As I unsubscribed from BCUK and don't do LJ, I have absolutley no idea what is going on at the Uncon - I've not received any newsletters either - Can anyone help?

I got a newsletter Sunny - only the 2nd one though. I will try and paste it here in case anyone else is interested....

BCUK UnConvention 2007
June 29th – July 1st 2007
Newsletter no. 2

Hi everyone and welcome to the second official BCUK UnConvention 2007 newsletter. The committee have been hard at work behind the scenes and we have some exciting news to tell you! You'll find a couple of forms attached to this email – more details about them later.

AUTHOR TALKS

We're delighted to announce that three top authors from Transita will be giving talks at the UnConvention, and we'll also be running a writers' workshop. The talks will take place between 11am and 2pm and the workshop at 3.30pm upstairs at Joogleberry's so you won't even have to leave the building! Places at these events are limited but everyone is entitled to attend one of the talks for free, as part of your UnConvention fee – and if that doesn't satisfy your literary urges you can also book places at additional talks and the workshop for only £1.50 each, spaces permitting.
So, a brief introduction to our BCUK UnConvention 2007 authors:

Kicking off the day bright and early at 11am is Christine Coleman, author of The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society. Christine spent her childhood in the Sussex countryside, and her late teens and early twenties in Dublin, where she learned to enjoy Guinness and climb mountains while gaining a degree in English at Trinity College. She now lives in Sutton Coldfield and works as manager of an Adult Education Centre in Birmingham, devoting most of her spare time to writing fiction and poetry.

Coming all the way from the Isle of Skye is Linda Gillard, who will talk at 12.30pm. Having pursued an acting career and accidentally fallen into journalism, Linda started writing while raising her family. She then re-trained and taught English and Art in a Norfolk primary school for twelve years before a further rethink saw her giving up teaching and downshifting to the Isle of Skye to write full-time. Linda now lives with her teacher husband in a big house overlooking the Cuillins, a mountain range featured in her novel Emotional Geology. Linda will also run our writers' workshop at 3.30pm.

Last but not least, at 2pm you will be able to hear Sue Moorcroft talk about her work. Sue was born in Germany but spent much of her childhood in Cyprus and Malta, which plays its part in her first novel Uphill All the Way. Sue is a hugely successful short story writer, committee member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and a past winner of the Association's Katie Fforde Bursary award. Now settled in Northamptonshire with her husband and sons, Sue's love for Malta runs deep – as well as returning to the island regularly she keeps in touch with its history and culture through a website forum specifically for the Maltese and those who have lived on the island.

Attached to this newsletter is a form – if you would like to attend one (or all) of the talks or the workshop, please indicate your order of preference. Remember that everyone is entitled to attend one of the talks; additional places and the workshop can be booked at a cost of £1.50 each, dependent on availability of places. Please do not send any money now – we will be in touch nearer the time to confirm which talk you will be able to attend and to organise payments. Forms need to be returned by June 8th.

DA DAAAAAA ….. And the winner of our T-shirt competition is ……

Yokospungeon, who sent in the wonderful design attached to this email. Congratulations, Yokospungeon!

"literally unconventional – BCUK Unconvention 2007" is now our official BCUK Unconvention 2007 t-shirt. We will have a very limited supply of t-shirts on sale at the Unconvention, but to guarantee yours you can pre-order now and collect them on the day! T-shirts are £10 each, one colour (black) only and come in sizes S (35/37"), M (38/40"), L (41/43"), XL (44/46") and XXL (47/49"). Simply fill in the form attached to this newsletter and return it to us with payment by May 20th.

EVENTS DURING THE WEEKEND

As well as the author talks and writers' workshop there will be plenty going on to keep you occupied over the weekend including live Bookswaps, quizzes (including one devised by Netstation which is bound to be fiendish!), release walks, raffle, tombola and more. More details to come soon!

RAFFLE AND TOMBOLA

We are still looking for prizes for our raffle and tombola from which all proceeds will be shared between our Transita authors' chosen charities - Depression Alliance Scotland, British Heart Foundation and the Birmingham BC group's Library for India fund. If anyone has anything (no matter how small) you'd like to donate as a prize, please contact the committee: bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com .

SPONSORSHIP


We're also still looking for sponsors for the event – if anyone is interested in sponsoring us or donating items for goodie bags etc. please contact us: bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com

CALLING ALL CREATIVE TYPES!!

One of our raffle prizes is a wonderful BookCrossing throw/blanket type afghan. This amazing project is being organised by ozone-nut with the help of BookCrossers from around the world, who are knitting and crocheting squares which will be joined together to make a unique work of art.

