London Meetup (with Jerri-Lynn)

Jerri-Lynn here. I’ll be in London at the end of the month for a family wedding in Hayward’s Heath and I thought a meetup might be fun: a chance for readers to meet each other, and a distraction from the Brexit madness.

I propose:  3rd October. 4:30 for 5, through 8 p.m. Meetups typically go on past the scheduled end time. I can stay a bit longer, but I’ll need to make sure I can catch a train back to Hayward’s Heath.

I’ve been in touch with Clive and Richard Smith, both of whom expect to attend.

Now as to venue.  Although I typically visit London at least a couple of times a year – ever since I lived in Oxford during the period when Margaret Thatcher Milk Snatcher was PM – I haven’t visited since 2015. So I’ll need some help in choosing a venue. Clive suggests we take a straw poll to get some idea as to who might attend, and whence they’ll be coming, and then select a suitable venue near a rail terminus or on an underground interchange station.

Lambert tells me the last London meetup was held in June 2017 at the Jerusalem Tavern, Faringdon. Which is pleasant but small. Lambert said people milled about outside with their drinks. The weather was fine but I’m not sure that space would work so well for an October event.

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19 comments

  1. vlade

    Unfortunately, I won’t be in London that week :(.

    Clive’s idea is a good one.

    I’d add one thing – weather, as a lot of London pub’s will be pretty full at Thu evening, so if you choose a small one, you’d likely end outside. So say, if you’d like to have your beer in part of Cambridgeshire which is near Holborn (well, used to be, as it was part of bishopric of Ely, and as such technically part of Cambridgeshire), depending on number of people you might struggle on a bad weather day.

  2. JL

    Would love to join. How many people were at the last one? The King’s Arms is near Bethnal Green tube and not a bad walk from Liverpool Street and has a fairly sizeable back bit which can be booked out.

  3. Redlife2017

    I will definitely endeavour to make it as well. Hopefully +1 depending on family factors.

    And as noted above, Thursdays are always very busy, so best to be able to get a proper space booked. It really does depend on the number of people coming as if it’s 10, that’s easy to find a place. But 20 will require some thought.

  4. Paul O

    I would love to come to one of these – if such ever happened at a weekend. (Where I could sit in the corner feeling mildly inadequate – judging by who else might turn up). Enjoy.

  5. Jabbawocky

    Looking at my diary I could come but I have a meeting in Norwich at 4pm. This means not geting to Liverpool Street until 6.30pm. Will this be too late?

    1. Jerri-Lynn Scofield Post author

      No, not at all. These things tend to go on past their scheduled end time and I’m happy to hang out past 8 p.m. if there’s interest. My only constraint is the need to catch a train back to Hayward’s Heath. (And there’s a chance I’ll be staying in London – then the constraint would be my desire to return to my host’s digs at a respectable hour.)

  6. boz

    London Bridge (south side, aka Bankside / South Bank) is a great spot that combines Hayward Heath links as well as many eateries and drinkeries. I’d love to attend but would need to get home earlyish to keep Mrs Boz sane after dealing with the kids all day…

  7. Kevin Carhart

    I hope the attendees have a great time.
    Richard’s NC stories on the NZ and other registrars, trusts, nominee directors, tax dodgers and other subjects are brilliant and inspiring work. Those long series on Virgin Gold and peerage scams are a few years ago – is there someplace in addition to NC to keep an eye out for Richard Smith’s byline?? Are there just as many painfully obvious fakes registered in NZ today?
    All three of you are great writers. It’s because of a link from Clive that I was turned on to Langdon Winner’s “Do Artifacts Have Politics?”

  8. Clive

    London Bridge is seemingly a good option so, thinking of venues, there’s this https://www.davy.co.uk/wine-bar/mug-house/ which, although it’s a good while since I last visited, wasn’t bad if I remember rightly. It’s part of a small chain so there’s a couple of other locations operated by the same owner which could be alternatives, but they might be too pricey.

    I’ll check with Jerri-Lynn if we want the palaver of actually booking a room or else if it’s better to just turn up and hope there’s not too many and it’s not too busy where we end up deciding to go.

    1. Redlife2017

      As long as you don’t get the food, Davy’s is good. I think they have beer on tap as well.

      I’m all for booking an area as it is Thursday.

      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you, Clive and Redlife.

        How about the Counting House on Bishopsgate or the place where Redlife and I met recently in St John’s Square?

  9. John A

    It’s a bit early doors for me at 4pm. but I would hope to be able to arrive by 6ish. Haywards Heath connects to London Victoria Station, so anywhere along the Victoria or District/Circle lines, would probably be most convenient for Jerry-Lynn. However, many respondents suggest London Bridge, which would be fine for me.
    I confess I was disappointed to be away when Lambert came to Farringdon a year or two ago, so would be doubly keen to meet up, this time round.
    Will you be sending an email about chosen venue/times etc?

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