Meet-up at Spade Oak/Old Thatch, Sun 18th May 2014

[Lenoir]

Edit: Pipped to the post again!

Only by 1 minute!

[Susan Webster]

Hi all,

I have to apologize for not writing sooner. december was just a crazy month with hardly any time on the computer and since 1st of January we were dealing with all kinds of problems in the house caused by the blizzard and the following cold spell.

My husband asked me to figure out if there will be a Blyton forumites meeting in Bourne End or not (sorry, I'm not that interested in Birmingham, but would come to Twyford in a heart beat if there would take place another EB Day this year).

Some of the forumites have met Jacky Hawthorne (or maybe even e-mailed her), so maybe you could persuade/convince her to open on Saturday 17th of may?
Then we could admire the "Old Thatch" gardens and have some cake and tea inside.

André needs to book our flights for May and if there won't be a get together at all, then we have to skip our short trip to the UK and just return from Jersey - London to Boston on May 16th.

Hopefully this time I will hear from more members if they would be interested and could make it on that Saturday. I really would enjoy meeting you all!
I'm looking forward to hear from you.

BTW I will bring this thread up to the top once more on Saturday morning hoping that there are much more forumites active in the threads who might notice this thread.

Cheers,

birmingham would be a good venue for an EB Day as its central and eaasier to get to from all parts of the uk and has some brilliant places to hold the day . the universities would be great as so would the NEC, the ICC and the new library --just to name a few.

[Katharine]

I hope there's some kind of get together this year. I've just been looking up journey times/prices. I was surprised to discover that Bourne End is actually closer to Suffolk than is Birmingham. It's also much cheaper to get there by train. Only £37 to Bourne End, £80 to Birmingham!

I suppose it depends on what kind of gathering we have. If it's a 'proper' day as in the past, then in theory it wouldn't matter where it's held, it's the arranging of it all such as hiring the hall, finding guest speakers etc. that's the main thing. If it's an informal gathering, personally I'd rather have it somewhere like Old Thatch, or Corfe Castle - places that have a definite Enid Blyton connection.

[Chrissie777]

I hope there's some kind of get together this year. I've just been looking up journey times/prices. I was surprised to discover that Bourne End is actually closer to Suffolk than is Birmingham. It's also much cheaper to get there by train. Only £37 to Bourne End, £80 to Birmingham!

Maybe there could be two EB get togethers this year, one in Birmingham and one in Bourne End?

[Susan Webster]

great idea--2 EB Days . i like it ! sue

[Julie2owlsdene]

I think if there was to be an Enid Blyton Day this year, Tony would have told us. So I doubt now that there will be one. If there was going to be one it would havae been at Twyford in the usual hall I would guess.

[Lucky Star]

Katharine train fares are not fixed. It might be that it costs £80 to get to Birmingham on one particular day because trains are busy then and it would cost much less on another day. You can also often get discounts nearer the time. You should really wait until a date is finalised before realistically sourcing train fares.

I agree with Julie that it is highly unlikely that there will be an official EBS Day this year. Its now far too late. Therefore it will be an informal gathering. Birmingham is well located but I cannot see the universities or library being interested in hiring us a room; and what would we do in it anyway? Much better to be in the open air someplace with a Blyton connection.

[Katharine]

Thanks for that. I always thought trains were cheaper if booked in advance. Still, not much point me speculating too much until a definite date/location has been decided upon that suits as many people as possible.

[pete9012S]

Meet at the Spade Oak for lunch and drinks- Tour of Old Thatch-Tea and cake at Old Thatch-A quiz with prizes and a raffle (venue to be decided)

Or Corfe day similar itinerary,Pub-Castle-Viv's-Quiz-Ices-

[Julie2owlsdene]

Sounds fine to me, Pete. Or even the Knoll House Hotel where Enid used to stay. A great place to enjoy a fine afternoon, with great grounds to stroll in. Also if you want a quiz then they have the writing room with tables, all looking towards the bronze bust of Enid Blyton!

[Chrissie777]

way? Much better to be in the open air someplace with a Blyton connection.

