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From: Nick Waterman[SMTP:nick@]
Reply To: chat@
Sent: 16 February 1998 12:17
To: chat@
Subject: Re: pages bar trip
Jenny Gould said:
Can you tell us more of what is involved in this Pages bar trip?
We go to pages bar, in page st, westminster, approximately between new
scotland yard and the tate gallery. Nearest tube St James' park or
Oxford circus.
see
www.ifis.org.uk/pub/reviews/pages_bar.shtml
or with your vintage browser, jenny, you might need
www.ifis.org.uk/art-pages.html
What's the place like?
Pretty damned cool. see the review I wrote.
Is it the sort of place you dress up to go, dress down to (hang on,
we have students here :-) ) or just plain get silly???
There WILL be a few people there in star-fleet uniforms, and you're
certainly welcome to dress up if you want to, but it's by no means
compulsory and most of
IFIS who have been haven't bothered. Sure, if
you want to use your ivanova costume again, it might be a good
opportunity.
Is there an entrance fee?
Only on party nights. That's a good point actually... You have your
"normal" saturday night sci-fi night, or sometimes you have "party
nights", where you DO pay a few quid to get in, but there's buffet
food included, more dancing, but less (usually NONE) of the cool
videos.
Do they play music, and if so, is it danceable, or just irritating
so that you cannot hear the other people?
It's pretty dancable. Probably a lot better than the su sci-fi disco
anyway.
What, if anything, happens there- what makes it special/different
from just another bar?
The whole place is designed to look a bit like 10-forward,
allegedly.
They sell all sorts of interesting sci-fi ish coctails, which USED to
have names like "data's delight" and "romulan ale", but they had to
rename them to "android's delight" and "trekker's ale" for stupid
STUPID copyright reasons.
They have "captain bob on the bridge" partway through the evening
where they tell you about all the interesting conventions that are
happenning soon, and book-signings, etc etc.
They have a big cabinet of bits of sci-fi memorabelia just inside the
entrance - various communicators, figurines, 3d chess-sets, PPGs,
etc.
They have carichatures in the loos (or certainly in the gents) like
scully with her hand down moulder's shorts saying "the truth is IN
there".
Yes, last time some birthday-boy had a stripper there too, but this
was a bit out-of-the-ordinary.
BEST OF ALL are the cool videos they do (except on party nights) where
they've taken clips from various sci-fi programs (not ONLY trek) and
set them to "appropriate" music, like "wonderwoman" being a tribute to
delen, and "I lost my heart to a starship trooper" showing loads of
snog-scenes from loads of serieses, and the old classic "time warp"
which they show most weeks, with "it's just a jump to the left", and
the enterprise is hit or something and all the crew REALLY DO jump to
the left, etc etc. damned funny.
What sort of people go there, and how many of them?
Probably about 60% trekkers, 30% other sci-fi fans (obviously there's
a fair overlap here anyway), and 10% people who were dragged along to
this strange place by their sci-fi-fan friends (although they DO
usually enjoy it, being fair).
Quite a lot of people turn up. you'll get a seat if you turn up at
5pm, but they'll probably all be taken by 6, and it's standing-room
only after that.
What time do they go on to?
Standard 11pm pub closing time.
Where is it-what train should you catch/ tube stop get off at?
St James' Park is probably the easiest. Then go down "the broadway"
shopping centre, rightish, past New Scotland Yard (yeah, with the
spinning triangular sign thing like on the telly), straight across the
main road, and straight on, follow the curve to the left into
horseferry road, then turn right after the big natwest and you'll have
difficulty missing it after that.
Do they serve food, and if so how pricy is it?
They have a few snacky things, nothing too substantial. 3 or 4 quid
for a pizza, but it's actually one of those dinky little ones you get
in packs of 6 at sainsbury's, with one or 2 leaves of lettace on the
side. Plates of tacos with the hot chilli or the cool creamy-chive
dips. Burgers. that sort of stuff. Don't expect to have a feast there,
but if you're looking for something snacky because you feel a bit
peckish, it's adequate.
Prices aren't brilliant, but hell, this is central london we're
talking about here.
Who is thinking of going, and when ie are you going straight there?
I am considering going, maybe earlier in the day if anyone wants,
but it would be nice to think not just on my own!
Its the same day as the paintballing. I'll probably head back from
billericay on the tube to St Jame's Park and then pages. unless the
paintball finishes PARTICULARLY early, I'm unlikely to get a seat, but
if we're in our usual space, there'll probably at least be a bit of
windowsill to sit on.
I think they open at 5, so it's not worth getting there much before
then, but yes, if you want a seat, make it well before 6pm.
Okay, yes I *know* there is meant to be a review of this place on
the Web
site, but
1) *I* can't see it right now.
Partly your fault for having an ancient web browser, but also partly
mine for not linking it into the "system that lets it work anyway"
thing. Try again.
2) I would like to hear this place discussed "on-list". Noone said
anything
much about it last time, and I want to hear about this place some
more.
go for it.
--
Nick Waterman. Network Consultant / Sysadmin - LEOnet
Beating tomorrow's technology into submission.
nick-sig@ Team *AMIGA*!
Friction is a drag.
