London BN member tour: 28th of August -09 - details in first post

[Nukapai]

The date for the international organised group tour/gather has been set for Friday 28th of August 2009. This is an ideal summery weekend during which London is buzzing with life; the Notting Hill carnival and a UK Bank Holiday Monday (31st of August) to follow.

International travellers may wish to arrange additional days on either side (arrive on Thursday and leave whenever they want!) because Friday's schedule is likely to be packed and we will start at around 10am in central London.

Click here for info about London in August.

EDIT 20th of July: The start time will be 10.30 am at Covent Garden. This will allow people from outside London to get in (though people travelling from further afield should probably stay the night before!).

We will be starting at the B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful store and moving on to various other locations throughout the day, enjoying a lovely proper afternoon tea and the day has a little bit of roaming time built in if people want to splinter off into mini-groups.

That's all I can confirm so far, but it will be a great day! Hope lots of people can make it.

Favourite locations we Will Not Miss:
- Les Scenteurs
- Ormonde Jayne
- Harrods perfumery AND Roja Dove upstairs (we have some hope for meeting key people here too)
- B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful (Covent Garden); preliminary promises have been made that we should be able to get a talk directly from the father and son perfumers Mark & Simon
- Any others we can fit into the day! Possibly Jo Malone, Chech & Speake, Penhaligons, Trumper, L'Artisan... as I said, full program to follow: watch this space!

For those making this into a long weekend, I strongly recommend taking a day trip by train down to Brighton to visit Pecksniffs perfumery or having a Sunday morning flower market experience and popping to see Angela Flanders whilst you're at it.

Here is a link to the London shopping guide post with London & Brighton & Angela Flanders included. You can start plotting your lovely long weekend in advance if you're making a holiday of it!

For those just coming for the Friday; this is perfectly fine and dandy - and I look forward to meeting you all! Friday is the only "official" organised day of the tour, but I may join forces with some of you for a Brighton outing on the Saturday if you're up for it.

========================================
Original list of attending members:
(Names in bold have responded to date)
========================================

YES
Nukapai + 1
Grant
Kissandmakeup
(removed due to date)
LedByMyNose (Canada)
Gblue
alba (Spain)
soirdelune
(removed due to date)
Nutmeg
Jill Merrell + 1
Guerlain-lover
(removed due to date)
Stellastar
auburnette
kewart
VM I hate civet
HDS1963
Primavera1000
illyria
Daifuku
Hebe
libertine +1
(= 15 confirmed + a bunch at Facebook)

MAYBE
(removed due to date)
(removed due to date)
(removed due to date)
(removed due to date)

veuve amiot (Netherlands)

(removed due to dates)
Clemmie
the_good_life + 1
(removed due to dates)
scentedmemories
AyelFior
Pour_Monsieur
tuffpup29
(removed due to dates)
Ostranha
Leffleur
Wordbird
(can't make it)
valentinamaltese
whisperingleaves
Dendrobium
LeeScot
Elf
Angeldust

WillC

(= 22)
========================================

Things that everyone needs to arrange and pay for independently:
- Travel to and from London
- Public transport costs whilst in London (some of our travelling will be on foot, some will require a travel card)
- Accommodation (if required) *if there are several people who require accommodation, you may wish to group together and get a group rate at your chosen hotel (though do this privately, please)
- Water, snacks during the day
========================================

[Quarry]

That a-girl! Dig in and do it!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by Quarry

That a-girl! Dig in and do it!

Hee-hee; I wish you could come.

[odysseusm]

Sounds marvelous! I read about a BN tour when I started reading BN.
My plans for next year are completely unformed. And there is perhaps only a small chance I would be in London at any time... small, but not zero.
If it would be OK for a guy to come along, I'd appreciate hearing more about it.
If it is a girls' day out -- have a great time!
Cheers

[chaelaran1008]

I'd love to!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by odysseusm

Sounds marvelous! I read about a BN tour when I started reading BN.
My plans for next year are completely unformed. And there is perhaps only a small chance I would be in London at any time... small, but not zero.
If it would be OK for a guy to come along, I'd appreciate hearing more about it.
If it is a girls' day out -- have a great time!
Cheers

Guys are most welcome - of COURSE! (Unless you mind hanging out with, what's likely to become a girl-heavy group ). So if you're a "maybe", please pop down a 1st choice and 2nd choice of possible months.

