I hope you've all had a great week so far. The weekend is almost upon us and I wanted to go over a few last things before the FIRE Escape take over the countryside village of Potterne.
Directions
I was sent an email from the owner which I thought would be useful to share with you all:
Ahead of your arrival:
Please find attached a map (Map to Cheyne Cottage) that should help you find the tiny Mill Road at the centre of Potterne Village. If you have satnav, the address is Cheyne Cottage, 6/7 Mill Rd, Potterne, SN10 5ND.
Be warned: a couple of guests, in the past, have ended up in another village 2 miles away (which also has a Mill Rd!). ...make sure you’re heading for Potterne.
There is parking for 4 cars (just!), immediately outside the front of the cottage and now, a new driveway for parking down the side of the cottage too!
Please take care when entering and exiting the gravelled driveway - particularly be aware of the low timber sleeper wall in front of the house opposite :-)
Facilities
All of this info was sourced form the website, so if you've already looked ignore this section, but for those that haven't - Here are some details on what we get for our money:
- Kitchen is very well equipped and includes microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge, electric hob, oven and freezer
- Wireless Broadband throughout the Cottage
- Bedding and linen are provided
- Shower cubicle
- Centrally heated and hand towels are provided (but NOT bath towels).
- Newly installed wireless broadband, flat screen TV (Freesat & Freeview), DVD, stereo/CD, some board games and DVDs
- BBQ (Feeling adventurous?)
- Garden games provided include badminton, football, rugby ball and a children's bat/ball/racket set.
- In general the cottage is set up in line with most self catering holiday let properties in Wiltshire. All standard equipment you might need but, as is normal, guests are expected to bring all their own "consumables". He's confirmed he has - Washing up liquid, soap, salt and pepper, cutlery and utensils for approx 8 people,
- The owner has kindly provided a few tea bags, some instant coffee a pint of milk in the fridge and even a "welcome" bottle of wine!
- Parking for more than 4 cars - He's going to show me tomorrow afternoon where the other cars can go. Come into the cottage initially and I'll direct you where to park from there, if you're unable to find a spot.
What he doesn't have and you'll need to bring:
- Food
- Drink
- Tooth paste
- Shower gel/shampoo
- Bath towels (there were at an additional charge which I declined)
- Herbs and Spices
- He said he some some extra knives, forks spoons and wine glasses, but outside of that it's roughly 8 sets of everything - Bring some along for yourself or wait for others to finish.
Food
A&L have very kindly offered to cater for the Saturday evening meal. Darren and Karen, and have also kindly offered to supply a soup starter for Sat evening too.
There's a Costcutter in the village. My experience of these shops has been more like shitty, no range & expensive food, but I could be mistaken. There's a Morrisons, Iceland and Sainsbury's in Devizes which is 2 miles away from Potterne.
Lou and I will bring some basics like bread, milk, oats, and we plan on doing a more thorough food shop in Devizes on Friday afternooon. We want to find out if people would like to share meal ideas, and food for the rest of the weekend before buying a shit ton of food for ourselves.
Bring anything that would only go to waste sat at home, but please don't go crazy and all bring 4 pints of milk, and 2 loafs of bread.
I suggest we discuss food options when we're at the cottage and we can do a more calculated shop when we know what we want, who else wants to join in, and how much we need to buy.
I have absolutely no problem with people arriving being fully catered for and sorting themselves out. Don't worry about 'not fitting in' or being 'selfish'. I couldn't give a toss personally and food can be very important to some people.
Lou and I would like to treat those that are present to breakfast Saturday morning. I plan on taking the approach above before shopping for it later on Friday.
Schedule
There is a very weak/limp schedule, but a schedule nonetheless:
- Arrival from 1.30pm Friday
- Once everyone is present on the Saturday - Speed Dating Intro's (approx lunch time Saturday)
- Informal Talks for those that are interested - @2pm: Making money with Kindle Publishing - with Huw. @4pm - Frugal Food Shopping/growing your own veg - with M. Mine won't be 2 hours! I'm just spacing them out.
- Depart latest 12pm Sunday
....and that's it!
Payments
If you haven't done so already. Can you email me on hrdavies82@gmail.com and I'll forward you my bank details?
Have I missed anything?
If anyone has any other questions, please drop it in the comments below or email me direct.
Lou said my organising of this weekend has been "shit". Is she right? Please let me know how I can do a better job. I'm all ears!
I'm really looking forward to it now. Have a safe journey down everyone, and I'll see you all very soon!
Huw (& Lou)
Labels: FIRE Escape, UK Gathering
