It's so secret, we've been openly planning it in the Discord for months!

Anyway, long story short: a whole bunch of Writeoff Folk happen to be in the same country on the same day, and we've decided this is a reason to get together and talk! That date is Sunday 30th October (which, of course, falls during the next Original Minific round), and this is a general thread to confirm who's coming and for me to spam everyone who is with Important Travel Details and Emergency Contact Numbers. Check below the line for the current plans and details; if you're coming and not certain that I know you're coming, please comment below so I can make sure everyone who needs it has a way to get in contact with the group. London is a big place, and I'd hate for us to get lost!

The Plan
Meeting Point: Regent's Park Tube Station. Which I realise is actually an entire network of labyrinthine tunnels building, but I'll probably have a sign or something to help people spot us.
Meeting Time: Let's say 12:00, but I'll probably be nearby from about 11:00 if anyone wants to be keen and show up early.
Plans: Chill and talk about writeoffs, life, writing, and how silly London is. I imagine we'll want to eat at some point? NB: Food in London can be very expensive. Bringing a packed lunch is not a terrible suggestion, for anyone who can.

Travel Suggestions:
I thoroughly recommend that anyone who's coming has some way of getting around on the Tube (London's Constantly Broken Delightful Underground Railway). For something like £6-7 you can get a Zones 1-2 Travelcard, which allows you to get any tubes, trains, or buses in Zones 1-2, which more than covers anything anyone could possibly want to see. Unless you want to see my house. That's in zone 6. Also, I'm not showing you that.

Anyone who uses public transport in London maybe more than three times in their life should probably invest in an Oyster Card. If you don't have one, they cost £5 and you can just top them up and use them for all major public transport services in London Zones 1-6. They have daily caps, which are horrendously complicated because they depend on what kinds of transport you use and where, but you'll never spend more on them than you would on a ticket. I have maybe two or three spare Oyster Cards, so if anyone wants to use those I'll have them with me. They'll have a little bit of money on them, but you would need to top them up a little.

Alternatively, if you have a contactless debit/credit card that works in the UK, you can use that exactly as you would an Oyster Card, and get charged exactly the same fare. This is a good choice for anyone who has one of those, because it won't cost you the additional £5.

I personally highly recommend having some way to use public transport in London. There is very little to see or do within reasonable walking range of Regent's Park, but if we can get on the Tube all of the cool parts of London are about 10-25 minutes away.

I think that about covers everything. I'll add more either in edits or comments below. Thanks everyone for your patience, and looking forward to seeing you all

It's halloween. Should we all dress as clowns?

5576392 It's also the weekend of London MCM Comicon, so frankly I don't think any costuming plans would look too out of place.

5576359

Alright horses, listen up. Quill might be playing nice calling this some sort of WriteOff Meetup, but the cool kids know that this is actually the First and Last Annual DubsCon, London's only one-day festival centered around America's Greatest Export, Dubs Rewatcher.

All guests will be required to present me with a gift suitable of my majesty, as well as perform the ancient Armenian Ritual of Initiation. Because I know how expensive your gifts will be, entry to the convention is free (not counting the required suggested donation of £50). In addition, I'll be offering various reward tiers for those who wish to pledge their loyalty to England's One True Ruler.

£100 will get you a stroke across the cheek. Add five quid if you want it to be tender and/or loving.

£500 will get you the stroke across the cheek, as well as a preserved lock of my hair.

£1000 will get you a sit-down dinner date at McDonald's with the Big Man himself (ME).

Offer only open while supplies last.

Lastly, as of this writing, I've hidden twelve golden stones around the city of London. The first guest to find them all will be given the antidote.

Hope to see you all there!

I can't go, but I'll coerce politely ask my editor to go on my behalf and represent me in all matters both personal and professional.

I'll be there in spirit!

Which is to say: At some point, someone will deny being me, and everyone will laugh nervously.

I’m so envious at all the Brits here (and perhaps Monokeras as well) living in the same area. It’s quite lonely down here.

Nonetheless, I hope you folks have fun with your meetup!

5576359 I'll be there, lads!

5576359
Monarch and Monokeras inveigled me in from parts outwith the Writeoff, so I should be able to make it there as well.

5576359

Hrm. What time would we be saying our goodbyes? I can save a bunch on train tickets if I book a specific train instead of a general ticket, but if I randomly guess then I'm probably gonna either cut everyone's day short, or sit in St Pancras for like three hours with nothing to do :B

(Also, book your train tickets early, kids. Don't be like me!)

Alternatively, what's the traffic like in London on a Sunday? I can book a parking ticket right by Regents Park for like £15, apparently, which would be awesome-convenient. But I was a London delivery driver for three years, and I ain't touching those roads with a barge pole if they're as bad on Sunday as they are in the weekday rush-hours.

5593816
Can't speak for anyone else, but I'll have to catch a train heading back north at about six from King's Cross. That shouldn't cut anybody else's day short if everybody else is still up for gallivanting.

Also, heading down the day before on Saturday, and likely to spend the better part of that day pottering around London. If anyone kens good things to gawk at or wants to meet up beforehand, let me know.

5593816
So far as I'm aware, there isn't really an end-time plan—people are welcome to stay as long as they want to/can, and I'm more than happy to hang around as late as necessary to make sure everyone makes it home. Within reason, anyway—I will have to at least be on the last train!

Afraid I can't advise on central London traffic at all—I never go anywhere near Zone 1 on any transport other than trains and the tube, though I occasionally have to suffer coaches through it. In my experience, Sundays are not particularly better on coaches? Don't know if that'll be much use, though, because those are very specific routes.

5593846
I'll be in town late afternoon on Saturday with a zones 1-6 travelcard, so I can potter pretty much anywhere.

5594905
I'm likely to have no commitments at all then, so if you're up for mutual pottering, let me know.

5576359 I live in the area, but it's a bit of a stretch for me.

Plus, I'm doing a gamejam next week anyways, gotta prepare for that

5596603
Good luck with that gamejam! I did one a little while ago with a friend, and it was so tiring (mostly because my friend is even worse at art than me, so I ended up spending three days doing nothing but making pixel art assets when I just wanted to practice my newly-found C# skills). Fun, though! Hope you enjoy it.

5598369 I'm an animator, so tasks in the group should be pretty easy to figure out ^^, Thanks.

This promises to be interesting.