That's exactly my opinion as well.

[Chrissie777]

I think if there was to be an Enid Blyton Day this year, Tony would have told us. So I doubt now that there will be one. If there was going to be one it would havae been at Twyford in the usual hall I would guess.

Julie, I know that there won't be an EB Day in Twyford this year. That's why I suggested in the fall to meet in Bourne End instead.
I missed the one in 2008 when we were in the UK. This is the first time that we'll be close to the UK again since 2008 and as there is no Twyford this year, I suggested to meet nevertheless in Bourne End.
At that point I didn't know that "Old Thatch" is not open on Saturdays.
If there would be enough people (lets say 10 forumites or 5 forumites with their spouses) who would take the time to come to Bourne End on Saturday May 17th, I would get in touch with Jacky Hawthorne and try to persuade her to open "Old Thatch" on that particular Saturday.

But all the forumites who were still interested in a gathering some 2 or 3 months ago, don't seem to be interested now or don't read this thread.
However, my husband needs to book our flights this weekend (we'll go to Europe on vacation from 1st of May until 18th of May). So if almost nobody reacts, I guess we'll skip the flight from the Channel Islands to London and the two nights in or near Bourne End and just fly back home to Boston on May 16th instead of May 18th.

Again: why can't you guys have two gatherings this year, one in Birmingham at another date and one in Bourne End on 17th of May?
So some of you could join both EB gatherings and others for whom Bourne End is more convenient and closer could meet us there?
I don't quite understand why it's so difficult to come to a conclusion (right term?).

To be honest, I'm very very disappointed about this lack of reaction/interest. But if the others are unable in January to make up their minds about a gathering in mid May, then there's nothing I can do about it.

I also sent a PM to Duncan MacLaren aka Green Hedges, but still have not heard back from him (I was hoping so much that he could guide us through Bourne End and show us the places, houses and streets that he discovered years ago related to the FFO & Dog in his remarkable 2008 thread "Fatty & Co in Peterswood").

[Chrissie777]

Sounds fine to me, Pete. Or even the Knoll House Hotel where Enid used to stay. A great place to enjoy a fine afternoon, with great grounds to stroll in. Also if you want a quiz then they have the writing room with tables, all looking towards the bronze bust of Enid Blyton!

Hi Julie,

Where is the Knoll House Hotel?

[Katharine]

Chrissie, sorry you are having difficulty trying to get people to commit. For myself, I'm still interested, and at this point in time, have nothing else arranged for that day. However, with 3 children who suddenly spring dates on me at short notice, such as competitions/exams they need to attend, I'm afraid that May is too far away for me to say 100%.

I took a big gamble back in 2012 and bought the tickets for the day in Twyford, and thankfully nothing else cropped up. However, last year, the walking tour of Beckenham clashed with an open day at my daughter's university, and I had a real crisis of conscience as to which I should attend. As it turned out, it worked out well, as I took my youngest daughter with me, while my husband and son accompanied my other daughter, and my little one probably enjoyed herself more looking at Enid's houses than university accommodation.

Sorry that probably doesn't help with your arrangements, but that's as definite as I can be at the moment. Hopefully some other forumites are more organised than me, and I'll just turn up on the day if I can.

[Julie2owlsdene]

The knoll House Hotel is in Studland, Chrissie. Dorset, not far from the golf course where Enid used to play golf with her husband. In that golf course near by, there is a large photo of Enid and her hubby playing golf, I went inside to see it!

The trouble with trying to arrange something is difficult as many people are either working, can't get holidays etc. You have posted the dates that you will be on holiday, Chrissie, so if I were you I would just go along with whatever plans you have in mind for your visit, and tell the forumites where you will be at a certain date, if some can turn up I'm sure they will. I wouldn't get too downhearted about any lack of interest, it's your holiday and you do what you were planning to do anyway.

All we can do on these get togethers is keep suggesting places that may appeal to many and try and get a date sorted. I understand that coming from the USA you have to book in advance, Chrissie, and all you can do really is stick with your own plans, and if anyone is available on those dates you've given to join up with you, then so be it. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.