[EdLUG] In search of a new venue still

Edinburgh Linux Users Group edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk
Sat Jan 19 11:50:20 UTC 2019


Hello Everyone, 

 

Sorry for not being active much, but work brought me oversea for many months! I’m back in Edinburgh, and regarding the new venue matter, I am available to contribute.

 

The Edinburgh Masonic Club is very close to my place! I’m definitely up for it!


Cheers, 

 

Federico

 

 

 

From: EdLUG <edlug-bounces at lists.edlug.org.uk> On Behalf Of Edinburgh Linux Users Group
Sent: 19 January 2019 09:29
To: edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk
Subject: Re: [EdLUG] In search of a new venue still

 

Good Morning Tai,

 

Just to add to the Venue search, I may have another suggestion.

 

I was out dancing the other night and it was at the ‘Edinburgh Masonic Club’ 3 Shrubhill Walk, Leith EH7 4RB.  It is in the new build of flats and ground floor shops just before the Sainsbury ‘Metro’ place, there is a gym on the corner and its literally round the corner.  It has 3 bars that I saw and I spoke to the manager briefly and he gave me a quick tour!  

 

They opened on the 18th December last year and have a few external groups like Weight Watchers as well as the various Masonic Lodges, but there are several nights free and they have several small and large meeting rooms.  They also have a Conference hall that they would like to start bookings for, I didn’t see any obvious Conference facitities - screen, projectors, etc. But I immediately thought of our group and also I know there are other people on this list that may be looking for possible ‘Conference Venues’ and rooms.

 

For transparencies sake I have no affiliation to the Masons, I went to dance Ceroc, and it was a new venue for them, but when I saw the place and what was possible I thought of us.  The manger showed my one room that had table and chairs and would probably seat approximately up to 20/25 people and he said the ‘charge' for that room was £20.  I know that would entail people ‘contributing’ but!!?? it would give us a private venue and there bars downstairs that we could use afterwards?  Because its a 'new build’ it’s got accessible  lifts, toilets etc.

 

The address is as above, and the managers name is Bill Wright, telephone number is 07837 427 862 I said that you may be in touch, if not it doesn’t matter as I’ll be there next week on the Thursday evening for Ceroc!

 

Cheers for now, and hopefully I’ve not just confused matters!

 

Alistair





On 18 Jan 2019, at 18:14, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> > wrote:

 

Hi all

 

In this mail:

- Venue stake out conclusion

- Date poll progress

- Next meetup date and location

 

+++ Venue

 

I was able to join Shehraz and Ross in looking into a couple of places yesterday evening.

 

We checked out the BrewDog - it has potential, but the main area is quite loud and the bar is pricey. There is a TV in a back area that can be booked, and the speakers were on much lower there than in the main bar, so could still be suitable.

 

On Ross's recommendation, we looked in at a place called the Fiddling Fox, which is a 3min walk from Haymarket station and associated bus routes. It's spacious and could comfortably host us, has screens that could be plugged into as well; it was rather quiet when we went. I'd reckon it's more accessible than the Royal Dick, in terms of number of transport links that stop nearby. We had a word with the manager and we could have it for free on a monthly basis. It's not as fancy/modern as the Royal Dick in terms of interious design, but it's practical and relatively easy to get to.

 

I still have not been able to think of any non-pub locations that are also affordable options and that are open in the evening, and at this point, I don't particularly fancy running around too much more.

 

The credible options in front of us are thus :

 

* The Royal Dick, Summerhall, on the East edge of the Meadows, 5min walk from our current meeting place ; Summerhall is a centre for independent creatives, and association with it would be positive in terms of outreach we'll eventually want to be doing ; wheel chair accessible, we'd have to bring our own screen and projector ; bar with food and hot drinks available

* The Fiddling Fox, by Haymarket ; bright and spacious bar, with a couple spaces where we could easily present, a smaller ground floor one (wheelchair accessible), and a larger basement area, both with TV screens ; bar with food, probably hot drinks (forgot to check on that)

 

*The Fox feels like it will be the more appropriate choice*, given its spaciousness and proximity to a major transport hub.

Any objections, please let me know. Anyone in favour, I'd also love to know too :-)

 

+++ Date poll

 

The poll for the date is still open, I have had 3 responses ...

https://framadate.org/5JnBnivPjPpIA68k ;"pingupower" password

 

Current consensus seems to be, "We don't mind keeping Thursday, but we prefer Monday or Tuesday"

 

Unless this changes by Sunday evening, I'm going to make the call to change the meetup night to reflect this preference.

