October 12, 2004

London Meetup - The Sequel Sequel Are we still meeting up on Thursday? Is it still the Chandos?
  • I'm all set. I should be there around 7 - possibly earlier.
  • I can do 6.30pm: what time is good for you, Al? Now taking shoutout requests, BTW.
  • Wait. You have to request them?
  • I am so there. I can do from 6.30 (I think). Excellent.
  • I won't be able to make it. Sorry. (I've got an interview on Thursday. I've also got an interview on Friday, but in London, so I'd probably be able to make it on Friday. But thats probably of little use...)
  • Awww! (but good luck, mate!)
  • Cheers. After five months of sitting uselessly on the dole, ignored by everyone in the world, suddenly I get four interviews in a couple of days (I've got two next week, too). I'm all a bit confused. And sort of excited.
  • Good luck, dng.
  • Good luck, dude.
  • Should be there about 7ish.
  • Good luck, Flash.
  • I just want to tell you both...
  • Don't forget the cameras.
  • Good luck DNG ... unfortunately I won't be able to make it either.
  • Best of luck, dng! Sorry, fell asleep there, and missed classes. Have some "fresher's flu" that's supposed to pass in 24 hours, but I think this one will take a while longer. The earliest train I can get on will take me to St. Pancras at 6.45pm. With luck, I'll only be there about 7.15pm or so? Sorry it's so late.
  • Eww. The Chandos. Bad choice, Londoners - unless they've changed it significantly since I used to meet people there. It used to be this dull, dark place that was always absolutely rammed with tourists, work-leavers and pre-theatre folk. The only consolation was the Sam Smiths. Still, have fun. If you'd done it a couple of weeks ago, I could have joined you. Lucky escape for you all there...
  • You'd better cancel the whole thing. I can't make it.
  • this dull, dark place that was always absolutely rammed with tourists, work-leavers and pre-theatre folk. The only consolation was the Sam Smiths. Are you sure you're thinking of the Chandos, Dec (may I call you Dec?)? That sounds more like that other place, you know, er...London, yes that was it. Actually, it was fine last time I was there, but I'm sure any ambient gloom will be enlightened with the divine effulgence of scintillating discourse. On preview...Skrik, Skrik - Alnedra's come from Singapore, and you can't get here from Norway?
  • Wish I was there, a continent away
  • *demands a shoutout on pain of [server] death*
  • Decani - and your suggestion for a nice, non-rammed Central London meeting-place pub would be...? :-) I've certainly not found one - and my lord, have I looked - and judging from the first thread I don't think anyone else has either. The Chandos is the best meeting-up pub in London - dark, dull, smoky, cheap (these are all good things), you can almost always get a table and nobody except you stays for very long. So even if there's a bag of twats sat next to you, they won't be round for longer than it takes to drink a pint of man-in-box. And yeah, it's Sam Smith's. Oooh, I love it. Alnedra - good luck with the Fresher's Flu. It's a bugger, but it normally does pass in a day or so... can't wait to meet you (hammer or no hammer).
  • Something came up and I won't be able to go namely, the fact that I live in Florida, USA. Have fun and be good.
  • That's just laziness, the_bone... I'm very disappointed...
  • The Chandos sounds great -- wish I could be there. If you see a guy with a hat and beard, pretend it's me. Hell, tell them they said they'd buy you a drink -- it might even work!
  • Well, let me come clean here: I've lived in NYC for the last two and a half years and it's been a while before that since I regularly made central London a major watering spot. I tended to hang out more in Clapham, Camden and Hoxton. Especially Clapham (yes, I am a South Londoner of long standing). Of course, it's virtually impossible to find a decently sane pub in the central area, especially on a weekend. But the Chandos is in about the second most insane location, after Piccadilly. Places I used to find close to tolerable (assuming you need reasonable size, reasonable beer and a central location) were the Freemasons Arms in Long Acre (just about at Drury Lane), the Hole in the Wall at Waterloo (and it IS a hole, but it stays relatively uncrowded), a number of places in the Goodge Street area whose names I forget (helpful this, isn't it?) and the Three Compasses on Shaftesbury Avenue (or it might have been New Oxford Street. Damn this senility). None of these are especially wonderful, but they did tend to stay a bit more sane and tolerable than the Chandos. But again, I'm several years out of date so I'm probably talking through my arse. Of course, you should really meet up in the Intrepid Fox and gothpunk out to the max. I would.
