Countdown in Cambridge (CoCam) 2019 - Saturday 8th June
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 5:50 pm
I'm pleased to finally 'officially' announce that Countdown in Cambridge is back for a second year on Saturday 8th June. Like last year and the events in King’s Lynn beforehand, this will be a Lincoln/Edinburgh-style tournament — everyone plays six 9-round games in groups of three, through three stages of competition, followed by a 15-round grand final between the top two players at the end of the day.
The event will once again take place in the fabulous auditorium of the St. Philip’s Church Centre (http://www.stphilipschurch.org.uk), postcode CB1 3AN, which is a wonderfully bright and airy space with plenty of room. It also has free wi-fi and three large TV screens which will be used to show the latest scores throughout the day.
We will have access to a kitchen — tea, coffee and soft drinks will be provided, as well as a few homemade cakes. Lunch is not provided, but there are plenty of places on Mill Road to grab something to eat, including a branch of the Co-Op and several coffee outlets.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much parking at the venue and the local streets tend to be full of residents’ cars. The Saturday parking tariff at nearby Cambridge Station has risen in the past year from a very reasonable £5 in 2018 to a rather less palatable £12.50 so it might be worth considering using one of the Park and Ride bus services or parking at Cambridge North for £3 and making the short journey by rail to the main station (£2.10 return without railcard)!
For those coming by train — very easy from London, taking around 60 minutes from King’s Cross — or parking their car at the station, the church is then a short walk away, taking around 14 minutes if you’re the little man on Google. The venue is fully accessible with the exception of the kitchen which is somewhat bijou!
Of course, another reason (if you needed one) to visit Cambridge is to do the tourist thing and go and look at all the fabulous college buildings, go punting, find the mathematical bridge and England’s answer to the Bridge of Sighs, visit the Botanical Gardens, climb the tower of the church that chimes like Big Ben (and get one of the best views of the city), spot the pub where the discovery of DNA was announced, and, well, I could go on, but if you’re interested you’ll be googling everything already, and this is about Countdown …
There isn’t anything formally planned for post-event food and drink, but the most likely post-event venue is the one used by most people last year - the popular Cambridge Blue on Gwydir Street, which does a nice line in pies and is a short walk from both the church (11 minutes) and the station (12 minutes).
The entrance fee for the day is only £10, which can be transferred to me through PayPal at mike@mjbrown.demon.co.uk. Those of you who would prefer to pay by cheque can do so — snail-mail address available on request.
The timetable for the day is likely to be:
10.30 Doors open
11.15 Welcome / Round 1 Draw announced.
11.30 Round 1
12.50 Lunch
13.50 Round 2
15.10 Break
15.25 Round 3
16.45 Break
17.05 Grand Final (15 rounds)
17.30 Prizegiving
18.00 End / down the pub!
Hope to see you there!
ENTRANTS:
1 Rachel Perkins
2 Jeff Clayton
3 Jonathan De Souza
4 Aidan Linge
5 Tom Cappleman
6 Graeme Cole
7 Ciaran McCarthy
8 Samuel Prouse
9 Stewart Gordon
10 Ben Wilson
11 Gevin Chapwell
12 Bradley Horrocks
13 Joe Harrison
14 Amar Chotai
15 Tim Hebbes
16 Rob Foster
17 Oli Garner
18 Fiona Titcombe
19 Dan Byrom
The event will once again take place in the fabulous auditorium of the St. Philip’s Church Centre (http://www.stphilipschurch.org.uk), postcode CB1 3AN, which is a wonderfully bright and airy space with plenty of room. It also has free wi-fi and three large TV screens which will be used to show the latest scores throughout the day.
We will have access to a kitchen — tea, coffee and soft drinks will be provided, as well as a few homemade cakes. Lunch is not provided, but there are plenty of places on Mill Road to grab something to eat, including a branch of the Co-Op and several coffee outlets.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much parking at the venue and the local streets tend to be full of residents’ cars. The Saturday parking tariff at nearby Cambridge Station has risen in the past year from a very reasonable £5 in 2018 to a rather less palatable £12.50 so it might be worth considering using one of the Park and Ride bus services or parking at Cambridge North for £3 and making the short journey by rail to the main station (£2.10 return without railcard)!
For those coming by train — very easy from London, taking around 60 minutes from King’s Cross — or parking their car at the station, the church is then a short walk away, taking around 14 minutes if you’re the little man on Google. The venue is fully accessible with the exception of the kitchen which is somewhat bijou!
Of course, another reason (if you needed one) to visit Cambridge is to do the tourist thing and go and look at all the fabulous college buildings, go punting, find the mathematical bridge and England’s answer to the Bridge of Sighs, visit the Botanical Gardens, climb the tower of the church that chimes like Big Ben (and get one of the best views of the city), spot the pub where the discovery of DNA was announced, and, well, I could go on, but if you’re interested you’ll be googling everything already, and this is about Countdown …
There isn’t anything formally planned for post-event food and drink, but the most likely post-event venue is the one used by most people last year - the popular Cambridge Blue on Gwydir Street, which does a nice line in pies and is a short walk from both the church (11 minutes) and the station (12 minutes).
The entrance fee for the day is only £10, which can be transferred to me through PayPal at mike@mjbrown.demon.co.uk. Those of you who would prefer to pay by cheque can do so — snail-mail address available on request.
The timetable for the day is likely to be:
10.30 Doors open
11.15 Welcome / Round 1 Draw announced.
11.30 Round 1
12.50 Lunch
13.50 Round 2
15.10 Break
15.25 Round 3
16.45 Break
17.05 Grand Final (15 rounds)
17.30 Prizegiving
18.00 End / down the pub!
Hope to see you there!
ENTRANTS:
1 Rachel Perkins
2 Jeff Clayton
3 Jonathan De Souza
4 Aidan Linge
5 Tom Cappleman
6 Graeme Cole
7 Ciaran McCarthy
8 Samuel Prouse
9 Stewart Gordon
10 Ben Wilson
11 Gevin Chapwell
12 Bradley Horrocks
13 Joe Harrison
14 Amar Chotai
15 Tim Hebbes
16 Rob Foster
17 Oli Garner
18 Fiona Titcombe
19 Dan Byrom