Mittens 2008 - l'édition Français | 15-22 August 2008

[Disco]

Could be a more adventurous option for me, I'll be in Paris the week before Mittens, so I would be up for it if you are driving anywhere near there.

[vict0r]

I have no idea as I've never actually driven in france, but I'll figure my route out... Oslo-Brittanny or whereever!

[Disco]

On never mind then, that would be from the opposite direction. I thought you might still be in England at the time, but I guess school would be out

[Tuomas]

I was going to give up on this dream due to civil service, but it appears I have some kind of epilepsy which means I won't have to do it in the next 3 years and probably not after. So now I'm taking part in the local porn industry to get some cash, and I'll try to save it, incase there's a place in line available as it comes. Take me as something called the last resort, as I'm happy to give the seat to someone else too, for if it so happens, I'll replace the mittens with a trip abroad with my girlfriend. So... in English; I'm a probable unless the list is full, I don't want to take anyone's place if someone's more willing

[Radiant]

I was going to give up on this dream due to civil service, but it appears I have some kind of epilepsy which means I won't have to do it in the next 3 years and probably not after. So now I'm taking part in the local porn industry to get some cash, and I'll try to save it,

Er, you sure you want things like that potentially leak onto the internet?

[AGA]

I was going to give up on this dream due to civil service, but it appears I have some kind of epilepsy which means I won't have to do it in the next 3 years and probably not after. So now I'm taking part in the local porn industry to get some cash, and I'll try to save it,

Er, you sure you want things like that potentially leak onto the internet?

Radiant, meet Tuomas.

[scotch]

Ok, so a lot of people want to come. We've found a place that will take 30. It's in the French Ardennes, on the border with Belgium. The price is reasonable compared to other places in France, and will be about 122 EUR per person for the week, assuming we fill it up.

Here are some details, including transport recommendations. If you are able to drive to the location it'd be appreciated, makes airport transfers a bit easier.
http://www.caverider.com/temp/maybemittens.txt

The week we are looking at booking begins the 16th of August.

If this is acceptable then we need to book it as soon as possible, because most of the summer is already booked up.  That means we need to raise a 35% deposit (1225 euros). That's 40 euros per person, but I assume not all 30 people will be able to send it on short notice, so if any of you are willing to send more, or even the whole thing (122 euros) that would be appreciated.

AGA will be collecting the money, presumably by paypal, he can give you the details.

As for myself, I'm willing to put forward 117 whenever I get paid, hopefully that'll be soon enough.

Current pledges (strikethroughs have paid):

80, Layabout
117, custard
117, CJ
117, Miez
117, Grundislav
52, Chrille
117, Darth Mandarb
234, Nacho & La Lore
117, Esseb
117, Quintaros
117, MillsJROSS
117, AGA
40, Disco
117, Radiant
117, scotch

Total deposit required: â,¬1277
Collected: â,¬1312.51

The PayPal address is:



PayPal allows you to pay directly in Euros without doing any conversion yourself, so just send â,¬122 to that address, or whatever you can manage if less.

NOTE: the amount required is actually â,¬117, but PayPal charges something like a 4% charge on every transaction, so the cost is elevated by â,¬5 each for PayPal transactions. Sorry!

British people can also send AGA a bank transfer of £87 and avoid the PayPal charges if they want to do it that way. PM AGA if you want to do this, and he'll send you his bank account details.

[Layabout]

i can pay £65 as soon as aga wants it. I will probably be driving there if anyone is interested in splitting the fuel and ferry. I can see the journey maybe taking 8.5 or so hours factoring in breaks for fuel and what not. I will not pick up from greater London. Easiest pickup spot is Milton Keynes or Luton. Possibly Welwyn Garden City. In France, the best pickup point is Lille. I will let you know in a month if I will be driving there or not.

[Disco]

Depending what my cheques are today, I might be able to pay $60 (~â,¬40) either in a few days or a week, with the rest coming soon after. Now I just need to invent another 12 days in the itinerary from scratch

[scotch]

Thanks, coming faster than I expected.

For people driving from the UK, the route that google maps suggests goes very near Charleroi airport, so you might also be able to subsidise the trip taking people from there. I think I'm coming down from London area with CJ unless he changes his mind.

[Nacho]

The Ardennes? I thought people wanted to go to the Pyrinees, to the Cathar Contry or to an interesting medieval town... Ardennes are nice, but they are not different from any other nice forest in some other place of the world... What if we go to somewhere that can only be found in France? Dunno, just my two cents, I am still in. 