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by chaelaran1008

I'd love to!

Yay!

Could you suggest your preferred months - 1st and 2nd choice, please?

[Dimitri]

I'm a maybe (+1, my wife Mira187)

Sometime in the summer would probably make sense rather than rambling all over London in the rain and muck. So - Im easy with the months... may? june?

Just as a side note, my wife and I did a huge London fragrance walk in May this year. I wrote about our stops and purchases in this thread here:
http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=210489

It was GREAT fun, but comfy shoes and wee-wee breaks (for the Mrs) were a must!

[Lian]

Maybe, I'd love to go if the financial crisis was less dire. (and my salary was worth what it was in pounds and euros and dollars etc)

[VM I hate civet]

Good on you for getting the ball rolling, Nukapai! Having had a thoroughly enjoyable solo sniffing rampage this weekend in London, I can only imagine that going in a group would increase the fun by a factor of however many people came along! I would also probably need the safety in numbers afforded by a group to penetrate Roja Dove's inner sanctum in Harrods for example, which I bottled out of gatecrashing on Saturday.

My job takes me periodically out of the country, so I can never commit to arrangements till quite close to the time, but I would say that on the whole January is usually quieter than February, and February quieter than March, so that would be my order of preference: Jan, Feb, March.

There might even be some bargains after Christmas?!

[odysseusm]

For next year, I'd say Sept-Nov is the likely timeframe for me.
Cheers, and glad to at least be dreaming about such a nice trip!

[silverbullet]

What's the nearest airport closest to this "tour" ? Can I bunk with Lian?

[Dimitri]

I'd say City Airport Jack!

[Nukapai]

Fab! Great to see so many "maybes" at least. I'll keep editing the first post to add detail

VM, as much as I'd like to do this sooner rather than later, I'm not sure if I'll have much left for the sale bargains after Christmas... nor am I sure if people could jump to it so soon with travel arrangements and the like. Still, if the majority vote goes on the early months, I'm sure we can pull something off.

I really like your idea of Roja Dove hijack, we should arrange something at his special vault.

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by silverbullet

What's the nearest airport closest to this "tour" ? Can I bunk with Lian?

Is that a "maybe"?

[VM I hate civet]

London Heathrow, but the airports of London Gatwick and Stansted (while further out) are well connected with train services into the city, and within Europe at least, are hubs for certain cheaper airlines!

Hey Nukapai, this tour looks as if it may be going global!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by odysseusm

For next year, I'd say Sept-Nov is the likely timeframe for me.
Cheers, and glad to at least be dreaming about such a nice trip!

Mm, September would suit me too. It's a tiny lull in between big things - although, there is usually a huge conference in the middle of it, so it'd have to be end of Sept. I'll add the months to the list. So far not a lot of agreement on the time of year yet!

[VM I hate civet]

Originally Posted by Nukapai

VM, as much as I'd like to do this sooner rather than later, I'm not sure if I'll have much left for the sale bargains after Christmas... nor am I sure if people could jump to it so soon with travel arrangements and the like.

Hey, no worries, I am happy to go with the consensus - I was only thinking in terms of the "earliest" months that would work. Summer is also good for me.

[silverbullet]

I think I can make in June 2009. Roundtrip is only 1383.00 USD, so I'll need another member to loan me 1380.00. Accommodations isn't a problem, I can stay at a brothel...I mean hostel.

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by VM I hate civet

London Heathrow, but the airports of London Gatwick and Stansted (while further out) are well connected with train services into the city, and within Europe at least, are hubs for certain cheaper airlines!

Hey Nukapai, this tour looks as if it may be going global!

I would be DELIGHTED if it did! I was half-hoping we could do a two-day extravaganza with a day trip on Sunday (either the flower market perfumer in London or a trip to the lanes in Brighton) - might not suit people who are down just for the day, but it'd be an awesome thing for people who've travelled from afar.

I once arranged an international forum gather for a different group of people and whilst it was very, very informal we still had a smashing time for a couple of days! (I also met my husband!!!!).

