[SWLUG] re: Discuss digest, Vol 1 #224 - 4 msgs

[Telsa Gwynne]

On Tue, Apr 01, 2003 at 04:12:17PM +0100 or thereabouts, Rhys Sage wrote:
> Better venues. Hmm. I'd suggest a different approach if we need 
> a better venu. Do we absolutely have to use stinky places like
> pubs? I'd suggest (if it must be 7pm and not earlier) that we 
> use the 24 hour cafe by the railway station or perhaps Costa 

You are surely not talking about Sizzles? 

If so, it must have changed drastically from when I knew it.

What's stinky about pubs? (Yeah, yeah, smoking, I suppose,
but I did say we met in the non-smoking side..)

> (but earlier in the day). Ideally, I'd say a Saturday afternoon 
> meeting would be best. The idea of meeting in the university is 
> very appealing. The Junior Common Room bar has a quiet side.

Is this the place where they had to call the police to a fight
the other day? 

I would not trust my laptop in there. It's not _that_ quiet.
And after the exams it's a nightmare. 

As to Saturdays and earlier meetings: of the initial people
who started coming, there were feelings against the weekend.
(Prior commitments, family shopping days, sport, "I don't
get up at weekends"... well, maybe not, but..) I was surprised,
and I bet we could get a lot of people together for a weekend
event, but again, the venue is an issue.

How busy is Costa on a Saturday afternoon?

I actually don't want to end up in places where I feel I 
have to order a drink or a meal or I will be kicked out. I
am not at all in favour of restaurants or cafes as a
general rule. It's just there aren't many other alternatives.

(On the other hand, Shot in the Dark is gorgeous, and we
should always go there when we meet in Cardiff, and I have 
never claimed to be consistent anyway...) 

I think you have to suit the venues to the events. For
a social thing, a pub or a cafe is fine. For a talk, a
university room with lots (and lots) of power outlets
is better. (I was once at a committee meeting at a Linux-
related conference where there were 20 of us, all with
laptops, and we had to ask this Very Posh Hotel for an
extra two power bars so everyone could plug their things
in.) 
 
> I'd say that places to avoid at night are: Oystermouth 
> Road, Wind Street, High-Street, The Kingsway, the Uplands 
> and the area around the bus and railway station.

On what basis? Access? Safety? Crowded-ness?

We have quite a few people who use public transport who
live in neither Cardiff nor Swansea. Siting our meetings
away from the bus and railway stations is going to piss
people off unless there's a damn good reason for it.

> My difficulty is late-night transport between my pad and 
> Swansea. I rely solely upon busses - which aren't frequent 
> or dependable in the evenings.

In what direction are you? I sympathise with relying on
public transport (Justin, can I have a lift to Cardiff
tonight, please? :)) but how does this square with your
suggestion we avoid the area around the bus and railway
station?

Telsa