Brittens 2008! Ireland plan dead! Back to the UK!

scotch · Tue 15/01/2008 22:01:44

Most people in the "British Isles" would consider Ireland to be part of the "British Isles" although of course it's not (Great) Britain, which the name Brittens is based on. The truth is we've been sent to take back the province for Her Majesty... so this will not be an issue by the end.

Radiant · Tue 15/01/2008 22:06:13

We can call it Ittens

Disco · Tue 15/01/2008 23:31:26

Do you suppose there is enough land for a makeshift baseball diamond? I want to play baseball with a shillelagh and a potato!

m0ds · Wed 16/01/2008 00:03:31

Ittens, LOL!!!

QuoteJust play Ben Jordan 6 and it's like you're there...

Ain't that the truth!!!

Kudos for Grundislav for making a secretley perfect Mittens adventure game!!

Hopefully the big "merger" will occur on Mittens 10th birthday. In de carribean!!!1

The Ivy · Wed 16/01/2008 19:04:03

Quote from: m0ds on Wed 16/01/2008 00:03:31
Ittens, LOL!!!

QuoteJust play Ben Jordan 6 and it's like you're there...

Ain't that the truth!!! Kudos for Grundislav for making a secretley perfect Mittens adventure game!!

Hopefully the big "merger" will occur on Mittens 10th birthday. In de carribean!!!1

We can have the world's first/only Monkey Island reenactment.

vict0r · Wed 16/01/2008 19:23:08

Quote from: m0ds on Wed 16/01/2008 00:03:31
Hopefully the big "merger" will occur on Mittens 10th birthday. In de carribean!!!1

In which case you've already sold me...

LimpingFish · Wed 16/01/2008 22:16:13

Okay, I've dug around a bit for some more information regarding transport to and from Shannon Airport/Corofin, and turned up the following:

Bus:

By bus seems to be the best bet for travelling more or less direct from Shannon Airport. Bus Eireann's route seems to be: Shannon Airport > Ennis Bus Station > (change bus) > Corofin. On Saturday's, they have a handful of runs to Corofin, although their timetable doesn't seem to allow me to check beyond march, so I can't be certain.

Corofin is 30mins from Ennis Bus Station, so as long as we can make it there, getting to Corofin shouldn't be a major problem (google maps shows us: this.)

Hire Car (s):

I'm not sure about rates and such, but this site would seem like a good starting point. Depending on numbers, I guess we would have to rent two?

Train:

I can't find a suitable route that doesn't involve having to get from Shannon to Limerick City (ugh), and on to Ennis. If anybody wants to have a stab at finding something better, have a look here.

Alternate Accomodation:

If the cottages in Corofin don't suffice, or (God forbid!) end up unavailable.

The Jamaica Inn is a hostel, which looks okayish/cheap.

Clares Rock Hostel is another.

A list of alternate accomodation options can be found here.

Like I said earlier, nothing is set in stone. We don't have to hold it in Co. Clare either, if a better location somewhere else in Ireland can be found.

We have 26 counties to choose from!

Stupot · Thu 17/01/2008 08:46:51

Quote from: LimpingFish on Wed 16/01/2008 22:16:13

The Jamaica Inn is a hostel, which looks okayish/cheap.

This reminds me. There is a Jamaica Inn at Bodmin Moor in Cornwall and it is supposedly one of the most haunted establishments in the country. I believe it has featured on Most Haunted, and it was also staked out by Jonathan Boakes and his friends.

Boakes is the guy behind the Dark Fall games, and he is well into ghost hunting, which is probably obvious if you've ever played his games.

I don't actually believe in ghosts, but it would make a great few days. Perhaps something to consider for B-2009.

Renal Shutdown · Thu 17/01/2008 12:19:34

Put me down as a hopeful.

Assuming I can find some money, a passport and a pack of alkaseltzers.

AGA · Thu 17/01/2008 14:57:34

I'll be there.

