# BBQ at Sam's



## Themuleous (14 Oct 2007)

Following the festival and Georges suggestion think a BBG in Oxford is a great idea.  No dates yet but let me know if you're interested, got space for a few to stay as well if necessary and you don't mind sleeping on the floor, but will probably have to limit numbers to max 10 people.

Will keep you posted, probably be some time mid-end Nov, BBQ in the afternoon before the light goes.

Sam


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## Dave Spencer (14 Oct 2007)

PMd you Sam, but I don`t think my control panel works. I am definitely interested.

Dave.


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## Ed Seeley (14 Oct 2007)

Me too Sam.  It's not too far from Notts!!!


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## James Flexton (14 Oct 2007)

I assume on a weekend, if so i'm there. Count me in mate.


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## Themuleous (14 Oct 2007)

Yep would be a weekend


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (15 Oct 2007)

Id probably be able to make oxford no problem as well Sam. Sounds fun.


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## Dan Crawford (15 Oct 2007)

I'll be there folks and thanks for coming to the festival Sam.


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## Steve Smith (16 Oct 2007)

Hopefully I can make it!  (depending on trains etc).


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## Themuleous (17 Oct 2007)

Right, Ive checked the diary, how does the 1st to 2nd Dec sound for a gathering at mine?  Don't think a BBQ would work at that time of year but can see.  So just some food and beerage  

Let me know how that date sits with you, hope its not to close to Xmas.

Sam


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## Dan Crawford (17 Oct 2007)

sounds good to me mate - two please sir.


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## James Flexton (17 Oct 2007)

should be fine for me mate, better check with the boss that i'm allowed out to play lol. one place TBC.


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## Themuleous (18 Oct 2007)

Cheers guys.

Dan - two?  You bringing the misses?  Not that I mind, shes more than welcome, just so I know for numbers


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## Dan Crawford (18 Oct 2007)

I'll bring her along but if there are no other WAGS goin then i may leave her behind.


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## Themuleous (18 Oct 2007)

Haha fair enough, will see what numbers are like too 

Sam


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## George Farmer (18 Oct 2007)

Nice one Sam.

I should be able to make it. I'll confirm soon. I'm well up for staying over and having a few wets.


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## Themuleous (18 Oct 2007)

Excellent, keep me posted George.  You're more than welcome to stay, as are others if they want to.

Sam


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## Lisa_Perry75 (20 Oct 2007)

I'd love to, but my dad's xmas show is the 1st 

Count me in on the next thing!


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## Themuleous (26 Oct 2007)

Sorry being an idiot!


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## Graeme Edwards (27 Oct 2007)

"Im Free" * in a camp voice, hands bent like a hufter*

Yeah, im off that weekend, ill be catching up with Dan and his misses on the friday night.

Cheers.


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## George Farmer (27 Oct 2007)

Count me in, Sam.   The missus has granted me a leave-pass.

I'll stop overnight if that's ok?  I never turn down the opportunity for a few beers.  It's a rarity these days...


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## Dave Spencer (27 Oct 2007)

Put me down for a crate of red and a lap dancer if there are still places available, Sam!

Dave.


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (27 Oct 2007)

ill be fine with a red lap dancer too


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## Themuleous (28 Oct 2007)

Cool, cheers everyone, got your names on the list.  Thats fine George (and others)


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## John Starkey (2 Nov 2007)

Hey you young pups dont think you can keep me away , i may be getting on a bit but can i sink a few beers and a few  glasses of sharaz no probs   hey sam can i get in on this one if so would it be ok to kip on the floor, it will be great to meet some of you guys again, regards john


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## George Farmer (2 Nov 2007)

Super.

It would be cool to meet you again, John.

I reckon Graeme or Dan should bring their pico and we can do a live 'scaping session.  Or even a nano if anyone has one spare.

Does anyone have a camcorder?

Don't forget to bring any spare plants etc. too.  I may have some hardware spare also.

Roll on 1st Dec.  Nice one, Sam!


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## Dan Crawford (3 Nov 2007)

> Or even a nano if anyone has one spare


Oh i have plenty of spare tanks but i recon divorce would be on the cards if i set up another one!
The pico can make the journey no probs.


> it will be great to meet some of you guys again, regards john


It will be great to see you there John.

Lookin forward to it folks!


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## Themuleous (4 Nov 2007)

My nano is currently not being used, we could certainly use that, see what all you lost come up with in a very long but very low tank! I dont have anything at all, so would need to get some substrate, EC is the easiest around here, but if anyone wants to donate some AS to the 'cause'  feel free!  Let me know and I'll get some in time for the weekend.  Dont really have any plants to donate at the mo either, hence why this tank isn't currently running!

John, by all means you can kip on the floor 

Sounds like it'll be fun this gathering 

Sam


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## George Farmer (4 Nov 2007)

I should be able to sort out enough stuff to be able to 'scape your tank, Sam.

Nice new T8s (18w), substrate, ferts, wood, plants etc.  A small donation to UKAPS is all I ask.   We can discuss that later...


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## Dave Spencer (4 Nov 2007)

I`ve got a few CO2 freebies to give away/swap....needle valves, connectors etc.

Dave.


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## Themuleous (4 Nov 2007)

Ok cool, cheers George that be great, my very own 'George scape' to look after, its a bit like having a painting from of famous artist! haha   I'd be happy to donate to the forum  

I've got all the CO2 stuff I need cheers Dave, but feel free to swap/give it way it at the 'do' I'm sure someone would appreciate it.

Sam


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## Dave Spencer (4 Nov 2007)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Ok cool, cheers George that be great, my very own 'George scape' to look after, its a bit like having a painting from of famous artist! haha   I'd be happy to donate to the forum
> Sam



Make sure he does it before he gets trousered. Come to think of it, the room will be filled with drunken experts....you could end up with a real monstrosity.  