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by silverbullet

I think I can make in June 2009. Roundtrip is only 1383.00 USD, so I'll need another member to loan me 1380.00. Accomadations isn't a problem, I can stay at a brothel...I mean hostel.

I hope you've seen Muriel's wedding, but anyway - for some reason, I want to reply: Muriel, you're terrrrrrible! (in that lovely drawl). If you haven't seen the film, just go with it.

[Dimitri]

Originally Posted by Nukapai

I really like your idea of Roja Dove hijack, we should arrange something at his special vault.

I happen to be FB friends with one of Roja's phenomenal SA's... so anything is possible!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by Dimitri

I happen to be FB friends with one of Roja's phenomenal SA's... so anything is possible!

Ooh! FA-BU-LOUS!

I'm hoping to be able to pull something nice off for this too, but it depends on so many factors that I daren't mention anything just yet.

[LedByMyNose]

Nukapai, I am on for this! I go to London about once a year and next year the timeframe is Sept-Dec (and that's flexible, so if more people preferred Nov to Sept, for example, I'd schedule then). Depending on the situation with my boyfriend's properties - whether they're rented out or not, whether he is in the country etc. - I might even be able to put 1 or more BNers up in the N1 area.

I'd also be happy to arrange for a foodie sidetrip to Borough Market.

Oh this would be so fun!

[silverbullet]

Just a few questions before I start packing and organizing my itinerary:

1. Do customs frisk you from the waist down or do cavity searches?
2. Do post offices over there have those funny little posters on the wall of people you don't really know?
3. Is it possible to get into anyone's Alan Whickers?
4. Does your government accept food stamps?
5. Are the sheep as friendly as they say?

Thanks in advance.

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by LedByMyNose

Nukapai, I am on for this! I go to London about once a year and next year the timeframe is Sept-Dec (and that's flexible, so if more people preferred Nov to Sept, for example, I'd schedule then). Depending on the situation with my boyfriend's properties - whether they're rented out or not, whether he is in the country etc. - I might even be able to put 1 or more BNers up in the N1 area.

I'd also be happy to arrange for a foodie sidetrip to Borough Market.

Oh this would be so fun!

Mmmmm, I was hoping to combine some kind of foodie interest - that would ROCK.

I'll add you to the list!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by silverbullet

Just a few questions before I start packing and organizing my itinerary:

1. Do customs frisk you from the waist down or do cavity searches?
2. Do post offices over there have those funny little posters on the wall of people you don't really know?
3. Is it possible to get into anyone's Alan Whickers?
4. Does your government accept food stamps?
5. Are the sheep as friendly as they say?

Thanks in advance.

1. Doesn't everyone?
2. We're not the Wild West you know
3. We can always visit Soho and leave you there
4. How old ARE you?
5. See answer #3

[Gblue]

OOOOO
I'm totally up for it - us guys are welcome? June/August sounds good by me. I'd better start saving now - London is only £1 away with the megabus but it's everything I'm sure I'd want to buy!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by Gblue

OOOOO
I'm totally up for it - us guys are welcome? June/August sounds good by me. I'd better start saving now - London is only £1 away with the megabus but it's everything I'm sure I'd want to buy!

Great (And guys are definitely most welcome - all aboard the perfume bus... hmmmmmm, I wonder how much it costs to rent a double decker.... ).

[silverbullet]

Originally Posted by Nukapai

1. Doesn't everyone?
2. We're not the Wild West you know
3. We can always visit Soho and leave you there
4. How old ARE you?
5. See answer #3

I'm 55 and I'll be spending most of my time in SOHO By the way, is SOHO Small Office Home Office ?

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by silverbullet

I'm 55 and I'll be spending most of my time in SOHO By the way, is SOHO Small Office Home Office ?

Figures

[veuve amiot]

Oh! Such a wonderful idea. Do put me on the "maybe" pile, preferably during the summer months!
I'll be in London this Christmas, but it'd be nice to have another excuse to hop the Channel.

[Amit]

Originally Posted by silverbullet

I think I can make in June 2009. Roundtrip is only 1383.00 USD, so I'll need another member to loan me 1380.00. Accommodations isn't a problem, I can stay at a brothel...I mean hostel.