 

 

 

+++ Forward plans for meetups

 

The next meetup will be the 7th of February at the Southsider. There will be no talk, it will be a social only, as we don't have use of the screen anymore.

 

This should be the LAST meetup at the Southsider - and serve as a jovial farewell to this pub which has been EdLUG's base for many years - after which, we will move on to the new location, and the new date pattern. I will confirm these at/after the February meetup, just so as not to put potentially confusing info on the list.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Tai


===
Tai Kedzierski

Linux Operations and Deployments Engineer

 

RHCSA # 170-060-834 <https://www.redhat.com/rhtapps/services/verify?certId=170-060-834> 

 

 

 


I use LibreOffice <https://www.libreoffice.org/>  , a free, Freedom-respecting replacement for MS Office

Open Source Free Software is a matter of liberty, not price.
https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software

 

 

On Wed, 16 Jan 2019 at 19:34, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> > wrote:

Hi Everyone

 

I just wanted to start by thanking Tai for all the work he has put into arranging the meetups and looking for alternative venues. Your work has been and is very much appreciated :)

 

I voted in the poll but unfortunately messed up my selection – I would like to put forward Monday and Tuesday as alternative venues as well. I am free tomorrow night (Thursday) to visit the BrewDog Garage, if anyone would like to join me? It’s a little late but it would be good to check out the venue together if we can.

 

Regarding Akva, if this is the same place I am thinking of in Fountainbridge I believe I have been there before. I visited the venue a few times whilst volunteering for a computer tutoring club. We had the space upstairs for a few hours and could order drinks as needed. It was during the day, but the area is spacious and the atmosphere relatively peaceful. This is definitely a venue which may have potential if The Royal Dick at Summerhall turns out to be unsuitable. The Royal Dick was a good venue when we visited last week, it had a good vibe and it’s located reasonably centrally.

 

Best Wishes

 

Shehraz

 

 

  _____  

From: EdLUG <edlug-bounces at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:edlug-bounces at lists.edlug.org.uk> > on behalf of Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> >
Sent: 14 January 2019 15:52
To: Edinburgh Linux Users Group
Subject: Re: [EdLUG] In search of a new venue still 

 

Hi all

 

Thanks for the extra suggestions, and reviews

 

* BrewDog Garage - if anyone foot-commutes via that way or will be there this week, could you pop in and have a look and mail in your discoveries please? I might not be able to get to it before the week-end otherwise

* Akva - same thing.

 

The two are close by so if nobody does either of these by this week-end I'll see if I can give it a go

 

* Waitrose in Comely Bank - I'd fear that is a bit out of the way. I know someone out that way and the buses aren't the most frequent...

 

Shehraz and I went to The Royal Dick at Summerhall last Thursday, it's accessible (side entrance) and has a private room. I'm still waiting on the price from them, which they've tentatively indicated as being a "£50 deposit for food bookings of 10+ people," the person on the phone did not have the lee way to answer to the full details of what I was asking so I've directed them to a mail I sent last week for extra info. I'm hoping that if we became a confirmed monthly thing, they might cut us a nice deal, if prices are involved at all

 

As far as the room goes, in principle it should work ; the only caveat is that the room has a large dining table in it. Ideal for placing a projector and putting computers on, and everybody's round the same table; though it does mean the experience could feel like a cabinet meeting...

 

 

 

 

Finally, the day. I take on board Thomas's remark about other relevant meetup on the same day-pattern ; Kris also attends an alternative meetup (ethical hacking?) that happens on the same evening. This is a quick poll to figure out what might suit best as alternatives - if you vote for "something else", please make a suggestion in the comments of the poll.

 

https://framadate.org/5JnBnivPjPpIA68k ; please respond there.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Tai


===
Tai Kedzierski

Linux Operations and Deployments Engineer

 

RHCSA # 170-060-834 <https://www.redhat.com/rhtapps/services/verify?certId=170-060-834> 

 

 

 


I use LibreOffice <https://www.libreoffice.org/>  , a free, Freedom-respecting replacement for MS Office

Open Source Free Software is a matter of liberty, not price.
https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software

 

 

On Thu, 10 Jan 2019 at 16:51, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> > wrote:

I certainly wouldn't restrict the possible venues to pubs; I don't think many pubs will have good spaces for talks, and as Mark mentioned, it can feel awkward going to a pub if you don't want to drink. Moving on to a pub afterwards, or mixing pub-based social meetups with talk meetups seem like better ideas.