If you'd like to join in then simply knit or crochet one or more 10cm x 10cm squares in whatever takes your fancy by way of stitch, colour, wool etc — the more variety the better. As ozone-nut says, "If you're actually any good at this knitting thing and can incorporate your screen name or some other motif into your square then so much the better."

Mail your square(s) to ozone-nut (PM to http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/ozone-nut for address) by May 31st.

THE ESSENTIAL STUFF:

OUR VENUE
This year's UnConvention is in Brighton, with the main event held on Saturday downstairs at The Joogleberry Playhouse, 14 - 17 Manchester Street, Brighton BN2 1TF. Their website, which includes a map and menu, is at http://www.joogleberry.com . They do have disabled and pushchair access to most areas – if you would like more info please contact us: bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com

ACCOMMODATION

Hopefully you've all got your accommodation booked up by now but if you are still looking please email us for an accommodation list: bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com

ATTENDEES

This is the most up to date list of BookCrossers signed up for the UnConvention. If you know of someone who's coming who's not on the list, please let us know!

afir
anglers-rest
beckydore
betty22
Big Boss
bigcurlyloz
bookgroupman
Caffcaff
Calalilly
candy-is-dandy
Caterina Anna
chelseagirl
colanne
constantweader
cornelia
craftyangler
CrazyRunner
csc23 & friends
cycleman
Cyzaki
daemonwolf
diamondluca
diamondlucy
diomedes
dododumpling
Droogie
Drusillamac
Fire-Dragon
Forager
Gazza1980
gingerboy
gizangel
gizmopuddy
glitterlover
Heaven-Ali
Herrgirl
Jazz-ee2
jemimaj
jenatleisure
Jillbe
JudeK
Karen07814
Katie1980
katisha50
Kaz007
KBHR
Klll
LindyB28
LittleLutrus
Lutrus
lwpallett
Lyzzybee
meddyg
molekilby
mrsbridgewater
mytilus
necroscope & partner
notingnothing
owlmusic
ozone-nut
pennina
perfect-circle
petespanda & family
pumpkin-head
PurpleRosebud
Rahar109
rdwirral
rebus5
Rillaith
RubyBlueLady
Scotsbookie
SirRoy
Snoopy56 & partner
Sterile & partner
stoatonstilts
Suedo
sunlightbub
swanofkennet
Teachie
Tehuti
thegreenman
thing-1
Tigzz
Twicky
urbanspaceman
vauxhallcrosser & wife
vegan bob
veganknitter
weebly
WistfulDragon
wubbaducky
wyldetwo
Zaireeka

PLACES STILL AVAILABLE!!

We still have a few places left so if you know of anyone who would like to come, please let us know so we can send them an application form: bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com . Places are £10 each or £15 for a couple; children are free.

CONTACTING US

We'll be in touch in a few weeks time with more news on what we're planning for you. In the meantime, if you have any questions, suggestions or ideas, please contact us at bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com . You'll also find all the info on the UnConvention at http://community.livejournal.com/bcuk_uncon/ .

Take care and bye for now,

The BCUK UnConvention 2007 committee
bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com

Michelle/perfect-circle
Julie/anglersrest
Sally/Rillaith
Alison/chelseagirl

Thanks Giz :kiss:

So who do we know.......


candy
Bigcurlyloz
Pumpkin-head
teachie
sterile


Vegan Bob

i have noidea, but then again do i ever :whistle:

I wish I was going, but it's such a long way and I would have to bring Theo...maybe I should think about it again :thinking:

You should!

I've booked my train ticket :bananadance:

I come back from a 2 week holiday the day before - so a bit much for me LOL

Hope everyone has a great time though!

Katybean
x

Yipeeeeeee! :bananadance:

I've just booked my train ticket too so I'm another step closer to going :yahoo:

I figured if work gets in the way I can sell it and not lose out too much but if I leave it too late it'll get stupidly expensive. Fingers crossed I get offered lots of jobs but they leave that weekend clear <_<

I'm curious now :unsure: What do you do Pumpkin?

I'm a freelance stage manager and do casual tech stuff too, lighting mostly, fun but unpredictable and gets in the way of life a lot :wacko:

Tends to be I'm either working stupidly long hours 7 days a week or am completely unemployed and convinced the phone will never ring again.

Sounds very interesting!

Now does anyone remember if we were asked to put our names forward for goody bag artners? And if you did have you heard anything?

