very much want to go back to London before long, but it for sure won't be this summer and probably not this year at all either. I'm sure it will be a good time and you'll have fun. Ditto Fumobici. It isn't the airfare alone but the lack of knowledge regarding lodging etc. Another year perhaps and cheers.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 5:08:44 GMT
Perhaps a future event will be on the correct continent.
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Post by questa on May 7, 2017 7:32:20 GMT
South East Asia??? I could be your guide?
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 7:33:41 GMT
Or we could make it challenging for everybody and choose something like Easter Island.
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Post by lagatta on May 7, 2017 11:44:41 GMT
I know people who've stayed at University residences in London (that are in really central locations; one is an art school, which would certainly interest fumobici. I don't have the coordinates though; this would have to be looked up, as well as the available dates.
The Tube is also much more expensive than public transport in Paris, for example. I was asked to be a volunteer interpreter at the European Social Forum in London (I'd already done it in Florence and in Paris) but they couldn't assure prior payment of our expenses, and a lot of the interpreters (some from countries with a much lower standard of living) found themselves up Shit's Creek. I was glad to have refused the invitation, much as I wanted to go to London.
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