2017 Edinburgh – Aardvarkland

33 East Market Street
Old Town
Edinburgh
EH8 8FR

Phone = 0871 527 9644 (13p / minute)

Fax = 0131 297 4574

Hotel Parking:

There is NO on-site parking available at this hotel. Chargeable parking is available at Waverley Station car park. Present your ticket to reception for your ticket to be validated with a 25% discount. There is a height restriction of 1.9m.

Rooms:

Attached Spreadsheet gives rooms and costs:

Edinburgh Room List – Avks Rates 2017 v2 (Excel Spreadsheet)

Niall – The sound of a single hand clapping will resonate at Croperdy! – Niall – ps I hope you’ve uploaded the picture to Aardvarkland!

Nick – Ok Dave – thanks for the photographic evidence. As nothing further has been heard from Ade I think it’s safe to say that you have won the ‘Phil Nicholson Injury of the Tour’ award for 2017 … congratulations!!! … and get well soon. Nick & Brenda. (PS … we bought a large mushroom on the way home!!)

Kato – I think wrapping a thong around it will work just as well !! Kato

Foz – Ouch Dave! Be sure Jo looks after you properly and provides breakfast in bed as a minimum!

Lines by that great Scottish poet William McGonagall on the forthcoming craft hockey spectacular:

In the year of twenty seventeen
The greatest team the world had seen
Off to Edinburgh they went
To win again was their intent.

Spectator joy they would not short-change
With one of the best captains in their price range;
Ah yes, under the command of Colin Taylor
Confident the trip wouldn’t end in failure.

Kit by Aptar, smart and well pressed
Colours gay with gussets stretched
In the land of Brave Heart, Scott and Sturgeon
A whole weekend they would sojourn.

In anticipation of Hill’s executive order
The first time the team had played north of the boarder
But the city of the Waverley novel
They knew their hotel would be no hovel.

They are the team who invented false news
With tales of how they never ever loose
And in the shadow of the wall of Hadrian
Will Tweet of twenty goals scored by Luther, Adrian!

Oh, wonderful Aardvarks, I must conclude my lay,
By calling thee the greatest team of the present day:
For your treatment of me, is by no means churlish,
Therefore I say, “Let Hockey Flourish.”

Regards
NIALL

Good evening all McAardvarks …
Just a quick note to say the accommodation is all sorted and will now be paid for in full on Monday. Attached is the rooming list that has gone to the hotel, so please check that this meets your requirements. Edinburgh Room List – Avks Rates 2017 v2 (Excel Spreadsheet)

You will note that the price for 3 of the twin rooms has come down a little bit as for some reason the hotel originally assumed twin rooms would all be having two breakfasts each morning! This of course only applies to Messrs McBrown and McFoster. So it’s not a lot I know but there is a saving of approx. £9 per day for Messrs McClarke, McWeatherley, and Ms McCuthbert. I will sort out sort out any refunds with you on tour via the beer kitty if that’s ok. ( Good job Dave isn’t due a reduction..!!)

So please advise immediately if you spot anything wrong … many thanks and see you all in a few weeks’ time.

Nick Burnett (The only real Scotsman amongst you!!)

Hi Folks … Col sends his apologies but he’s rushing around like a headless chicken at present … so here is the first amendment!

Firstly I am sure it won’t have escaped your notice that the dates that we’re booked in are from FRIDAY 14 to SUN 16 inclusive … ie you depart at your convenience on MON 17th.

Secondly on the cost … the attached Spreadsheet that Col sent is correct, albeit the text in the mail below is a bit misleading. ALL rooms are £125 per night whether there are 1 or 2 people sleeping there … or as Col says correctly £375 for the 3 nights. So I’m afraid there are no reductions for singles.

IMPORTANT – Please do not be late with your balances … if we don’t pay be the due date we lose the rooms!!

If you want extra nights let me know and I’ll amend the attached sheet before we send it off.

Any questions give me a call as Col is up to his eyes in it at present – Nick

Right then … some ‘loot action’ required asap. If you go back to my original 14th Feb email confirming the hotel, you’ll have noticed that the deadline for paying the balance was 14th May. Nick is checking but my guess is that not everyone will have done this and so we only have a few days now to sort this out.

Most of youy are booked for 3 nights, Fri July 14 to Sun 17th July at the Premier Inn Royal Mile, Edinburgh. http://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/scotland/lothian/edinburgh/edinburgh-city-centre-royal-mile.html

The cost is £125 per room per night for a couple or (£62.50 pp/pn shared). So can you bring your balance up to £375 if you’re a couple or £187.50 if you’re a travelling singularity see attached thingy compiled by Mr Burnett. If we can make an final adjustment to the singularities that doesn’t require wholesale change then we’ll try to sort out. But for now this is what it is …

Can you transfer the balance into Mrs Burnett Housekeeping account by this coming Sunday 11th June
Sort code: 07-10-40
A/C: 65119360
Name: N I Burnett
Remembering of course to add you name as reference so Nick knows who’s paid.

