108 replies to this topic

[surreydodger]

Right, eyes down for a full house,,, errr, field?,, farm??

It now looks like the following are all up for attending the F2F Fest

Boiow
Cornish Gems x 3
CHE
Hobbitmeadow
Saffire
CanningFarm
Steve
Piglet
Mountain View
Sodbuster
shepie
KChally
Clarissa
Seagulls Flying High
Green Meadow
Dilangar x 2
Jav,, sry Ruth, you posted above but not sure if that's as an attendee or not?
Myself
I'm pretty sure Groundhog will come too but he's having probs accessing the forum.

Others still welcome.

Date wise, I think Sunday October 9th looks most popular. I know we won't find the perfect date for everyone but if 90% can make this date, I feel that will be acceptable.

Only one topic put forward to discuss so far. Piglet's - How to Raise Our Profile To The Government -. I think that sounds like a great idea but it would be nice to have a couple more suggestions as well.

Any one wishing to camp out or bring their Winnebago's is welcome. No, we don't have any Caravan Club licence or the like but I reckon we can wing that one . Me and Mrs SD are happy to assist entertain anyone staying over,,,, well, she will be once I've told her I'm sure

For directions and any other help/info, please email me at [email protected]

Re food and vitals, yes, it would be great if folks can bring things along, either their own produce or otherwise and I'll get and set up the charcoal grill for anything requiring cooking. Tea and coffee will be available all day as and when anyone wants it,,, ohh and alright then, if you're a really friendly bunch I'll let you share my private stash of Jaffa Cakes.

Right, everyone else's turn now to tell me what I've missed and make your contributions

[Cornish Gems]

Count us and daughter in!

Slightly off track, but as this site seems to need donations in order to survive, would anyone be prepared to support a raffle? The reason we ask is that we still have some things left over from our online business and feel it would be great to dispose of some of them for a good cause. We would of course also provide the raffle tickets. All the rest of you have to do is provide cash for raffle tickets at a price of 50p a strip (of tickets of course - not any other kind of strip!!!!) lol

Is Steve still willing to send out email re the Fest so that perhaps numbers will be boosted. We suggest that the same should go to Book Owners and above plus all members who have made a certain number of posts.

[boiow]

well that's settled then, the 9th oct it is boiow x2 +jaffa cakes (can only afford lidl ones).

[KChally]

Are there any travelodges in your area, as its a long way from Cheshire?

KChally

[Cornish Gems]

The 2 nearest and cheapest ones are at Billingshurst Five Oaks and Arundel Fontwell. If 10 or more rooms are needed, then it is possible to obtain a discount. We would be in favour of the latter as it has more available rooms, but still at £29 per night. There is also a choice of Little Chef or Burger King at Arundel Fontwell should anyone need an evening meal.

Having said that, we now realise that we should have been looking for somewhere near Plaistow, W. Sussex and not near Petworth.

[dilangar]

Count us in, let us know what you need. Can bring charcoal have quiet alot!!!

[admin]

I'm ready to send the email to all members as soon as you say.. to avoid confusion etc it might be easier for SD to construct the email and either PM it or post it here (or create a new sticky topic with final details in the first post?)

[surreydodger]

I'll get and put something together. Not sure we have a clear itinary but I don't think that should affect anything.

[Mountain View]

SD how about if the people who are attending email you with their thoughts on what should be covered and then you can post/email all attendees with the itinerary?

MV

[admin]

Not sure if it's possible but if someone could bring an alpaca or two that would be cool. I could probably convince a girl to come with me and take pictures if that happened.

[Mountain View]

Not sure if it's possible but if someone could bring an alpaca or two that would be cool. I could probably convince a girl to come with me and take pictures if that happened.

Are you sure you are on the correct site for conversations like that Steve pmsl x x x

[Cornish Gems]

SD,

Following on from MV I verily believe that an itinery would not work as this is a meeting of like people on a social scale not a Union Meeting, each and every one having varying questions and we feel that this meeting is a coming together of like minded people.

Unless of course you are going to get guest speakers such as Dave A giving a talk on F2F or a member of the Local Planning Authority defending their position.

I have now removed my tongue from my cheek.

Can we keep it on a social level.

[admin]

Are you sure you are on the correct site for conversations like that Steve pmsl x x x

Oh right, yeah that did sound dodgy. I was more thinking about some company in the car on the way down than anything rude lol

[Mountain View]

Oh right, yeah that did sound dodgy. I was more thinking about some company in the car on the way down than anything rude lol

We forgive you just this once Steve xx Try not to let it happen too often again xx

[Piglet]

SD,

Following on from MV I verily believe that an itinery would not work as this is a meeting of like people on a social scale not a Union Meeting, each and every one having varying questions and we feel that this meeting is a coming together of like minded people.

