WriterCon UK

Just some last minute details:

The Lebanese restaurant. A table for 20 is booked for 8.00. (They know us: "Yes, you come every year; you all have funny nicknames.") I will circulate a couple of menus before the quiz so we can choose what we want beforehand and give them a list as we arrive to speed things up. (There is also an online Menu here if you want a preview).

The Buffet. hab318princess has kindly been liaising with the hotel staff for us, and we've agreed the following menu:

STARTERS
Curried Sweet Potato Soup with Onion Cream (on the side) Allergens: Milk
Salad Station: Mixed Leaves, peppers, red onion, Pomegranate
Meat & Cheese Board: Ham, peppered pastrami, salami, cheese, tapenade Allergens: Milk

MAIN DISHES
Chicken Fillets with a mushroom, caper & parsley sauce* Allergens: Milk
Tilapia Fillets with a sautee leeks, fennel & mustard sauce* Allergens: Milk, Mustard
Roast Cauliflower Risotto (v)
Served with roast potatoes and roasted Mediterranean vegetables (with no tomatoes!).
* We've asked for the sauces to be served separately.

DESSERTS
Chocolate Torte Allergens: Milk, Trace of nuts. Gluten free
Mixed Fruit Eton Mess Allergens: Milk
Fresh Fruit Salad

There will also be wine and soft drinks provided.

Saturday Lunchtime. There will be a special menu for us, with a wide choice, at lunchtime on Saturday.

Cocktails. We will have a cocktail menu as usual.

Raffle. Don't forget to bring things for the raffle!!

Parking. Car parking is free as part of our special deal. It might be wise to mention it to the staff when you check in and check out.

Bar Food. They have a new system where you have to order bar food in the restaurant, but you can eat it in the bar. Not sure how it works, but we'll find out tomorrow!

See you tomorrow in the bar!

If you've signed up but haven't yet paid your membership fee, please pay asap -- there are instructions on the sign-up post. (And if you're not sure whether you've paid or not, just comment and I'll check for you ;-)

If you're still deciding: the hotel has asked us to confirm numbers at least two weeks before the event. So

please sign up here by Friday 24 August.

We'll post the programme of events as soon as it's finalised, but I can already tell you that there will be a craft session, two or three talks about various aspects of fandom and creating fanworks, discussion panels, a fandom quiz, a fandom game, and the raffle, plus lots of time to socialise.

Hope to see you there!

For those who prefer to use LJ, there is also a sign-up post here.

Edit: Some people have had a problem booking a room at our special rate, but we've spoken to the hotel and all is sorted! Note that you do need to book by phone rather than online.

Dates:
Friday 7th September to Sunday 9th September

Venue:
Ramada Hotel, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GG

Membership Cost: £42.
This covers room hire, refreshments during breaks (including tea, coffee, pastries and cookies!) on Saturday and on Sunday morning, a private room for the Saturday evening buffet (but not the cost of the buffet itself, nor of other meals) and a GOODY BAG!

Programme:
Friday: Introductions, quiz, goody bags and socialising.
Saturday: A full day of talks, workshops and a craft session, followed by more socialising and the buffet.
Sunday morning: More talks, the AGM, the raffle, even more socialising... and goodbyes :-(

Accommodation:
Members are responsible for booking their own accommodation. gillo and hab318princess have arranged a special rate, so just mention that you're attending the Writercon event. The price is £70 per night for a single room and £80 for a double, and includes a breakfast buffet (where you can choose anything from a full English breakfast to fruit and yogurt). Car parking is free as a special favour to us.

As usual, there will be optional alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, and an optional Friday evening trip to the Lebanese restaurant, Aqua.

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Please, unless you really can't avoid it, don't wait until the last minute to sign up.

At last year's AGM, members voted to increase the membership fee to by £5 to £42 to cover increased costs. Financially, however, we will still need 19 people to ensure that we can pay for the venue, plus wine and goody bags. Last year, and the year before, we had a scare, and for a while we thought we'd have to cancel the event. This year, we'll be posting reminders on LJ and Dreamwidth, and sending out emails, hils will be promoting us on social media as usual, and we'll generally be chasing you a bit. At the AGM we discussed setting a cut-off date ("Sign up by such-a-date or it's off") but no one can decide on a sensible date, so please sign up as soon as you can! You can pay nearer the time.

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Signing up
To sign up for Writercon UK 2018, just comment on this post, copying and pasting the template below. The comments are screened, and if we need to clarify anything, I'll contact you by PM.

<b>Your online/fandom name:</b> <b>Your real name/PayPal name:</b> <b>Your fandoms:</b> <b>Your favourite fandom and/or character/pairing (for goody bag purposes):</b> If your fandom is rare, please suggest a source of pictures and other information: <b>Do you prefer to opt out of the craft session:</b> <b>Any food allergies, intolerances, or special dietary requirements</b>: <b>Any foods you particularly dislike (we'll do our best, but it may not be possible to avoid everything you list)</b>: <b>Do you prefer wine or a soft drink?</b>: <b>Anything else we should know</b>:

Your data -- username, real name, email address and PayPal account name -- will be used for the purpose of organising Writercon UK meetings only. It will be stored securely for two years, after which time it will be deleted, but you can ask to be removed from our mailing list and have your data deleted at any time.

Payment
You can register now, and pay later. Last call for payments will be a month before the event, but we'll remind you before that if you haven’t paid up!

This year we're using PayPal's 'Send money to friends and family' facility.

( Instructions under the cut... )

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tlanti and kazzy_cee will be recruiting speakers/workshop leaders shortly, and we'll remind you about raffle prizes nearer the time.

Finally - don't forget to pimp Writercon UK to all your friends!

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People signed up so far (20):

bogwitch
curiouswombat
enchantersnight
gowerstreetcat
hab318princess
hils
hobbituk
kazzy_cee
lady_smutterella
lilachigh
misc_plinks
ningloreth
Pixie Barefoot
signe_chan
speakr2customrs
thismaz
tlanti
trepkos
txorakeriak
Winifred Zachery