New Venue for Continuum 2008

[Darran]

Some of you may have seen this before.

Well we will have a brand spanking new venue for Continuum 2008 on the Friday 1st to Monday 4th August 2008.

The New Hall [also known as the John Foster Hall] Manor Road, Oadby, Leicester, LE2 2LG, is part of the University of Leicester's halls of residence.

Completed in October 2006, this is a brand new building with modern conference facilities.

The amphitheatre in front of the main Conference Building

The Continuum Committee have a site meeting this weekend where we will have a good look around at the venue to check its suitability for our needs.

The good thing is that we will have a greater number of en suite bedrooms to offer our membership along with more conference space to use for gaming rooms.

The conference organisers at the University of Leicester have sent us these publicity photos of the venue and they do look fantastic!

I am certainly looking forward to seeing the new venue so expect more photographs as I snap away.

The Conference Building entrance foyer. Note the plasma screen.

The Swithland & Tilton conference room. Note the sliding partition that makes it two rooms.

The Oakham & Rothley conference room. Note the sliding partition that makes it two rooms.

The Main Dining Hall.

The Bar!

See some more photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/darran/sets/72157600421716341/

[soltakss]

Will we have to take our shoes off at the door?

No spitting on the floor, I suppose.

[lawrence.whitaker]

Will we have to take our shoes off at the door?

No spitting on the floor, I suppose.

Absolutely. In fact, its so nice, we may not invite any attendees... just to be on the safe side.

[Darran]

Accommodation at John Foster Hall.

I thought I would go through and mention about the accommodation we have at John Foster Hall for Continuum 2008.

The Conference Facilities Building is centred amongst the new and very modern development that consists of several pavilion style accommodation blocks.

Each pavilion block is four-stories high and each floor contains two flats.

Each flat has four or five single occupancy en suite bedrooms and a shared kitchen and lounge.

This means that a group of five friends can share a flat together as they share the communal space together but also five strangers can occupy a flat as each bedroom has its own key.

The kitchen is fully functional with fridge/freezer, microwave, electric oven, electric kettle, iron, ironing boards, vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket, and a selection of cutlery and crockery. There is also a large kitchen table with five chairs as well as plenty of worktop space for food preparation. A full list of contents will be posted nearer the time of the convention.

Just off the kitchen is the lounge area. The lounge has a large window lets in plenty of daylight. There are five comfy lounge chairs and a small coffee table making this a nice place to relax in. There are ten chairs in total in the kitchen/lounge making it very useful for running games in, you can either be in the lounge or around the table in the kitchen. There is plenty of space to move about, even for those of us who are ‘standard gamer size’!

With each flat having this extra space ideal for gaming this opens up the possibility that more games can be ran during the convention. Just book the time and space with your flatmates first. Advertise your game with pavilion name and flat number and your gamers can arrive at your pavilion and ring your doorbell to be let in. Or just run the game for all your flatmates, whether you know them or not, simple!

You will be issued a set of keys when you register at the main reception desk in the Conference Facilities Building. The main key will open the door to your flat as well as your own bedroom door. The little key will open the post box in the pavilion entrance foyer and the key fob itself will open the main door to the pavilion electronically. The flats are numbered 1 to 8 while the bedrooms in each flat are lettered A to E.

All accommodation will be single occupancy bedrooms with en suite bathroom. You will be issued a set of towels and some basic toiletries but you will need to bring with you your own wash kits, bathrobes and other personal hygiene items. The bathroom will have toilet roll and the single bed will have fresh bed sheets, two pillows with fresh pillowcases and a duvet with bedspread.

There is a desk in your bedroom with built-in drawers, shelves by the window, a desk lamp, mini-kettle with a small selection of tea/coffee condiments, two power sockets, a phone, and an Internet connection. We do not currently have a list of the charges for using the phone or connecting to the Internet as yet.

Next to the desk is a medium-sized wardrobe with space to hang clothes as well as plenty of shelves to store folded clothes or other items.

The en suite bathroom, consisting of toilet, washbasin and shower cubicle, is located as you enter the bedroom. It has its own lockable door and is light and airy.

The good thing about this accommodation is that it is brand new. Very little wear & tear would have happened over the two years that it has been opened and even students will treat things better when they are new!

The front of the Pavilion [accommodation blocks]. Each has a wide path to the doorway and has plenty of lush growth between each of the pavilions. There is also plenty of car parking nearby.

The front door of one the pavilions. The main door is nice and wide for easy access.

Door bells to each of the flats in the pavilion. The key fob on your room keys will open the pavilion door electronically.

The post boxes for the flats. The small key on your room keys will open your flat’s post box.

The entrance foyer of the pavilion. Note the lift for easy access to the higher floors avoiding all those stairs.

The inside of the lift. Plenty of space to get your luggage in and up to your room.

The inside of one of the bedrooms. A single bed with a bedside table unit and light. A set of towels with basic toiletries will be waiting you on arrival.

[Darran]

The desk in one of the bedrooms. There is a desk lamp, a phone, mini-kettle with tea/coffee condiments, an Internet connection, and two power sockets.

The mini-kettle and tea/coffee condiments on the desk. Just bring extra if you drink many a cuppa.

The inside of the wardrobe in the bedroom. Plenty of space for all your clothes [and all those frocks for the freeforms!]

The en suite bathroom with shower. The shower cubicle is large with a modern shower unit.

The kitchen and lounge area in one of the flats. Perfect area to socialise with your fellow flat mates as you cook, clean, iron your clothes or have a drink. This is also big enough to host a game in either at the kitchen table or in the lounge area or both! Just reach over to the fridge to get a cold drink or put the kettle on to make a brew.

The kitchen area of the flats as seen from the lounge area. A nice large kitchen table, with five chairs, to eat your meals from or play some excellent games!

[Darran]

The lounge area as seen from the kitchen. Five comfy chairs with a coffee table in the centre. Ideal for a nice and relaxed game?

The fridge/freezer, microwave and electric oven. Plenty of worktop space to prepare your meals and lots of cupboard space for storage.

Everything including the kitchen sink!

[Darran]

Continuum 2008, John Foster Hall, Manor Road, Oadby, Leicester, LE2 2LG.

Here is a map showing where the venue is located.