Layabout · Fri 18/01/2008 15:01:33

A maybe. A probably maybe, but I have to look into my finances to see if it is do-able (to do both brittens and mittens)

Stupot · Fri 18/01/2008 21:19:46

Quote from: Layabout on Fri 18/01/2008 15:01:33
A maybe. A probably maybe, but I have to look into my finances to see if it is do-able (to do both brittens and mittens)

Has anyone ever done Brittens and Mittens in the same year?
That would be the ultimate Summer Holiday... [says he who spent the whole of last summer in Tokyo - Ed]
I hate being poor.

Grundislav · Fri 18/01/2008 21:43:40

Sure. I did it in 2007, Disco did it the year before. It's certainly a strange feeling to go to an AGS meet and then go to another 2 weeks later. Strange, yet fun.

scotch · Fri 18/01/2008 21:58:28

There are two people that have been to every Mittens and every Brittens.

Layabout · Fri 18/01/2008 22:02:26

CJ and AGA?

Stupot · Fri 18/01/2008 23:14:13

Jack Daniels and Stella Artois?

AGA · Fri 18/01/2008 23:48:54

Quote from: Layabout on Fri 18/01/2008 22:02:26
CJ and AGA?

Every Mittens, Brittens, Wintermeet and most other things , excluding Lapaset, because it smells.

LimpingFish · Sat 19/01/2008 22:48:58

Right, so O'Brittens seems to be a likely candidate for this years gathering. So let's see what we have so far...

Interested/possible/maybe (but in no way confirmed) attendees:

CJ
AGA
LimpingFish (natch

)
Renal Shutdown
Layabout
Disco
Creed_Malay
Radiant
Scotch
m0ds
Stupot
Zooty
Ishmael
JetXL

(14)

If the Corofin plan comes to fruition, it means there are (based on us staying at the holiday cottages) 16 available spots. Regardless of where we actually end up staying, the more people who attend, the cheaper it will end up costing per head.

Holiday cottages: Two cottages at E505.00 per cottage for 7 days:

16 attendees: E63.12 per person.

14 attendees: E72.14 per person.

12 attendees: E84.16 per person.

etc, etc

As I've said before, I'm still looking at possible locations, based on price/proximity to major airport(s)/transport options. I'm hoping to have a solid location, and final booking details, by mid-february at the latest.

Based on what I've seen so far, everybody should probably budget for between 50 - 100 euro to cover accomodation.

jetxl · Mon 21/01/2008 23:05:30

I'll go too. Never been to Ireland before so it better be not like Jersey.

LimpingFish · Mon 18/02/2008 21:05:52

Alright, update time!

The cottages are still available, for the time being anyway, and each requires a security deposit of 125 euros. I can cover that for now, with the rest of the money to be paid on receipt of picking the keys up at the location.

I'd like to get a solid list of attendees, so I can calculate the rate per head. Seeing as I want to keep the cost under 100 euro per person, I'm going to set an arbitrary minimum of 12 attendees, and a maximum of 16 (since this is what the cottages comfortably hold).

12 attendees = 85 euro per person.
16 attendees = 63 euro per person.

Looking at the logistics involved in getting people here, what with air fares and other misc expensives, O'Brittens will only be a go if I get eleven definite (and I mean SUPER definite!) attendees, willing to pay their share on arrival. I won't be collecting money ahead of time, as I possess no means of doing so, so I'm asking for people to budget well in advance. Extra money will be required to cover food/electricity/various, so expect the unexpected. Turning up with no money will result in a polite wave from me, as I catch the nearest bus home, leaving whoever showed up to fend for themselves. When the chips are down, this fish is the first cast off the shackles of responsibility and make a dash for the nearest body of water! Be warned.

This is the point of no return, people, and I'm looking to have those eleven confirmations by the end of this month (if not sooner)! Nobody should feel pressured to make up the numbers, though. If we fail to make the numbers, or lose the cottages, we have other, cheaper, non-irish, options.

I hope.