Next Year's Meet

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Hello.  Now don't rub it in Ewan.  Nice and sunny in Scotland??  Are you sure?  Did you take a long nap?  
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  ACTUALLY my Dad came to visit about 8 years ago and I took him on a "tour" of the U.K. in May.  We went from here to Loch Ness and then to Perth.  Back down the East coast and back to here.  The country was ABSOLUTELY beautiful and the weather that year was wonderful.  Keep Smokin!


Danny
 
End of July fits in great for me Danny if everyone else can accommodate it, glad it suits Steve too as it takes the pressure off me :)
 
 
Hello Stan.  The truck and the travel trailer ain't water proof.  We could have a whale of a time on Padre Island but just can't get there.  These U.K. folks haven't seen a beach like that unless they have been overseas.  My wife loves the beach so when I go home I usually take her to Padre.  We drive about 20 miles down the beach and spend a nite or 2.  Nobody around but the coyotes, sea gulls and pelicans.  Well,  if you don't count the sharks and stuff in the water, but I don't tell her about that.  
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  Keep Smokin!


Danny
Padre Island. Now that certainly gets my vote for venue 
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. Don't worry about the sharks - they are great grilled with a little lemon pepper
 
 
Hello Graeme.  Sorry.  Yes, I forgot about that.  OK.  Now we have 3 options.  July 31, August 1-2 2015.  August 7-9, 2015.  August 14-16, 2015.  I spoke to Smoking Monkey on the phone and he is free any of those.  I can make any of those but my choice is 7-9 August.  PLEASE give me some feedback.  I want to include EVERYONE!  This is OUR Group and I want as varied opinion as possible.

Danny
All dates above are good for me.
 
Hello.  OK.  As we had no objections to the date, next years meet will be 31-07-15 - 02-08-15.  So put that on your calender!  NOW.  I just contacted the camp site.  They are not really taking bookings yet that far in advance.  There will be a Directors meeting later this month where they will discuss prices for next year.  There "may" be a price increase but not necessarily.  I will get a phone call when they know or I will contact them, end of the month.  There are several camp sites in the area and 3-4 more camp sites in Woodhall Spa so they must remain competitive, BUT should they do something silly we will find another venue somewhere.  As soon as we can book I'll let folks know.  Booking it this early will also allow folks without caravans to book the Sky Pods.  Hopefully we can have a larger turn out next year.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
Hello.  I am running in to some problems with trying to top the Lancasters and spitfire I provided this year.  I have invited the Queen, and William and Kate.  I have also contacted  NASA about the space shuttle but I don't hold out much hope for either.  
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  Keep Smokin!


Danny
 
Hello folks, I'm definitely interested in this! Could anyone let me know what kind of stuff is involved? Do you just cook up a good load of food and chow down? Sounds amazing!
 
Hope you can make it Ewan.  If you are thinking of coming, get something booked as early as you can.  That's funny Graeme; I don't remember there being any beer last year.  
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Danny
 
Hello folks, I'm definitely interested in this! Could anyone let me know what kind of stuff is involved? Do you just cook up a good load of food and chow down? Sounds amazing!
Hi Ewan.

The event is very informal however we try to coordinate what people cook/bring beforehand to ensure that as many bases are covered as possible. A month or so before the event we will start to ask what people intend doing on the day and post up a list for others to see. That way we hope to avoid everyone doing the same thing. If people do want to cook or bring similar things then that is perfectly OK too but we are just trying to avoid the only thing on the table being 20 bowls of potato salad.

At the site we rent an additional pitch which we use for the BBQs. People who wanted to cook brought their own smokers for cooking on the day however it may be possible to share with someone else if they have the space. We also have a large refrigerated trailer on the site (thanks to Steve) so that we can keep everything chilled before it is cooked. We had a good mix of food last year which included Brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken in several forms, sausage, chili and various breads and salads of all kinds.

Most of us arrive on the Friday night and the evening is spent huddling under a caravan awning trying to shelter from torrential rain whilst drinking copious amounts of wine, beer (and possibly cider), getting to know each other and sharing stories of that elusive perfect brisket or rib roast. Whilst the smokers are talking about the important stuff our partners are discussing trivial matters like world peace and are looking upon as in awe. I think it is a look of awe but maybe it is just sympathy.

On the Saturday we set a time in the late afternoon at which point we will eat. The BBQers then work towards getting their food ready for that time. It is all then laid out on a table and, because there is usually much more than we can eat, the whole group, invited guests, and anyone else that happens to be passing by are invited to tuck in.

It is a very relaxed day and it is not a competition. It is all about sharing our experiences, picking up tips from others and then enjoying a good spread of smoked meats and sides with good company.

We are looking forward to you joining us if you can 
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Hi Ewan, it's as Wade said.

Hers a couple of pictures from last years event.


Wade, I PM Danny last night regarding the Menus, and I think it will be more important the last year to post them up, as more people are attending.

Also PM Jeff (TulsaJeff) with a request to see if it's OK to have a dedicated web site for it.

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]
 
HEY!  Wait a minute!  That 1st picture has been digitally altered!  I didn't have ANY beer that weekend!  Well; that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  
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  Hope all can make it this year.  Keep Smokin!


Danny
 
I am flexible on the dates, How many people are attending? and depending on the number of pitches that we will be booking I think we should push for a discount, or at the very least the "extra" pitch should be a freebie.  If you don't ask, you don't get!
 
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I am flexible on the dates, How many people are attending? and depending on the number of pitches that we will be booking I think we should push for a discount, or at the very least the "extra" pitch should be a freebie.  If you don't ask, you don't get!
These have all been booked several months ago to ensure that we get the central pitches we need together. The dates we go are ate peak time for them so discount is probably not on the cards - however they are very accommodating towards us and make us feel very welcome.
 
Hi SW.  I asked about a discount last year.  I am sure the site wardens would go for it.  Nice couple I have gotten to know.  We also invite them for the meal.  Not their call though.  The problem is getting folks to commit.  I can't organise any better than in the forum.  I know we will get a discount when I can go to them and say we will be booking "X" pitches and "X" pods  I KNOW 4 couples will be there, if you are coming that would be 5 but I don't KNOW you are coming.  Last year a couple folks said they were coming but never booked.  Until I can get folks to commit to the weekend BEFORE we book any pitches/pods I have no bargaining position.  I thought that by setting the date so early maybe we could get an idea of the numbers but not the case.  Smokin Monkey will host a site to post menus again this year.  We are trying to make sure we don't end up with everyone making smoked chicken and green salad.  He and Wade and I will try to fill any "gaps" we see but we got very little participation on menus last year.  I hope that was just because it was the first meet.  Makes it hard to "cook for the masses".  We also had folks just wandering around watching so naturally we invited them to join us.  Had a little lad munching on a chicken leg quarter big as his head!  BIG ole grin on his face!  That was priceless!  I don't know how better we could do it.  Even if we post a site for folks to sign up to the weekend, that is STILL not a commitment.  If I go to them with booking 20 pitches/pods and then don't deliver, any future discount would be a non-starter.  Any suggestions are welcome.

Danny
 
Its a difficult one,  maybe putting a deposit down, but that still does not guarantee they will show up on the day.  

I will send out a couple of tweets to see if I can gather a bit more interest !!
 
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