  • If I don't get a shoutout, I'll beat up Dreadnought. Of course, I'll probably beat up Dreadnought anyways, just for fun.
  • Yeah, the Three Compasses is a nice place. And I think we might have actually been considering the Freemason's Arms for this meetup. Sadly, though, that cannot be confirmed, after the great archive catastophe of 2004. Central London is so often a horrible place to go out, especially if you need space for a fair-sized group of people. If only it wasn't so damn central... Recently, I've been favouring north of Oxford Street - fewer people than in SoHo, and a lot of them are strictly one-drink-after-workers, so there's a good turnover of seats. The Bricklayers Arms often seems to be empty, even when the Marquis and the Fitzroy just round the corner are packed. Which is nice. Dunno if the Chandos has improved in recent years, or just if I'm always really lucky with getting a table. I gues we'll see on Thursday (and thank the Lord we're not trying to meet on a Friday...) If it all fucks up, I'm taking yous to the Retro Bar to talk to the charming lesbians.
  • Oooh, oooh, memememememememememememememememe! shoutout, that is...
  • Meme?
  • Meme? Yes, it's short for Darshon. Didn't you know?
  • flashboy: Oh yeah... I used to go in The Bricklayers Arms quite a lot, but usually Saturday lunchtime. The seating upstairs was a bit weird - low tables and obscure chair arrangements - but it could work. And yeah, north of Oxford Street is good. That's where those Goodge Street pubs I can't remember the names of are...
  • You go, girls.
  • Plegmund, flashboy, Alnedra, some wander by mistake and me: any more?
  • *ahem* /shoutoutwhore
  • quid, I'm not sure you can top your last shoutout to me, but I'd love to see you try.
  • Babes, I'm totally all over that action.
  • I want THE CAROLINGIAN to be there.
  • Are bananas to be carried this evening?
  • I was planning to carry one. My best friend's coming along too!
  • Take pictures.
  • I've just returned from the meet up (I did actually make it, despite my excuses earlier). Shout outs were made, photos were taken, but not by me, so you'll have to wait for the others. (I was only there for an hour or two). I hope everyone else enjoyed themselves. Cast list: flashboy, quidnunc, plegmund, some wander by mistake, alnedra (although customs appeared to have detained her hammer, unfortunately) and a friend of alnedra's (whose name I didn't actually catch - sorry!).
  • And a hat. I brought a hat with me. A pimp hat. As demanded. Good meetup. Much beer. Nice one. Apologies to any present if I seemed distracted at any point - there was a guy sitting behind you all in a booth who was a dead ringer for Elijah Wood. What was I to do? Many shoutouts were made, and I'm sure many more were forgotten. I feel we raised the bar a bit too high last time, but we're treading water with our graphical hollers at the very least... Anyway, I'm back home now, sobering up and listening to the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Dig! is a superb film, I'd recommend it to anyone. Also, many thanks must go to my friend Ros, who I bumped into in the pub when I arrived, before she went off to the opera, which is why we had a table. Sweet.
  • Me jealous. Tell more.
  • So jealous. Want pictures NOW.
  • Agreed. Post them, you internet cockteasers.
  • Just woke up. Still a bit groggy. My friend's cooking something delicious with chicken and mushrooms. mmm... I will get the shoutouts scanned when I get back to Loughborough this afternoon and find someone who will scan them for me. Plegmund has taken the majority of the shoutouts, and also a few pictures. I have pics on my mobile which I will load as soon as I can. flashboy, you bastard! Why didn't you tell us there was a dead ringer for Elijah Wood sitting behind us! We could have turned around and ogled!
  • small>slightly o/t: My best friend is thinking of joining Mofi as well, but can't think of a good username. Any ideas?
  • I had a great time - if anything, I think my fellow monkeys are even more agreeable and entertaining in the flesh than on-line. I'm afraid my 'free with a packet of cornflakes' camera was not really up to the job on this occasion, and it will be 24 hours or more before I can attempt a salvage job on the pictures or scan the shoutouts. If you can't wait, and are prepared to put up with very bad but large images, the raw jpgs are here... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  • Sorry, 5 6 7 8 9 10
  • Alnedra is cute!