[scotch]

I would have liked other areas more, but the only other potential location so far was Brittany which is no more exciting. It comes down to where we can find a large house that we can afford, that is not a million miles away from a reasonably sized airport. There were a couple of places in the Alps that I quite liked but they were harder to get to, and not really big enough, sadly. Anyway, I'm sure this will be as French as Benidorm is Spanish

It's certainly not too late for someone to suggest another location if they'd prefer it, but by that I mean a specific place for 30 people with a price tag poor AGSers are going to be able to afford. France is a very expensive holiday destination in summer.

[Nacho]

Benidorm Spanish??? 

[Andail]

I might chip in a part of my amount, even though I'm not at all sure I'll come, or even likely. You can always use my amount as the prize for the annual quiz.

[Pumaman]

Ok, so a lot of people want to come. We've found a place that will take 30. It's in the French Ardennes, on the border with Belgium. The price is reasonable compared to other places in France, and will be about 115 EUR per person for the week, assuming we fill it up.

This place looks good to me (even if it doesn't have a pool!) but I guess transport is a bit of a concern; some of us will be able to drive or hitch a lift with someone who is, but for the guys flying in from further away, Brussels Airport is about 70 miles away so it would be useful if someone who speaks French (or Dutch, or whichever language is spoken in that bit of Belgium) could search out any public transport options from there to this town.

If this is acceptable then we need to book it as soon as possible, because most of the summer is already booked up.  That means we need to raise a 35% deposit (1225 euros). That's 40 euros per person, but I assume not all 30 people will be able to send it on short notice, so if any of you are willing to send more, or even the whole thing (115 euros) that would be appreciated.

I can pay the whole 115 now, but do we have to give a deposit immediately? Can't we provisionally book the week anyway and tell them we'll get the deposit to them by a certain date?

I will probably be driving there if anyone is interested in splitting the fuel and ferry.

I think I'll also drive, and looking at the list there are potentially 8 people going from the UK. If we could go in two cars then that would probably make the trip quite easy and cheap, so it's certainly worth considering.

The Ardennes? I thought people wanted to go to the Pyrinees, to the Cathar Contry or to an interesting medieval town... Ardennes are nice, but they are not different from any other nice forest in some other place of the world... What if we go to somewhere that can only be found in France? Dunno, just my two cents, I am still in.

As scotch says, this seems to be mainly down to numbers. It's surprisingly difficult to find a reasonably priced place to rent for 30 people, so we're rather restricted on choices.

I might chip in a part of my amount, even though I'm not at all sure I'll come, or even likely. You can always use my amount as the prize for the annual quiz.

I hope you make it Andail, it's been far too long since we've had a Mittolympics!

Oh, I've edited the original post to add where people are coming from, which might help any transport arrangements.

[scotch]

Hehe Farlander, I just meant that the previous locations haven't exactly been cultural highlights of their respective countries It's not required for a good AGS meet.

CJ: "Brussels Airport is about 70 miles away ... public transport"

Brussels Airport is a long way away but as I put in my info, Charleroi is closer, and it's the budget airport too. It's still around an hour away but a large taxi split between 7 would be an option, otherwise car rental. That's assuming there's nobody to pick them up, and I think there may well be. Hajo has a car, and maybe m0ds would drive, dunno. There are cars here and there. I can read enough French to get around the bus and train sites but I haven't seen anything very simple. The trains don't go that way anymore as far as I can tell, and I haven't found a bus but it's worth native speakers looking.

If you're flying to Paris you can get the train, it's not cheap but it goes right to the village.

CJ: "Can't we provisionally book the week anyway and tell them we'll get the deposit to them by a certain date?"

The response we had was "The owner of chateau le ridsou has asked me to tell you that a 35% deposit is required to confirm a booking at the chateau." so I guess not. I don't think it'll be a big problem getting together the money in the next week or two, although I am aware it could go any moment. If the August week is taken there's also very late August, or Mid July as options. Doesn't make any difference to me, but it could to some.

[Miez]

I can provide the 115 euros now as well. Just let me know where to PayPal it to...

[m0ds]

For me, way too early for a deposite. March/April more likely.

[scotch]

No problem, we're doing ok so far, anyone else? I'll find out the transfer details.

[Darth Mandarb]

I PMed AGA for his PayPal information ...