Who can meet in London on June 27th?
 

Hi all,
Julie Steiner and her daughter are meeting me for dinner at Strada (last year's venue for the UK summer Spherean gathering) on Saturday June 27th; it's an Italian restaurant right alongside the famous Royal Festival Hall and the London Eye.

Who else can make it? I'll book a table for 7pm and hope that several of the usual ''likely suspects'', plus others, can be there too.

Julie and I met in February, with Charlotte, in Los Angeles. These annual gatherings are totally informal but forge great friendships, and anyone is welcome. Just let me know if you can come (or even if it's only a possibility) - nothing's carved in stone so don't feel you're committed, but it's helpful to have a rough idea of the number of people who are likely to turn up.

Thanks. Hope to see both old and new friends there. It will be fun, I promise! :)

Jayne

I swear I'm not as annoying in person as I am online.

(Then again, there's only one way to find out whether that means I'm less annoying in person, or more.)

I'm looking forward to meeting some more of you...or only Jayne again, if no one else is feeling brave. :)

Oh, and my kid doesn't know my pen name and hasn't read any of my poetry, so if she asks how you know me, you are authorized to tell her whatever red herrings you please, so long as they are somewhat age-appropriate (she's sixteen).

I think I'm free, and would love to meet Julie. Count me in.

I'll look forward to it.

Update:

I'm bringing a friend I met at a poetry conference in Leeds, so that's 6 of us so far.
Strada is mega busy, especially on Saturdays, and they've changed their booking policy: i.e. they don't take bookings. However, I've sweet-talked them into reserving a table for us at 7pm. (Going there last year helped my case! :))

I've made a guess of our party being 10 people, but they'll need a firmer confirmation of numbers soon, so if you think you'd like to come please let me know asap. We're not limited to 10, of course, but it's been about the average for our other Spherean gatherings.
So... check your diaries!

Jayne

Durn! I cancelled my UK trip to London. Oxford (for the Late Antique Woodstock) & Leeds due to a nasty case of vertigo--otherwise I would have made it!

I'm mortified to hear that, Mike.
Can you un-cancel if the vertigo improves?

Realistically, not at this point because the recovery has been much slower than advertised. Plus, I am not sure what a takeoff would look like, and then there could be six hours trapped on a plane.

We want to come before too long, though. We have a quasi-daughter there and much to see, and I just started receiving my early retirement checks.

Let me know when you're coming: we'd be more than pleased to put you and your family up.

That's very kind, David. Thank you!

Bumping this up, as I need to let Strada know roughly how many of us to expect.

Is anyone else likely to come who hasn't said so yet?

Excellent venue, excellent food, scintillating company ;)... so don't dilly dally!

Jayne

Well, I'll probably be in England, and would have liked to come. But I shall be staying with friends in Worthing (yes, the infamous Nicholas Holbrook), and that is the likely date for the firework display that I put on each year, sending my Staggers and Speccie winnings up in smoke.

There's a rumour that John Whitworth will be there on the 27th...
But John and Brian would have been too much to hope for, methinks.

(Annual firework display, Brian? What fun. Can I offer my services as an unpaid waitress, or something, for next year?)

Darn, I wish I could be there, Jayne!

I'm not even sure I can get to England this year (usually an annual trip, as you know). If I do, I'll let you know. But early August is my only possible time.

If not then, I'm going to make every effort to be there around Christmas time if I can afford it!

Charlotte

By all means, especially if you have a good knowledge of first aid.

I will probably be there. Where exactly and when.

Charlotte,
I know this gathering is earlier than your usual summer visit to the UK, but I do hope we can get together again later on - either August or Christmas will be great!

Brian,
I do, and you're on ;)

John,
Goody, hope you can be there. It's Saturday 27th June at 7pm, and the venue is the Italian restaurant Strada (next to the London Eye and the Royal Festival Hall).

Nicholas? Rob? Too many people to name... so please don't be offended if I haven't mentioned you specifically. You're just as welcome as anyone else!

August would be good, Jayne.

Would you let me know some possible dates in August please, Gregory? It would be great to see you again, and maybe a few more Spherians will be on holiday in England by then. (It's Julie's fault this gathering's in June :p)
Early in the month might be OK for Charlotte, she said, so we have the beginnings of another summer get-together.

Let's make the next one a lunchtime meeting, so we can enjoy a walk or something afterwards...dare I say 'in the sunshine' or is that tempting Fate?

If August appeals to anyone else, I'd love to hear from you so I can start planning...

Jayne

A two-party system!

Oh dear. I thought it was lunch. I can't do evenings.

Ah, what a shame, John.
Never mind, the August gathering will be for lunch -- keep your diary free till we know what day it'll be! :D

Shit, can't we all come to that, Brian? (From a fellow pyromaniac...)

Jayne - evenings not good, what with having to get back to the uncharted wastes of Suffolk afterwards. A lunchtime gathering in August sounds good, though.

For me mid-August would be best... Thanks for all of this, Jayne.

Sorry you can't make it, Sylvia, but I very much look forward to seeing you (and you, too, Gregory) in August.

I should be up for August as well.

Just a reminder, as 27 June is almost here. I'm looking forward to meeting those who can still make it. At last count I think it was Jayne, her friend, me, my daughter, Mary, and David.

Mike, I hope you're feeling much better now. And best wishes to those of you planning to meet in August.

Have a great evening. I do realise that distance is a weak excuse given that the UK is 60% the size of California, but still, I do live a long way from London - but it would have been nice to meet you.

best wishes to all,

Alan

Looking forward to it.

Hi Jayne,

Sounds like this is going to be a great summer for UK Spherean gatherings!

Unfortunately for me, it's looking less and less likely that I can afford a summer visit, so go ahead and do your planning without me in mind.

I'm sad I will miss so many good people (old friends and new), not to mention my relatives--and I'm actually feeling some urgent need for green fields at this point! Oh well. I hope things will change this fall, and I can make it by Christmas.

Meanwhile, be merry, everyone!

Charlotte

Hi all,

Yes, I'm looking forward to Saturday, and really sorry that John, Sylvia, Gregory, Alan, Brian, Charlotte and others can't make it. (Mike, I do hope you're feeling better after your recent bout of vertigo.)

Before we meet for dinner at 7pm I'm going to see The Mousetrap, something I've wanted to do for donkey's years!

See some of you at Strada, then. If anyone else finds they can make it after all, just turn up! :)

Jayne

See you soon! We're going to see Carol Ann Duffy's Everyman first, so quite a poetry-filled day.

Have fun, guys and gals. Wish I was there.

Thanks for coordinating this, Jayne. It was great fun. Best wishes to the August group!

My pleasure, Julie.

It was great to see you again, along with the others, and I'm glad you're safely back at home.

I'm already looking forward to the August (and indeed 'august') gathering :D

Jayne

When in August? And where? London or elsewhere?