Unless of course you are going to get guest speakers such as Dave A giving a talk on F2F or a member of the Local Planning Authority defending their position.

I have now removed my tongue from my cheek.

Can we keep it on a social level.

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel that this must be a good opportunity for like minded people to initiate a plan of action for our views to be heard somehow. I know it seems impossible but on the other hand Libyans have just done it against all the odds! Maybe not such a good comparison but I do feel that there must be some way we can be heard - after listening to everyone on the forum it seems to me that planners all come from the same school of planning.

The Planning Policy Framework will be put into place in April of next year after another round of consultations - is this not the only opportunity that we may have to get someone to listen to us - however unlikely it may be.

In order to do that, there would need to be some outline of how we feel things may work better.

What does everyone else think? If everyone just wants a social then I am more than happy to go along with that - just that I feel it may be a missed opportunity.

Piglet

[Cornish Gems]

There is some merit in what you say, but we (CG) are being swayed by the following:-

Would fellow F2F'es be interested in having a get together at some point to firstly just get to know one another that little bit better,,, it would be nice to put some faces to the names after all,,, and secondly, give us all a moment to discuss face to face the dilemmas, problems and hurdles we all have to face on a daily basis. It doesn't have to be all about planning issues as we have all seen there are those amongst us with particular knowledge in specific subjects.

[surreydodger]

I was kind of hoping to have a bit of both really. I'd envisaged that the morning gathering would be mostly structured with some kind of itinary of ideas and subjects to discuss, followed by lunch. After lunch, I'd considered we would have a further hour of raised subjects and then basically a jamboree of what ever anyone wanted to do or what they fancied.

I might draw the line at provocative alpaca photography !!

Hopefully this gives us a balanced time together where we can address specific topics more closely and also have the chance to chat amongst ourselves and just get accquainted. As I am hoping this F2F meet may lead to others, let's all sway on this one as I believe the longer term strength that can formed between us now, will go on to pay dividends in the future.

It does seem an obvious thing to say but there are many here with their own sets of skills and knowledge. If we can work to bringing those all together under one roof to share and disseminate that wealth we all obviously benefit.

I do welcome any ideas direct to my email and if everyone is happy to let me 'assemble' the meeting, at least you only have one person to blame if it all goes Pete Tong

[Piglet]

I was kind of hoping to have a bit of both really. I'd envisaged that the morning gathering would be mostly structured with some kind of itinary of ideas and subjects to discuss, followed by lunch. After lunch, I'd considered we would have a further hour of raised subjects and then basically a jamboree of what ever anyone wanted to do or what they fancied.

I might draw the line at provocative alpaca photography !!

Hopefully this gives us a balanced time together where we can address specific topics more closely and also have the chance to chat amongst ourselves and just get accquainted. As I am hoping this F2F meet may lead to others, let's all sway on this one as I believe the longer term strength that can formed between us now, will go on to pay dividends in the future.

It does seem an obvious thing to say but there are many here with their own sets of skills and knowledge. If we can work to bringing those all together under one roof to share and disseminate that wealth we all obviously benefit.

I do welcome any ideas direct to my email and if everyone is happy to let me 'assemble' the meeting, at least you only have one person to blame if it all goes Pete Tong

I think what you are suggesting is a happy medium - discussions of topics in the morning and socializing with maybe a beer or two in the afternoon. I am very happy to let you organise it. I have emailed the Prime Minister and also Greg Clark. Shall we also have a tote to see if I get any replies or not

[Cornish Gems]

As someone who cannot afford to have wind/solar power; or electricity brought in by a company, we feel that Groundhog has a great deal to offer.

We have tried a petrol generator but found it to be very expensive and also without sufficient power to run hairdryer and toaster at the same time. We therefore splashed out on a so-called silent running diesel generator. It is proving to be very much more efficient to run and also very much cheaper. BUT, despite being called silent-running it is no quiter than the petrol one we had and another drawback is the smell.

In several posts, Hobbit has come forward with advice on this subject and other sidelines regarding power and we feel that he has a great deal indeed to offer our community.

We would like to propose Hobbit as being one of the speakers/consultants at the Fest. Will anyone be willing to second this motion?

Finally, has anyone issued a personal invitation to the one who has had the courage to already admit on this website to being successful at following the book? We know for sure of one, but seem to remember that there may have been another. The trouble is of course that one is hesitant to mention one's success for fear of alerting a local planner to one's situation/plans and having them decide that they want to be difficult and try to flout the essence of the Act of Parliament.

[shepie]

Hi CG i would be more than happy to second this motion ,as any such help would be fantastic , some of us have great knowledge of such things and some experience of animals etc , which when shared will scare the s**t out of the planners

Shepie