LMAO!

[kewart]

Put me down as a maybe too.
Spring would be best for me - May/Junish.
Hope it's not going to be too expensive!!
Can we go to Les Senteurs?
Well done for getting the ball rolling, by the way.

[Lian]

Yeah next year would probably best(for me anyway), I had to tell my family I wasn´t sure I could make it home this christmas (unless they offer to pay) and it would be so bad if I would starve just to buy tickets and save up for bottles for this trip. Totally worth it though but looks bad.

Also silverbullet sounds crazy! We can look for cheap br..hostels together to ear..some err..save money yes..on a perfume trip.

[alba]

I would really love to come, and June 2009 suits me fine (I guess we're talking about the weekend, right?) So count me in!

[Nukapai]

Great! So glad we've got this going!

I've added veuve amiot and kewart to the "maybe" list and alba to the "yes" list.

Also; I've edited the first post with another idea - IF we get enough of us who will stay in London/UK for more than one day and IF people want to, we could do a Brighton day and take the train down from London, shop on the famous Lanes and spend some time at one of the last remaining independent perfumers in UK (Pecksniff's of Brighton). I spoke to them today and the response was warm and interested to this possible idea. Just throwing stuff out there for the time being; nothing confirmed yet.

[Gblue]

Oh I love the idea of a trip down to Brighton too! Just give me a date now and I'm there. A long weekend in/around London would be fantastic....Ooooh I'm gonna be looking at shows to catch too. Damnit!

[chaelaran1008]

Can do from June onwards. Any dates for last week in August/first week in September and also the first week in October are out for me. It's best for me to say this now rather than later, but I guess that still leaves lots of dates!

[chaelaran1008]

Originally Posted by Gblue

Ooooh I'm gonna be looking at shows to catch too. Damnit!

Me too! I'm hoping to see Jersey Boys sometime next year.

[Nukapai]

Once we get a more definitive consensus on the date, I'll book a week's holiday and we can fit our scheduled activities over a nice long weekend. This is kind of what happened the last time I arranged a forum gather - we had something happening for 3 days and people did all or any combination of days! Some attached an extra day's holiday for themselves and just went on their own little escapades (makes sense if you're coming from USA, Canada, etc...).

How it could go for us:

DAY 1 - LONDON - Les Senteurs, Roja Dove, Ormonde Jaybe, B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful, Chanel (if they'll let us in!), (possibly other perfumeries too), department stores etc (possibly also a talk/demo/activity) + some kind of foody interest (we need to eat of course ). EVENING: maybe some of us who are staying overnight catch a show?

DAY 2 - Train to Brighton - (will need to arrange someone to chaperone non-locals from London to Brighton; I'll meet everyone at Brighton end and we'll walk down to the Lanes). Possible exclusive event/talk (or just a simple visit) to Pecksniff's (was also told today that they're launching a new frag. next year and may be able to give us some to review here, that sounded lovely)... a bit of chilled out shopping of organic foods, lovely cosmetics, hippie clothes, funky shoes etc - maybe if the weather permits, a picnic on the beach - then train back later in the day. There are also "regular" shops that might be of interest - Debenhams, Perfume Shop, Superdrug, Boots and Lush of course.

These days could run Fri/Sat.

DAY 3 - LONDON - Finally, for super enthusiasts, on Sunday, there's a very unique tiny independent perfumery situated at the Columbia Road flower market (open ONLY on Sundays) and there could be a little excursion to there in the morning, hopefully we could make an appointment and speak to Angela herself (that would be so much fun), then look around the flower market, get some brunch and head off home in the early afternoon!

[Nukapai]

Updates in first post!

[BlackCat]

This sounds like so much fun!

I'd say chances are slim of me attending, but DH and I were talking about going to Europe in June, and even though we were discussing Italy, perhaps I could convince him to include London as part of the trip. (What the heck, same continent, right?)

[Wordbird]

Originally Posted by silverbullet

I'm 55 and I'll be spending most of my time in SOHO By the way, is SOHO Small Office Home Office ?

SO not! It's full of sheep, for a start. Bring your shepherd's crook and you'll go down a storm.
(Bet you've never had it called that before.)