  • Piccies! Finally! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Here's the whole gallery.
  • If it helps any, Plegmund, I'm even worse at uploading than you are. Tried my hand at Photoshop, but after some horrendous results (dng's head going radioactive; blue specks ringing around flashboy and some wander by mistake...) I gave up. Raw jpgs all the way, I'm afraid. I'm not cute, Wolof. Put on your glasses, dear. Unless "cute" = "short, fat and ugly". Then, yep. *HUG*
  • It looks like you had a lovely time. I'm quite jealous of all these meetups. Thanks for sharing the pics with us!
  • Alnedra, you're very cute. In fact I think our UK Mofites should win the "Cutest Monkeys" award. Wonderful pics everyone!
  • Damn. Plegmund's geocities pics have been Monkeyfiltered. I really need to come to London, just so I can have a beer with you all.
  • Sorry, Alnedra, but I'm in full accord with Wolof.
  • Plegmund, you can send the pics to my email. I'll put them up in the same gallery, how's that? Bees, you too??? *shakes head in despair*
  • Alnedra is teh cy00t3.
  • Why, you're all cute! But especially Alnedra.
  • Great pics - but the funniest is the guy behind flashboy in Plegmund's #8.
  • Hmmm...audio recordings would be interesting at the next meetup wherever it is
  • Pff "audio recordings". We want live high-definition streaming video. You owe it to your fellow less-cool monkeys.
  • Personally, I would like to see flashy vids featuring flash, quid, pleg, dng and swbm's new boy band. Pimp hats and all.
  • I'd just like to say that this is probably the most accurate representation of me, in both a physical and spiritual sense, that has ever been produced. Although the guy behind me in number 8 is also hilarious.
  • I do like your hat, flashboy, and think the bananas an inspired touch. Where o where is Carmen Miranda?
  • Alnedra smiles, and I know that life is good. Such a lovely monkey. Who needs to send me her address.
  • I'm everlovin' pea-green jealous! Your meet-up looks like so much fun. Alnedra is petite, cuddly, and has adorable dimples. Plegmund has bedroom eyes. dng's head going radioactive; blue specks ringing around flashboy Alnedra, are you sure those effects weren't manifesting at the time you were in the room with those bad boys?
  • *fighting down the temptation to tell Plegmund to tidy his bedroom eyes*
  • Wot an utterly charming troop of monkeys!
  • Are there any monkeys interested in a meeting on the mainland? I'll be on that side of the pond for a few weeks in november.
  • Mainland?
  • No man is an Iland entire of itselfe; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. -- John Donne, Devotions Upon Energent Occaisions /feel free to substitute monkeys for man
  • by mainland i mean europe and by europe i mean western europe
  • *peeks over fence* Fiddlesticks! I have had limited internet access lately and I completely missed this new thread! I was actually going through Leceister Square at the appropriate time so I can not even use my public transport and rain excuse. *scampers away, curses world*
  • Shoutouts. Alnedra has the rest. Alnedra: OK, I'll send you (marginally) improved versions of my pics and you can add them to your gallery.
  • I've loaded them up on the gallery folks. Apologies I'm rushing off for lunch right now (have to pay my landlord money just before that, hence the rush), so I'll just give you the link to the gallery itself.
  • If in Alnedra's gallery you click through to Pleg's pic 8, the guy behind Al and her friend really does look a little like Elijah Wood. !
  • *checks* I know. Scary, innit?
  • The guy behind flashboy (Pleg's pic seven) looks like the character Colin from Love Actually, the one who can't get a date in London, but then goes to America where he is king. I loved that subplot. I'm glad you all had so much fun, and I was sorry I couldn't be there - mostly sorry that I didn't have the chance to meet Alnedra. Perhaps when I come back sometimes next year - how long will you be in the UK, Alnedra?
  • (Dreadnought was also sorry he wasn't there - he wasn't ignoring the thread, but has had a massive amount of work lately, and had a meeting with his supervisor the next day.)
  • I'll be here a year. Will probably go home during the summer break, but hop back in August to wrap up my dissertation. We've got time :) I have to say that meeting quidnunc et al., was a bit like meeting my favourite celebrities. I'd probably not be able to resist asking for autographs if I met forks or tracicle!
