Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

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Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by number 6 »

I've been volunteered to start this thread!!!!
Three new dates have been proposed for the Society/formites meet up in Exbury. These are Sat 24th June, Sat 1st July & Sat 8th July. Gary Russell MAY be available to join the meet up on these dates, which would enhance our visit & give us a great insight into the making of the 1978 F5 series in/around Exbury, plus sharing his personal memories during filming, etc. However, as Gary rightly stated in a recent post, it's what suits us! I've no objection to a meet up at any other time that is convenient to everyone else.

These dates stated are only a suggestion. I would welcome any input from those that would like to attend the meet up. We can decide a date with a majority vote.

Note: For those that would like to attend the meet up & will be relying on public transport, then please take into consideration that there are no buses to Exbury out of season. However, the New Forest tour bus begins at the end of June & drops off at Exbury gardens. A taxi would be expensive...about £25/30!
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Thanks for starting the thread, Number 6. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to come as it would involve an overnight stay for me. My husband will probably be abroad on those dates and I'm not yet sure what my son and daughter will be up to (it's my daughter's graduation in July - date not yet known - and my son may be involved in a project for which I'd need to be present). A few other things are up in the air as well. If I find I'm free to come, I certainly will. However, I won't know until much nearer the time.
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Daisy »

That's a shame Anita. Let's hope the final choice of date is a good one for you. I'm free on any of them - as far as I know at the moment.
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

24th June is definitely out for me, the other dates so far are okay. I'm not sure if Gary said he may return early July to Australia, number 6. If this is the case maybe an earlier date in June may suit Gary better. Just a thought.

8)
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Katharine »

I'm interested, but I'm afraid I don't know if it would be possible for me to come. The only date that potentially I couldn't make is 8th July. I would love it to be a date that Gary Russell could attend, as I've never met him. However I'd also need to rely on public transport, so don't know if it's possible to find a date that Gary can make, that fits in with the tour bus!

I hope we can manage to find a date that suits everyone.
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I looked up the dates of the New Forest tour bus. There are no dates available yet for 2017, but I found the schedules for 2015 and 2016. In both cases, the bus started running on the last Saturday in June. If the same applies to 2017, Saturday 24th June will be the first day of the tour bus season. If I'm able to come I'll also be relying on the tour bus, Katharine.
Julie2owlsdene wrote:24th June is definitely out for me, the other dates so far are okay. I'm not sure if Gary said he may return early July to Australia, number 6. If this is the case maybe an earlier date in June may suit Gary better. Just a thought.
Quoting from the 'Blyton on TV' section:
Gary Russell wrote:
number 6 wrote:I was going to propose Saturday 1st July or Sat 8th July for the meet up. Seems sensible, as Public transport to Exbury will be up & running by then. I'll put it to Gary Russell to see if any of the two dates will be convenient for him, too. It would enhance the meet up if Gary could make it, as his insight into the making of the series/stories, etc, would be most entertaining! :D
However, the proposed dates are only a suggestion & I wouldn't object to the meet up being towards the end of June if it is convenient for everyone else who wants to attend. :D
Either are good for me at the moment *but* this is about you guys, not me. It needs to be what suits you.
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

I must have missed Gary's thread!

8)
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by number 6 »

Sounds like you've certainly got a busy schedule, Anita!! However, the dates I proposed are only suggestions, & are not set in stone. I'm happy to go anytime & I will definitely work around other formites, as so far I've got no real commitments for May, June & July! I was also taking into consideration the transport issue for those who, like Katherine, have to rely on public transport.The New Forest bus tour does indeed begin on the last Saturday in June (each year!) as Anita has stated. :D

We must also remember there are no guarantees that Gary Russell will attend, due to any short notice commitments that may come his way. Therefore, we should consider all formites proposals & what suits us all. I hope I've not come across as pushy! :cry:
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Katharine »

number 6 wrote:....... I hope I've not come across as pushy! :cry:
Not at all. I hate having to organise anything myself, so am always grateful when someone else does it - it's much better than everyone one saying something is a nice idea, but it never getting off the ground. :D I take the view that if the majority of people can make a certain date, and I can't, then it's my misfortune, and just one of those things. I've managed to attend a Society Day, and the walking tour, so it's not as if I've never been able to go to anything Enid Blyton related. There's also nothing to stop me visiting Exbury on my own at another time, it would just be a bonus if I could combine it with meeting some other forumites. :D
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

You're not being pushy, number 6.

It is difficult to agonize a day when most people can attend, as everyone has busy lives these days, and those who work can't always get time off.

I used to try and organize days out for our art group, and it's hard. So eventually I had to say this is the date, like there used to be with Enid Blyton Days, that way everyone knew they had to work to try and get that one day off.

8)
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Eddie Muir »

Chick and I are happy to meet up in Exbury at almost any date suggested.

I still have 13th May pencilled in my diary for the meeting. I'm assuming that this date is no longer being considered.
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Gary couldn't make that date, Eddie.

8)
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by number 6 »

Thanks for the heads up, Julie & Katherine! I like to put other people's needs before my own, so it can be very hard to organise something. I try to please everyone, but I know that's not gonna be possible! :D

Katherine, I'm in Dorset towards the end of July, so if you unfortunately miss out on the earlier meet up, then I'd be more than happy to meet up with you at Exbury...or Brockenhurst train station...on Sat 29th July! I'll be going to Exbury anyway (on the New Forest bus from Brockenhurst), so it wouldn't be a problem. Assuming you want a bit of company, that is! This offer applies to anyone else who misses out. Only trouble is.. it's the School holidays by then (oh no!) & may be busy! :shock:
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Katharine »

Thanks number 6, I'll bear that in mind. At the moment my social calendar is full of 'ifs, buts and maybes'. The only thing that's definite is when the summer holidays start, but whether we'll be going away as a family is still under discussion. We hope to visit our son at uni in Bath at some point, but it's hard fitting it in with his term dates, and my daughter's. Apart from the distance making a weekend visit rather impractical, we have SATS looming, so the chances are my daughter will need to spend weekends preparing for those. My other daughter's job is very uncertain at the moment, so she has no idea what time off she might be taking.

I've just checked to see how close Exbury Gardens and Bath are to each other, and it's about 2 hours, so not really practical to try and combine a visit. :cry:

I do love having a family, but sometimes think life would be so much easier if I only had myself to consider. :D
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Re: Proposed Society meet up at Exbury in June/July!

Post by Lucky Star »

I would love to attend but it will depend on work circumstances which are uncertain as I work shifts and have a new job now so I will have to see nearer the time whether or not I can make the chosen date. If I can come I will drive and don't mind going by Brockenhurst station to pick up anyone who needs a lift from there to Exbury.
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