Actually, Silverbullet sounds like such a good laugh, maybe we should have a whip round for his ticket. Oh dear, we're back to Soho, aren't we?


Seriously Nukapia - a brilliant idea and good for you for pulling it together.
I'd be interested! If I have a preference for dates, I'd say not winter, because it's so soggy and not during the school holidays because London is even more insane than usual then. And would it be possible to only come for one day, as I know it would be impossible to get a whole weekend of babysitting?

[LedByMyNose]

That's a good point about school holidays. July/August are always even more crammed than usual - by Sept the crowds will have thinned and the weather will be all gorgeous and autumnal. I think I'm just trying to convince Nukapai to do this in the Fall though!

[Nukapai]

Well, there are other votes for September! It would be fine for me too, providing we set the dates to the last week of September (the rest of that month is usually too busy for me).

Anyway - thanks for the, erm, thanks guys -- I fear they are very premature though - we've only scratched the surface!

[tigrushka]

If I can afford to come to London again, I definitely will, but the money situation is a gigantic question mark, so please include me to the "maybe" group. As for timing, my vote goes for June.

[Nukapai]

Great, Tigrushka - I've added you to the "maybe" list. So far June is winning as a month of choice.

And thanks for the sticky!

[tigrushka]

Thanks! No prob, stickying is me job.

[soirdelune]

I'd certainly be interested!

And no preference regarding the time of year, as I'm only an hour by train from London.

Yay!

[Nukapai]

Originally Posted by soirdelune

I'd certainly be interested!

And no preference regarding the time of year, as I'm only an hour by train from London.

Yay!

Fab! I've added you to the list

[Clemmie]

I would definitely be up for this. June is a bad month for me though, because I go on holiday the first two weeks of June most years. August is good because everyone buggers off on holiday and it's quiet - but likely to be hot in London, and that's not idea. I'd like to propose early May - around bank holiday time.

[Clemmie]

Originally Posted by LedByMyNose

That's a good point about school holidays. July/August are always even more crammed than usual - by Sept the crowds will have thinned and the weather will be all gorgeous and autumnal. I think I'm just trying to convince Nukapai to do this in the Fall though!

September works for me too. Much better as an option - except it's a very long time to wait...

[Clemmie]

By the way, if you are going to go to Pecksniffs, they have a fairly limited range (though very good), and some of you might want to consider a bespoke consultation. They do have a long waiting list, and I don't know if Michaela can do several people, but it's well worth it. You wouldn't be able to take your perfume away on the day, but you'd get 3 samples to take away with you to 'live with' for a while. Just a thought anyway...

[Nukapai]

I've added you to the "maybe" list, Clemmie - and put your two month suggestions up!

[Astaroth]

I don't need much of an excuse to go to London. If the date gets nailed down far enough in advance, I can probably do this, either combining it with a periodic trip to Europe, or as a stand-alone weekend. If I do it as a stand-alone weekend, I can probably bring my lady with me (who has never been to London, and it's probably about time).

Any chance I can get a ride in that flaming red SmartCar (never been in one), if I promise to behave and stay out of SoHo? I'd rather spend time in Knightsbridge, anyway.

[Nukapai]

I've added you to the list, Astaroth (btw, are you a Soul Calibur fan?). The red Smart may not be coming to town - getting around London is better by public transport or taxi - but if we do the Brighton day I might take it along. Put it this way, if you two ever meet, you're guaranteed a ride!

[Nutmeg]

I came to the last London meet, and would love to come to this one as well! I am a Londoner, so have no problem with any dates that suit the majority.

[Clemmie]

Originally Posted by Astaroth

I don't need much of an excuse to go to London. If the date gets nailed down far enough in advance, I can probably do this, either combining it with a periodic trip to Europe, or as a stand-alone weekend. If I do it as a stand-alone weekend, I can probably bring my lady with me (who has never been to London, and it's probably about time).

Any chance I can get a ride in that flaming red SmartCar (never been in one), if I promise to behave and stay out of SoHo? I'd rather spend time in Knightsbridge, anyway.

I've got a grey Smart car, but I don't ever drive in London. You should get in one as soon as possible, they're great fun!

[Nukapai]

Nice one, Clemmie!

Nutmeg, I've added you to the list!