  • Gah! Al, why can I only see the first ten of your pictures, when it keeps telling me you've got 21? This renders me unable to see a) the rest of the shoutouts, and b) the partial Elijah. This frustrates me, and I am sure it's some entirely personal form of stupidity on my part. Help?
  • path and I can't see any more than the first ten either. Kinda relieved it's not just something up with our home network.
  • Wow, I got a WAAAAY COOOOL shout-out! Peachy Keen, guys. Thanks. I done downloaded it and have it on my desktop. /happy BlueHorse
  • I'm really terribly sorry about this. The Picturetrail server seems to have gobbled up everything I added. I've managed to fix that (I hope!). I'm afraid the shoutouts will take a bit more time. Went around town on Friday and Saturday and nobody does scanning - except the library. And they're booked solid until Monday evening. *sigh* I think I should have given you all the shoutouts, Plegmund. It would have gone up way sooner.
  • Sorry, Alnedra, you are way outvoted on the "cute" question. I think you'll just have to wear it now.
  • *groan* Anyways, I've got the shoutouts up. Took pics of them with my camera. Hopelessly inadequate measures, but at least they're there. I hope. Check back in the gallery again.
  • Love the hats! (Have to get me one of those mitres...)
  • Yay! Good stuff. And, yeah, that guy does look surprisingly like...
  • I'm starting to suspect a photoshop thingy going on in that pic.
  • But you can't, like, fake pictures, can you? I mean, how would we ever know what was real and what's not? That would be madness.
  • Well, it's official! London-meetup-mofi's are the coolest! Alnedra is adorable, Plegmund has the cutest dimples, flashboy is lookin' mysteriously sexy, quid-babe-alicious (that Dreadnought/jb shoutout was hilarious!), dng (hope the interview went great!), somewanderbymistake (good to see you!). And the shoutouts were perfect! I can't imagine the rest of us can top you guys in the mofi-meetup arena. We'll see how the California monkeys do. If, that is, they actually do it this time! ;> You guys are great! Thanks for the wonderful shoutout! /wondering if I can squeeze anymore exclamation points in this....
  • I think it really was Elijah Wood, but I didn't get much of a look at the time because he disappeared rather suddenly - not long before those blokes on big black horses rode past the window.
  • Getting shoutouts makes me want to do that Sally Fields Oscar speech, "You like me! You really like me!" thing. In the interest of maintaining my dowager dignity, however, I'll just say: "You like me!!" 'Ray me! Ahem, I meant: "Thank you!."
  • I love the shoutouts! I'll show the Number Two one to Mike - assuming it's for him. Poor bugger. :) And another vote for Alnedra==teh cy00t.
  • The shoutout is great! Thank you so much. And such serendipity - Dreadnought was actually crazy about the Titanic when he was a kid, as well as being still crazy about navies (submarines are his latest obsession object of serious academic research). But maybe a bit more accurate might have been me throwing him off... ;) I've saved it to be my desktop picture.
  • Here are all the exclamation points left unused by Darshon: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Y'all rock the party that rocks the body.
  • You guys are so photogenic and creative with those shoutouts. (although I'll always treasure my first--you never forget your first) Gonna be hard to top this. (TRY, California Monkeys. Please do. (Don't forget mememememememe!!)
  • Yay! Wonderful shoutout! I am so jelous that I couldn't go. This is going to sound really pathetic, but I stopped commenting because I was realising I wouldn't be able to go, and I kind of hopped you'd forget about me and wouldn't be offended that I didn't show up. But you shouted out to me and jb! How wonderful! To clarify jb's comment above: like all budding marritime historians, I went through a period at about 10 years of age where I obsessively found out everything I could about the Titanic disaster. JG Ballard remains one of my all time childhood heros. I wish I was a waycool explorer like him. Carolingian: I feel your pain in not being there. Only one solution is possible... another meetup! You people should all come to Cambridge sometime when it's warm and we can go punting.
  • I think we must have lost at least one shoutout, because I distinctly remember a big one for wolof, but it doesn't seem to be here.
