Thanks Ryan, will add your name.

I've started compiling some questions and you're welcome to lob a few my way aswell; quite happy to host it but equally I can do the buzz/ping noises from the laptop if you want to be WGS.

Jeff

PS all FYI: 11am-ish start for this event, same as last October, but this coming October we kick off at 10am.

Am I right in thinking this starts at 11am? What time will we be done by?

1700-1730ish.

Latest headcount stands at 14:


Matt Bayfield - to play Jeff in DCeDL exhibition game.
Kirk Bevins
Mike Brown
Mary Jo Clayton - requested to play.
Derek Hazell
Jack Hurst
Junaid Mubeen - to co-host a game(s).
Karen Pearson - requested to play first round game vs Rich Priest; to host Jeff vs Matt DCeDL.
Rich Priest - requested to play first round game vs Karen Pearson.
Dinos Sfyris
Ryan Taylor - requested to host 15-to-1 game
Ben Wilson
Anna Woodward - requested to play; to co-host a game(s).
Tom Rowell - to appear after 5pm.


Anybody got any questions at this stage? Do you all know where the venue is??

Cheers
Jeff

i will be coming from about 11 till about half 2 methinks or i may stay all day depending on whether i want to go to the football or not

Who's playing?

I would like to play Jack if you can swing it

Yes mate we can sort that, provided of course Jack's happy aswell?

Any particular reason??

Would love to do a bit of hosting and DC'ing and if you still need some more people to play, I'll volunteer for one.

Yay, this sounds good.


He just wants an easy win, I think.

I've just booked my tickets. I get into Leicester at 1023. Anyone getting there around that time and want to share a taxi? My train home leaves 835pm so I get to have a couple of beverages and some Hexy time afterwards.

You Should Walk, you lazy git.

My train also gets in at 10:23 so you're probably on the 10:01 from Derby like me. My train home though leaves a lot earlier: 17:25 mainly because I am a cheapskate who wouldn't pay full whack for later ticket.

Oh, my train home from Leicester - York is only £9.55. That's the cheapest I could get. I get on the train at Sheffield actually Ryan, so we'll pick you up at Derby en route. I only have 7 minutes connection at Sheffield so fingers crossed.

£9.55. JHC the absolute cheapest I got my tickets for was £19.00 each. Every other ticket was £44.50 each (that's £89!!). I considered driving but then thought I would get lost easy so bit the bullet and bought the cheapest train tickets but means I leave early and miss the aftermath.

wtf? Hull - Leicester? £29.75 return with a railcard. You have one don't you?

No.

You tool. It only costs £26 so buying it just for this trip would probably be economical let alone all the other trips you'll use in the year it's valid for.

Edit: I bought it at £18 when I was 16. I remember it went up to £20 then £22 but never knew it had gone up to £26. Silly price now.

We'll aim for a 5pm finish then, and if any of you need a taxi for a quick getaway then we can get that booked, before winding down / photos / closing up and retiring to the pub.

If you can all get to Leicester in good time in the morning please, as we'll need to kick off by about 11am to run everything comfortably. I will be there from about 9am and early arrivers can enjoy some warm-ups and practices.

--

To respond to various requests, there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved - contestants, co-hosts, DCers x 2, contributors of amusing material etc.

For those of you coming by train - seriously, if you're not coming up to the venue in a group, save yourselves a taxi because there is a bus every 6 minutes up the London Road - Arriva 31/31A towards Oadby - and ask for a single/return to Elmfield Avenue ("first stop after Victoria Park roundabout"). Journey time is no more than five minutes; walking takes 15-20 minutes.

On the subject of rail fares, the 12-week window for advance bookings for 16th October opens up in the next few days so keep checking the National Rail site and get straight in there for the best deals.

--

Hex is good. I was in Varsity the other week and if anyone remembers Duel from the telly a couple of years back (Nick Hancock, ITV1), there now is a version of this game on the machine which is worth a dabble.

If any of you need to get in touch, txt/call me - 07595 690249.

