BotB

Nice start to the TR matthandy ^

I think Yahillwe was thinking the other two parts of the TR were done already and she simply couldn't find them but I might be wrong.

In any case very much looking forward to seeing/reading the rest when you get a chance and post them ^

Sorry we didn't meet at the DO, maybe another time

Thanks again for doing the trip report, great style and pics.

Yahillwe

Exactly that Cloudman, couldn't find part 2 and 3. Though uncle T only gets younger, maybe it is the chess club .

T8191

honestly, I am getting older ... and I hope I don't expire before Parts 2/3/4 are published

Apologies to matthandy, I'm sure he has a day job, unlike me. The suspense isn't actually killing me, but it feels like it!

matthandy

My apologies Yahillwe, I thought that you were referring to the other people in the photo. No problem, no harm done.

As for the next parts, I'm currently in Bali and I just got back from a lovely wedding. I plan to spend some more time on the TR tomorrow. Perhaps by the beach...

T8191

Life's a beaaach, eh?

I told you that you should have 'reserved' the next couple of posts after #1 ... Bloody Moderators

matthandy

Part 2 – The Radisson and The Meet Up

Where were we?

We arrived at the hotel at about 9.30pm and checked in. I was given a room on the third floor overlooking the car park. Not the best view available but the room was a really good size and it was clean and modern. After dumping my bag I went back down to the bar and met up with a few FTers that had arrived on the afternoon flight. I stayed for one drink and then, feeling tired, I went up to my room to catch up on some sleep.

My room – the bed


My room – the bathroom

I had a great night’s sleep and woke up at about 8. I’d agreed to meet another FTer for breakfast and went down at 9.30. The restaurant was rather busy but we managed to get a table for two. Shortly after I’d picked up some cereal we bumped into another FTer who had a table outside so we decamped to the sunshine.

The weather was great, breakfast was good and so was the company! It was a lovely morning and it really did feel like I was on holiday, perfect.

After breakfast I went for a wander. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to make the most of being in Jersey as I wasn’t sure when I would come back. I kept pretty close to the Radisson as I only had an hour. I walked around the marina and gawped at the wonderful array of yachts and boats on show. One day, I will have my own yacht, but for now, I was happy to just look.

Breakfast


Breakfast - outside


Reception


The bar, leading to the restaurant, for breakfast

Out in the harbour was Elizabeth Castle. I don’t know of the history of it but it looked rather curious. Visitors are able to walk there on a causeway at low tide or take the slightly odd looking ferry bus which sets off from the beach nearby.

I had planned to visit on the Sunday morning but in the end didn’t get around to it.

I walked all around one side of the marina and then all around the other. The entrance for boats to the marina has no bridge over it so you can’t just hop from one side to the other.

After returning to the hotel I got myself ready and then went down to reception to meet two FTers as we had agreed to walk over to the venue for the Do together. The Bar was just a short walk from the Radisson and we arrived a tad early at about 11.55. It seems as though we were rather keen as we caught the bar staff by surprise as the first ones to arrive.

The Radisson


Looking out over the marina


Elizabeth Castle


The ferry bus


Yes please


Elizabeth Castle, the ferry arrives


Looking back towards the Radisson


Soaking up the sunshine


The Radisson


The beach


More boats


More boats

We made our way upstairs and chose our seats before heading to the bar to get stuck in to the Champagne. Uncle T had warned the bar that they needed to ensure that there were lots of bottles in the fridge and reassuringly, the bar staff confirmed this to be the case. The wine list wasn’t too expensive and we settled for a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Brut Rose at £66 a bottle, plus some still and sparkling water to keep us hydrated.

It was a good 30 minutes or so before the next FTer showed up, none other than Uncle T (aka T8191) and the lovely iWife (aka T8191’s wife). We got chatting and then more and more people started to turn up.

It was nice putting names and faces to usernames. Often my experience was that the person behind the username was not what I had expected! I suppose that happens in real life too, when you end up talking to someone on the phone you generally have a mental image of them. If you get to meet them it’s often the case that your mental image doesn’t match with reality.

So what happens at these Do’s then? Well, mostly people have a few drinks and get to meet like minded people and have a good chat. It’s not all about flying, points and miles thankfully and I was lucky to meet a couple of really nice new friends whom I’d not previously spoken to before.

One thing that I did find a little weird is that some people would speak to me as if they knew me, even though I’d never previously met or corresponded with them in the past. It’s amazing what people remember from my trip reports. I suppose in a way it’s a bit like what it must feel like to be famous, the fact that people know things about you that you haven’t told them face to face.

The venue


The venue


Yum, one of three


Someone needs to get out into the sun more!


FTers


The party gets going


The party gets going

Although there were about 40 of us booked to attend the do a significant portion were still to arrive. They had all elected to jump onto the party plane which was the midday flight from Gatwick. As we were talking we actually watched the plane arrive.