 

I was at a (very small) meetup in Akva recently - they had reserved a table in a quiet-ish corner, which I imagine didn't cost anything. It was comfortable, and the atmosphere made it easier to order a tea or coffee if you didn't want alcohol. A nice place for a social meeting, but the area we were in wouldn't work for a presentation. I haven't seen the upstairs space.

 

Waitrose in Comely Bank has a 'community room' which is free for 'charity events or regular community get togethers'. I don't know if there's any projector or screen, though, and it might be a bit out of the way (20-30 minutes walk from the city centre).

 

The first Thursday of the month is the same schedule as PyData Edinburgh, which I also often want to go to, so I'd personally prefer a different day. But looking at https://opentechcalendar.co.uk/area/62-edinburgh/calendar? most weekdays already seem to have some kind of event, so it's probably not feasible to avoid conflicts.

 

Thomas

 

 

On Thu, Jan 10, 2019, at 4:14 PM, Edinburgh Linux Users Group wrote:

Hi all,

 

I checked the asking price to get the Codebase room. For the evening, it's approximately £230 incl AV suite. £215 without. Needless to say, this is not a viable option.

 

I intend to meet up with Shehraz this evening, the two places I wanted to have a look into are Spoon, the cafe on Nicolson street which has a large space and might be amenable to a bunch of people talking and presenting on a quieter night ; and the Royal Dick at Summerhall which has a few rooms, any one of which we could potentially try to reserve for an hour and a half... enquiry to be made.

 

 

@Mark thanks for the vote of support and suggestions ; from my last visit to Hacklab, their space is near entirely devoted to projects in various stages so I doubt having more than 3-4 people in a room there would work ! I presume TechCube might look like similar prices as to Codebase ...?

 

The receptionist at Codebase suggested looking into Aqva by Fountainbridge, apparently they have an upstairs space that could be suitable and there's already a meetup or two that convene there she believed.

 

Cheers

 

Tai

 

 

===

Tai Kedzierski

Linux Operations and Deployments Engineer

 

RHCSA # 170-060-834 <https://www.redhat.com/rhtapps/services/verify?certId=170-060-834> 

 

 

 


I use LibreOffice <https://www.libreoffice.org/>  , a free, Freedom-respecting replacement for MS Office

Open Source Free Software is a matter of liberty, not price.
https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software

 

 

On Tue, 8 Jan 2019 at 23:37, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> > wrote:

Hi all,

 

Just a recap on the state of things.

 

Happy new 'ears !

 

 

Last week's meetup was... not as comfortable as I'd hoped, owing to it being a football night, AND the quiz was not put off in the slightest.

 

It remains that we cannot hope to continue to convene there and enjoy the benefits we used to; the staff are quite ready to make it known that we are secondary and even tertiary to their preferred activities.

 

The search for an alternative thus continues.

 

 

 

+++ Venus on a Thursday

 

It was suggested that we continue to search for a new venue ourselves in person throughout the Thursdays of this month, rather than cause the monthly meetup to hop around month-to month.

 

This week Shehraz and I will be meeting to try and find another place with the right atmosphere on a Thursday evening which also would have accessibility options and presentation space.

 

We're also still following up on Edinburgh Uni / Teviot, and Codebase as options.

 

 

 

+++ Type of venue

 

While brainstorming last week we also thought about reading up on alternatives such as libraries (if any stay open to run evening events/programmes) and local community centres.

 

This brings a question back - do we really need the venue to be a pub? A few raised hands when we discussed this in person last year indicated that there was a preference for this, but I'd like to suggest we reconsider that with regards to aligning our activities with talks... we can always move on to a nearby pub afterwards.

 

>From Codebase notably, there's the Blue Blazer and The Chanter close by.

 

 

 

+++ Day of meetup

 

Finally, we might benefit from re-considering what evenings we want to convene altogether.

 

We tried to move the evening at the Southsider but it turned out they had events on every evening which put a stop to that. A change in venue might also be well served by a change of evening. First/Second/Third/Fourth Mon/Wed/Tues/Thu of the month?

 

 

+++

 

I'll have to gather all these thoughts into polls, but there's the lay of the land on this front.

 

We still have Ross scheduled to talk in March, so let's hope we'll have found our new home by then..!

 

Tai

 

 

 

===

Tai Kedzierski

Linux Operations and Deployments Engineer

 

RHCSA # 170-060-834 <https://www.redhat.com/rhtapps/services/verify?certId=170-060-834> 

 

 

 


I use LibreOffice <https://www.libreoffice.org/>  , a free, Freedom-respecting replacement for MS Office

Open Source Free Software is a matter of liberty, not price.
https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software

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