Cheers
Jeff

Ryan - could you give me a shout on the mobile when you see this message, as I need to run through some 15-to-1 stuff with you. Ta!

I have seen this message but won't holler you yet as it is 6am. I am very considerate.

Im coming for the day now I thought as reigning champion I should make a decent appearance. Whats parking like around the venue?

I think there's a small car park at the venue that probably fits around 30 cars and it was nearly empty last time IIRC except for c4cer cars.

I've booked my train ticket now. I'll be on the same train as Jack, Kirky et al arriving 10.23. See you there xx

I'll be getting in at 10:21 so can meet up with the 10:23 guys.

I'm not going on a train, but the train station is on my route there.

If there will be four of you arriving at/by 10:23 then the taxi will work out cheaper.

Parking is good, either at the hotel or in the quiet street where it is located.

If any of you want to familiarise yourselves with the environs, have a look on Google Street View.

Cheers
Jeff

One for our delightful Karen here. Would you want to be known as Madame Poire-fils (Pear-son, hah geddit) for your hosting stint on Saturday?

I guess that makes me Monsieur Pretre

I am happy to be Madame Poire-fils or, alternatively, I don't mind being addressed by my maiden name of Mademoiselle Plus.

Jeff if there's time alongside the 15-to-1 game and everything I've prepared a little team game to fill a gap. If there's no time I'm sure it'll make a fine distraction at the pub afterwards.

Right then y'all - one last note from me before Saturday.

Doors open at 09:00 when we can begin setting everything up in plenty of time - and get some practice in for good measure. We need to get the first game going no later than 11:00 please, but any sooner will be a bonus.

The list of entrants totals 13 and comprises:

Matt Bayfield
Kirk Bevins
Mike Brown
Mary Jo Clayton - game vs ?
Derek Hazell
Jack Hurst - game vs Dinos Sfyris
Junaid Mubeen
Karen Pearson - game vs Richard Priest
Richard Priest - game vs Karen Pearson
Tom Rowell
Dinos Sfyris - game vs Jack Hurst
Ryan Taylor
Ben Wilson

Unless there are any requests before Saturday morning, the three remaining contestants will be selected at random and the order of play for the first four games will be determined then aswell.

EDIT: There will be opportunities to co-host, DC (x2) and recap aswell, so everyone can get involved right across the day.

When you arrive, the tables will be set up with paper, pens, squash and jugs of water, and plates of biscuits/sweets. Teas/coffees are £1.50; lattes, cappuccinos and hot chocolates are £1.75.

There will also be menus and I intend to break for lunch at 13:00. Can I ask that one of the first things you do on arrival please is write your order on the communal sheet of A4, then I can hand it in and the chefs will get plenty of time. For people who've not been before, the menu is excellent and caters for dietary requirements too - have a look on the hotel's website, http://www.stoneycrofthotel.co.uk .

And of course, the bar will be open throughout the afternoon.

We've also got some interludes:
- after the third game, Karen will host Matt and myself for 12 rounds of Des chiffres et des lettres (NLL x4);
- and after game six (SF2), Ryan's got 40 questions for a special 15-to-1 with three players! So in traditional fashion, the 15-to-1 final will precede the Countdown final.

Dinos - if there's time yes we can slot your game in, else the pub is coolio.

There are also some prizes up for grabs on the day aswell. And did I mention the surprise graphics...?

If we need to rearrange tables and things then that's fine - depends whether you want to play along or just sit back and enjoy. Feel free to bring your cameras, camcorders etc and take loads of shots but respectfully, please just ensure the flash is off during gameplay.

I hope you'll all enjoy it as much as I'm now looking forward to it

If any of you get stuck, my number is 07595 690 249.

See you Saturday!
Jeff

What? No Anna? What's happened to Anna?

Happy Birthday Jeff and I hope everyone has a great day/night on Saturday.

Can I play Junaid as a battle of series champions? Not sure if he'll agree?

I would love to play a bit of 15 to 1

I think everyone should have to give me £1 for every time they call me Josh.