  • *acck* Found it crumpled under my library books, when I brought them to scan on Saturday. Apologies! Vewwy vewwy sorry, Wolof and tracicle. Banana?
  • *is shocked!*
  • website under maintenance. I'll have to do this when I get back from campus. Apologies again!
  • Why are you apologising to me? Is it because you were beating me with your hammer again?
  • Hey! I got a shout out! Suddenly all is right with the world. Well, back to the opium pipe.
  • Finally got it up :) Not my week. First my wallet and watch get stolen due to my own massive stupidity, and now my laptop has been acting all weird. Need to check it again for viruses.
  • Alnedra - I'm so sorry about your wallet and watch - you didn't loose your passport, did you?
  • Ah, Alnedra, so sorry! But they certainly couldn't steal your good name. (You probably know the lines from Othello, but just in case: "Who steals my purse steals trash;
  • Thanks, jb, path. No, just the wallet, a whole passel of Singapore credit cards, and my student cards. So I have to go get them done up again. Credit cards all cancelled of course, after a very teary and apologetic phone call to my dad. I felt like such a twit. Still do.
  • These things happen - it's only recently that I have carried a wallet that wasn't attached to me by a string. I still keep my mittens that way, though. Only sensible.
  • Could you please be a little more suspicious in the future? Arseholes abound. And make sure you aren't in *any* way distracted when you're at an ATM, whether it's by a woman with a baby or not. (A common decoy.) It doesn't mean you're a bad person. Thank you.
  • Alnedra - sorry about the wallet. :-( Small reminder to self: Next time there's a meet-up, I have to go to the meet-up...
  • Ah, Alnedra, a pity ye've had all these troubles. This won't help at all now, but in future, if ye can, try not to carry more than one credit card about, or at most, two.
  • Wolof, I hear you. Will try to be a bit more hardhearted from now on. Think I'll only get money on-campus, where there are lots of students around.
  • So sorry to hear what happened, Alnedra. Don't feel like a twit. It happens to even the most cynical of us. Be safe. :)
  • Alnedra, are you quite sure your wallet didn't go missing immediately following the meetup? *peers suspiciously at Londoners, looking for signs of sudden wealth*
  • OK, I did it. My bad. what a bummer. sorry to hear about that, ned. hopefully it didn't color overmuch your perception of what sounded like a great evening.
  • Oh don't worry about it! I'm quite fine. A handsome and very witty police officer just spent an hour in my room taking down details very patiently. He didn't make me feel more like a twit, for which he has my undying gratitude. So it's an ill-wind etc.... I still love England very much. No worries about that.
  • Oh, and I love you all too! I'm going to bed now.
  • Well, I got that job. Hurrah! It must have been all the monkey luck I accrued by attending the meet up.
  • Woohoo! Congratulations! I hope this doesn't mean you'll be spending all your time, you know, working...
  • Congratulations dng!
  • I hope this doesn't mean you'll be spending all your time, you know, working... Oh, man, I hadn't thought of that... And, cheers, all! I'm off to get fairly (very, very) drunk.
  • Congratulations, dng! now your hunt is at an end, hurray!
  • So, how many of us lazy louts will be in line to touch on dng in a couple weeks? Hold outup your hands. seriously, Congrats to you, dng!
  • Nice one dng - great stuff mate.
  • Hurrah for dng! Does that mean drinks are on you next meetup? *wink*
  • Woo! Woo! Woowoowoo! Nice one, mate. :-)
  • Congratulations :)
  • Good one, dng.
  • Hey, I just checked this thread and I got a shout out!!! Thanks to all my nigaz in old blighty.
  • I also just checked and appreciate my shout as well. Yer good blokes, one and all!
  • I think we should have another meetup
  • I agree :)
  • What, a Christmas meetup? Can it include somewhere with food this time??
  • good idea ...
  • food=good
  • So - we meet in the fenlands, yes...?
  • So - we meet in the fenlands, yes...? This is a worry.
  • Christmas may be a little hard for me. However, anytime between 16th Dec (evening) to 23rd Dec is fine. And probably anytime after 28th is all right. Food = doubleplusgood! fenlands = uh...as long as no one offers any massages.
  • Brick Lane? Curry? Yum Yum
  • Let's re-FPP this SUCKAH. Allow me, please.