No secret goody bag thing this year - I know cos I asked that question last week! We get a goody bag from the Uncon though. You can bring ME another pressie if you like Sunny :lol: I love my body cream I have even remembered to use it :wink:

There is a tiny chance I might be able to swing this but I won't know till the last minute. Does anyone know if I would be able to get a train ticket close to the date or do they sell out in advance? I would be flying into LGW. Is it a hassle to make the airport to train connection? Can I hold a hotel reservation without being charged? How much does the train ticket cost?

:bananadance:

How cool would that be!!
You will be able to buy a train ticket on the day..look to be anything from about £15 for an open return, but may be slightly more if not buying in advance.
I don't know what the connection is like, but I would imagine it's okay as it is one of the bigger UK airports.
I've booked the Premier Travel Lodge which I can cancel anytime up to 24 hours before with no charge. THe other cheapish hotel I was considering is the Holiday Inn which I would imagine has a similar policy but would be worth chcking up on. Let me know if you need any help :)

So there is no desginated hotel then? Are the majority of people here staying where you are? Would I need to rent a car? Will they even let me attend at the last minute? :lol:
If I do make it I'm sure I will need help with the details so thanks for offering! I have never been to England, so I will be a little bit clueless I'm sure.

The other question I have is there a better airport I should look into?

I think Gatwick is closest, so I think ou've picked the right one. People are staying in a variety of hotels. I know the one I'm in was fairly popular but may be full now - I did notice there were still spaces in the Holiday Inn earlier this week, as I was thinking about changing as it's on the sea front!

This mail just got posted on the UK yahoo group site

The closing date registrations for the 2007 BCUK UnConvention in Brighton,
UK is JUNE 9TH ...... if you've been thinking about coming but haven't made
a decision yet hurry up, we don't want you to miss out! There are still a
few places left and we have lots planned, including author talks with three
top writers from the Transitas publishing house; quizzes, raffle and
tombola; release walks; masses of books; and, of course, the opportunity to
meet some fantastic people!

If you'd like to register for a place it will cost you just £10. Please
email us at bcukunconvention2007@google,ail.com for an application form.

If you can't make it to the event perhaps you'd still like to take part by
buying a t-shirt specially designed for the occasion by the lovely
Yokospungeon. Black, with the legendary phrase "Literally Unconventional -
BCUK UnConvention 2007" on the front, the t-shirts are available for a mere
£10 each in S, M, L, XL and XXL. Again, email us at
bcukunconvention2007@googlemail.com for an order form - but be quick, as the
closing date for orders is May 20th.

Finally, we are still looking for prizes for our charity raffle and tombola,
which will be raising valuable funds for British Heart Foundation,
Depression Alliance Scotland and the Birmingham BookCrossers' Library for
India fund.

I suspect if you told them the circs they would be able to hold a place for you as you would be coming all that way!!!

I just checked the hotel your staying at and they appear to be full. :(
That was more my price range than the Holiday in which was about 266.00 per night American dollars. Yikes!! I might check and see if I can find anything else it seems like a popular destination so I'll keep looking.

Try the travelodge Apolonia :D But you do have to book a bit in advance to get the cheap deals. Ack I just checked the Brighton one doesn't have any rooms.

There is a coach direct from Gatwick to Brighton which is probably cheaper too. Yep I checked - £6.80 one way

National Express

bed and breakfast Brighton

late rooms

Some of those may help :D

A lot of places in Brighton will only book 2 nights stay minimum. It is a really popular place to visit. It takes me just an hour 20 mins to get there so I don't plan to stay overnight - really hope you make it!

I think there's some deal at the Travelodge where they'll put an extra bed into a twin room at little or no extra cost, that might be worth looking into if you know a couple of people staying there that wouldn't mind sharing.

I think I'm on third bed standby with my potential roomie, which reminds me I must check in with her :unsure:

Or we all kip on the beach? :lol: at least no one will notice my snoring out there.....

nvm

This is only a few weeks away now :D and I'm looking forward to it!

Definitely coming *happy dance*

:yahoo:

Brilliant! Look forward to seeing you Pumpkin :D

:bananadance: :bananadance:

:w00t2: :dance: :nailbiter:

:nono: :giggle:

Just found books for the liveswap now Sunny has pointed out it is themed..... :erm: :whistle:

OKay - I started packing last night - decided on the middle sized wheeled suitcase - Now thinking will need to buy new clothes in Brighton as no room with all the books I'm taking :rofl:

I am holding a Live swap at The Travel Inn bar on the Friday night with a mystery/thriller theme, hope to see you all there around 9 15p.m.

Not there til Saturday but hope you have a good swap!