It seemed to take an age for everyone to get to the bar though and the quiz was held off until we had the full attendance. Shortly after the party plane landed our forum ambassador corporate-wage-slave arrived from Germany. This was only to be a very short flying visit but it was nice to meet him and everyone was very happy to say hello as he performed his ambassador role honourably!

Uncle T had produced a quiz all about..... Jersey. Unfortunately, I think that it is fair to say that the vast majority of us, myself included, knew nothing about Jersey at all. Luckily, the questions had multiple choice answers so random guessing ensued.

I don’t know how well I did but at least I didn’t come last. Coldwalker was the proud winner and walked away with the Jersey edition of Monopoly.

The party plane arrives


Smile for the camera


Bottle number two and it’s time for food


Intense conversation


Cheers


The quiz winner is announced


The beers are flowing

At about 6 or so I decided that I wanted to head back to the hotel to relax a bit. Six hours of drinking in the sunshine had taken it’s toll and I needed to have a little lay down before carrying on in the evening.

No sooner did I get back to the hotel I got a message saying that a couple of FTers were down at the bar. I went down and sat by the window enjoying the view. The sun setting over the harbour was absolutely beautiful and I had to leave my companions several times to take photos. I hope that they will forgive me.

As the sun went down the band started to set up and as we were rather close to them we decided to move outside. As we did so a few other FTers joined us as it seems that the Do at the bar had started to wind down.

I stayed until about 10pm before calling it a night and heading to bed. In the morning I heard rumours that a few people decided to head into town to hit the local nightlife!

The restaurant – set up for dinner


The restaurant – set up for dinner


Sunset over the harbour


The tree sculpture


Looking back towards the hotel


Elizabeth Castle


The view from the outside terrace


Sunset behind the ‘tree’


Sunset behind the ‘tree’


A couple enjoying the sunset


Reflections


Elizabeth Castle, after dark


The beach


The marina


Verdict

So how did I find my first ‘Do’? It was about what I was expecting. I met up with some really nice people, had quite a bit of Champagne, some lovely food and lots of chat. I was pleased to find that we were able to have normal conversations, and not spend the whole time talking about flying!

I would recommend an FT do to everyone. Buddy up with a few people and arrange some meet ups before you go and you’ll fit in fine and have a great time.

Up Next

A wander around the town centre, two hot hours in the lounge at JER and an extremely short hop back to Gatwick.


Edit: How fitting that this is my 3000 post on Flyertalk.....

T8191

Oh, VERY good matthandy ... some superb photographs which capture the atmosphere and the location perfectly. Indeed, I suspect Jersey Tourism would like to use some of those! BTW, the £18 Prosecco and the £15.50 Chilean pink fizz were very nice too

Your Quiz score was ... low!! You weren't last, though. Nearly, but not quite

Looking forward to Part 3. ^

(Edited to add:
1. The bus to Elizabeth Castle is amphibious, so when the tide's in it floats across.
2. Jersey has one of the world's largest tidal ranges, and is thus 20% bigger at low tide!

Physci

Fantastic part two Matthandy

Polomarc

+1 lovely photos

krazykanuck

You've probably answered this in prior threads, but what camera(s) do you use?

Looks great!

Nanook

Great photos and looks like a fun group. Sorry to have missed it. Will be in St. Helier later this month, so will have to have a belated drink (or two) in your honor.

Calchas

Fantastic photos, particularly of the sunset (not that the photos of the FTers don't look great too )

Yahillwe

OP, aren't you a sailor? I would have thought you'd take one of those boats and just go.

Nice pics btw.

matthandy

Thank you Uncle T. I hope that you are enjoying the report so far.

Well, as these were self pour glasses I'd probably say about 4!

Thanks BA5E, glad that you are enjoying the report.

Thanks KARFA. It seems that we were in the minority with regards to the chicken salad then!

Hope to see you at the next one themapelligroup.

Many thanks BotB. Sorry that I missed you too. Hopefully we'll meet at the next one.

The beach was great, as was the pool, as were the cocktails by the pool too .

We don't like to reserve posts to be honest as it's difficult to see when a report has been updated.

Thanks for the extra info regarding Elizabeth Castle. I'm glad to hear that it wasn't the lowest. Apparently, even with random guessing the average should have been about 4.

Thanks Physci.

Thanks Polomarc.

Thanks krazykanuck. I have a Nikon D800 with the 24-70mm f2.8 lens. Plus I used my iPhone 5S as well.

^^

Thank you Calchas. Hopefully the other FTers on my table can forgive me for disappearing with my camera a couple of times in the evening.

I would have loved to! The tide was against as was the fact that I'd probably end up spending time in a Jersey prison!

aks120

matthandy

Thanks for posting - I am glad the wedding went well. Your photos, as always are beautiful and it was a pleasure to wander round and watch you at work!

I look forward to part 3!

Regards

aks120