She pulled out because I can't make it.

Junaid can no longer make it so I'll happily play Mary Jo Clayton to ease her in. Or Ben Wilson, whoever wants it most. :p

Oh go on then.

Anna and Junaid can no longer make it due to unforeseen respective gubbins each.

Kirk vs Ben alllrighty.

Kirk, mum has specifically asked not to be paired against you! And as a newbie, I think she should have her say on who she'd like to play!

Jeff

Home after a long journey back to 'Ull. Sorry I didn't stay (felt a bit rude). Thought it was brilliant Jeff, all the stuff you had (like the graphics) and how organised and smoothly it ran. Well done!

Seconded- great to see everyone again and it was a really fun day.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself today - well done Jeff on another successful CoLei event. Nice to meet those who I hadn't met before (Tom, Derek and Mary Jo).

Brilliant day! Thanks so much Jeff (and Bee). Really well organised as usual and great fun.

I certainly enjoyed my stints in DC and I think some of the guys might have enjoyed being Rachel just a bit too much!

Can't wait for October.

Great day, thanks for organising it Jeff. Well done to Richard for Championness

Really enjoyed myself too, thanks Jeff. Disappointed about the result obviously but I'm glad Richard has finally tasted success. Well played mate.

Did you keep going for his knees too? Watch him Rich - it's a tactic.

Spill the beans on all then - I want to know what I missed I bet it was grrrrrrrrrreat

Karen almost killed Dinos with broken glass and I beat Mike by correctly answering 'Lesley Hines' to a question.

To be fair, I was trying to kill him with a chocolate eclair (the toffee kind) but my aim was a bit off. And it's probably lucky it hit the glass as, given it broke the glass, it would probably have broken one of Dinos's ribs.

The reason for the assault was that I had declared GANGLAND erroneously due to seeing a phantom second N. Dinos (who was being Susie) then rather facetiously said that DC had got GANG and LAND.

And we all sang Happy Birthday (rather badly) to Jeff and we gave him 2 cakes (A Buzz cake and a Bus cake).

I put on my best singing voice for that.

Thanks for a great day, Jeff. It was good to see some very entertaining and competitive games (well done to Rich for winning, of course, and commiserations to Kirk for another near-miss). It was also fun to do a bit of DC-ing and Rachel impersonating. Good to meet up with everyone again, as always. Pleased you had a good time; enjoy the cakes!

Supoib event Jeff. I loved all the little side-attractions like DC et DL and 15 to 1. And well done to Rich for winning. The orgasmic look on your face when you solved PCWHISKER was priceless.

Also thanks to everyone on the inbox whose combined knowledge let me leave varsity quids in! I'm already getting etiolated about the next one. Yaaaaaaaaay!

Yeah that machine wanted to pay out. Lots of money on the anagram game then £5 on pub quiz and all the questions I could do and I'm thick! It wanted us to win the jackpot I think but we were too crap on that one question.

What was the question?

Something about an insect I think. The 3 answers were all some crazy word followed by either bee, moth or something else. We guessed moth, then bee and it was the something else and we lost. Loving ur new avi!

I would've gone for something else.

Thanks for the congratulations guys! Feels fantastic to have won an event, even though I know I'd probably have had to win twice as many games to win one of the regular Co-events. Part of me does feel a bit gutted for Kirk having been denied at the last gasp once again. However, the docile exterior masks a fierce desire to succeed, and I've put a fair bit of work in over the last few months so it's great to get a pay-off Can't wait for October!

Brilliant event Jeff, fantastic graphics and a good bit of variety with the 15-1 and Des Chiffres et Des Lettres.A very enjoyable day indeed.

I filmed the ending of the game:

Which of these Gs is a type of lizard:

A) Galliwasp
B) Gallimoth
C) Gallibee

I started filming as the machine was sure to pay out the jackpot as the questions before it were easy, including "What Y is the monetary unit of Japan?"
£5 wasn't a bad win though.

I'll post the clues from the Countdown: Who Am I? game later if anyone's interested