ADDITIONAL NIGHTS
If you want to add the Thurs or Monday or anything else to your stay, then please email Nick, again by this coming Sun 11th June and we can add to the group booking. Afterf that you’ll need to contact the hotel yourself.

Tour festivities commences on Fri 14th July at 18.30 hours in the hotel bar followed by a short walk to the nearest proper hostelry.

Matches
Two matches have been arranged by Hil against the Scottish Thistles and Edinburgh Cala as warm up for the European Masters Championships a few weeks later …

Saturday 15th July – push back 14:00 hrs.
Sunday 16th July Push back 13:00 hrs.

Hope that’s all clear – for now at until Nick circulates some amendments … Col

Blimey! Finding a hotel in Edinburgh is not easy. Its even harder finding one in July for which I don’t have to pawn Mrs T’s shoe collection … anyway as with the passage of true love, there is a happy ending.

We have a booking. From Fri July 14 to Sun 17th July at the Premier Inn, Royal Mile smack bang in the City. It’s a brand new branch, just around the corner from Edinburgh Waverley Rail station. http://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/scotland/lothian/edinburgh/edinburgh-city-centre-royal-mile.html

All things considered, we’ve managed to get a pretty good rate of £125 per room per night inc breakfast (£62.50 pp/pn shared).

We’ve reserved some rooms and can add others (subject to availability), as long as we’re fairly prompt at paying up. We need a deposit of £100 per room by 14th March following which we can adjust the number of rooms and add days before/after the weekend if you are staying on …

The balance then needs to be paid in advance by 14th May (60 days in advance). Or, you can if you wish, cough up all of the dough in one go now.

So … can you lob some loot into Mrs Burnett’s housekeeping fund …

Sort code: 07-10-40
A/C: 65119360
Name: N I Burnett

Remembering of course to add you name as reference so Nick knows who’s paid.

The matches (One each Sat & Sunday) will be arranged through our very own ‘fair maiden of the clans’, Mrs Stokes, who will issue an executive order in due course.

Any problems let me know.
Col

Hi all,
Since I last emailed, the redoubtable Mrs Stokes has been spending her retirement on a number 57 bus (courtesy of Edinburgh Transport Co) scouring the Glenside for a suitable hotel in the city. There is very little life out by the pitches which are at Meggatland Sports Complex and in any event, we thought we might try and find something a bit more central and catch a slice of the funky groove in town.

But what has become very apparent is that July in Edinburgh is not quite the same as an April weekend in Blackpool at The Feathers Hotel (for those of you who have long memories, it was in the region of £16-18 pp / pn which included free 12-hour boiled cabbage for tea).

This is somewhat different.

Its also peak time and to reserve 15+ rooms is going to require a chunky deposit … and eventually a chunky balance.

Hil has made a few enquiries and there’s not a load of ‘non-Rigsby’ accommodation around but we are still looking … we have a couple of possibilities, but we might have to move quickly to secure something and it seems the norm to hold room for only a few days before they go back out on the open market.

After a quick look around on www.laterooms.com, to get a feel it looks to Hil and me that we have a chance of finding something in the range £380-£450. Thats based on a double room for the 3 nights. Obviously single will be a little lower, but don’t assume 50%.

So … here’s the question.

If Hil finds something that seems a good deal in that price range are you ok for us to go ahead and book?

We’ll then ask for a deposit this side of Christmas to secure.

We will of course try to get what appears to be the best deal we can.

If you’re OK with the above as a guide, then no need to respond … if you are NOT and maybe think thats too much then can you either email or call/text me on 07990 971190 in the next 48 hours by Thurs 8th Dec. Sorry but its clear we’re not going to have much wiggle room and we wanted to float the hotel cost rather than simply going ahead.

Can you clear some headspace for this please and if you have a view please indicate … otherwise we’ll assume you’re still keen to share the back seat of the number 57 bus with Mrs Stokes and we’ll proceed on that basis.
Cheers, Col

Edinburgh,

Eager to gain our view on Scottish independence and Brexit, Nicorette Surgeon has invited the Aardvark fraternity to form a special focus group over the weekend of Friday 30 June – Sun 2nd July 2017.

The usual format … meet 18.00 on Fri 30th June, games on Sat and Sun and depart Monday am. Tour extension either side by your own arrangement.

We have already established contact with the oppo and so at this stage I just wanted to check you are are on for another tour around the block … ?

Put the dates in the diary and assuming we have a team, then we’ll start looking for a hotel.
Cheers, Col

CAN YOU CONFIRM BY FRI 4TH NOV PLEASE … ?