Dave.

P.S. Has the boat sailed on my lap dancer yet?


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## George Farmer (4 Nov 2007)

Dave Spencer said:
			
		

> Themuleous said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Haha!

Well, I didn't say I'd 'scape it...  But I guess I can help.  I'm sure Graeme would like to have a shot, as would most of us.

It will be 'many hands make light work', or 'too many cooks'?

I'm sure it will be good, whatever.  And it would make a nice focus for a time.

Looking forward to it, a lot.


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## Themuleous (5 Nov 2007)

Dave - I'll have a word with the wife, but I make no guarantees, so unless you provide the dancer yourself I think you  might be disappointed.

George - yeh be good to actually do something 'planty' while we're all there.  I might be able to get hold of a camcorder as well, keep you posted.  At the very least we could use my digital camera, but guess quality might be an issue.  Am sure we can sort something.

Sam


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## John Starkey (6 Nov 2007)

HI Sam, if you give me a list of what plants you would like i will order them and you can have them on me, it will be good to see what we can come up with, personally i would like to see something done from the right to left theme instead of all left to right ( does that sound right lol) see you in a few weeks, regards john


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## Themuleous (6 Nov 2007)

That's very kind John, if I could open that up to others?  Being a very small tank it needs small leaved plants, I tend to favour HC due to that.  I did have some Rotala wallichii in there before the last time it went belly up and I think that could look good, give a bit of red to the scape as well without having massive leaves.

Anyone else got any thoughts?  I've used HM before which worked out, but did get a bit tall, so would need something in the front of it. Perhaps some UGram?  I could try and get some redmoor wood that could be cut up to used?

Sam


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## Ed Seeley (6 Nov 2007)

If you fancy a bit of colour I could bring some small red swords down.  I could spare a E.'Red Diamond' and/or a E.'Oriental' which in my tank have topped out at about 4" for the latter and 5-6" for the former.  They might be hard to fit into a scape though...

But then if we can't come up with something together there may be no hope for them...!!!


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## Themuleous (6 Nov 2007)

Is that all ed?  I'm surprised a sword only gets to 4"

Note to all - my nano is 24x8x8 inches 

Sam


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## Graeme Edwards (7 Nov 2007)

Should be a good gathering, Sam. Im quite happy to help you with the scape, no probs!

Ive got some good books i can bring, to share the inspiration!


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## Themuleous (7 Nov 2007)

Yeh shaping up nicely, Graeme  should be a good laugh.

Any advice on the scape is always welcome, as George says, be good to something 'planty' rather than just spending the day drinking!  it is the reason for us all being there I guess!

Sam


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## George Farmer (7 Nov 2007)

If everyone brings any spare plants and hardscape materials, I'm sure we can come up with something quite special.

Any leftovers can be shared out.

A camcorder would be cool if anyone can get hold of one.

I'll bring a camcorder tripod.

If we do it properly with commentary etc. we could make up a DVD to distribute via UKAPS.

I'm not shy in front of the camera.  Me, Dan, Graeme and Matt made a good team at the Festival.

Should be good fun!


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## Themuleous (7 Nov 2007)

Will see what I can do re the camcorder


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## Ed Seeley (7 Nov 2007)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Is that all ed?  I'm surprised a sword only gets to 4"
> 
> Note to all - my nano is 24x8x8 inches
> 
> Sam



Yep, that's it!  Got some giant ones in there too, like E.'Rose' and E.osiris rubra, but the 'Oriental is very small with lovely pinky-red new leaves.  The 'Red Diamond' is a bit bigger with long and thin red leaves and very nice!  I'll bring some along and you guys can have a look!


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## George Farmer (7 Nov 2007)

I may be able to borrow a HDD camcorder from PFK.  I'll let you know soon.


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## John Starkey (13 Nov 2007)

Hi Guys, i am afraid any cuttings from my setup would all grow too big for the planned setup so if you guys give me an idea of what you would like i will order them, dont take too long its only round the corner, by the way sam what time are you expecting us to arrive because i have to work on that saturday but may be able to leave about fourish, also it would be good if you pmed me your mobile num just incase i get lost on the way, regards john.


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## George Farmer (13 Nov 2007)

Got the camcorder sorted.

John, you are too kind...

I suggest any foreground plants and fine stems.  Maybe some narrow fern and anubias?

Sam - you have mini landscape rocks right?  Any wood?  I can bring some.


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## John Starkey (13 Nov 2007)

Hi all, i have some plant ideas what do you think? foreground, H C  midground, eleocharis acicularis, microsorum pteropus "narrow", anubias barteri var nana or petite, and i can bring some cuttings of limnophila sessiliflora if you think it wont be too tall, i think it would be best to have them sent to your place Sam just to make sure we have them for the weekends events, regards john.


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## Themuleous (14 Nov 2007)

Right it seems this event has taken on a bit of a life of its own, so I thought a quick round up post to let everyone know the score might be worth while and to also confirm numbers, etc.

Currently I have the following coming - 

Dave - staying?
Eds - staying?
Jim - staying?
Matt - Staying?
Dan - not staying
George - not staying
Jeremy - not staying
Steve - staying?
Graeme - staying?
John - staying?

(Please let me know if you're are or are not staying, cheers )

Thatâ€™s 10 not including me and the misses, think 10 is enough! Its very male dominated!  

Re the plan, Iâ€™m thinking get to mine at say 3ish?  Do any scaping 'showcase' and eat in the evening?  How does that sound to everyone?  If you canâ€™t make that time anytime after would be cool   It can be earlier if people would like.

A couple of people have asked about food and drink.  I'll sort food, but some drink would be good.  Ill have a few but if you want to drink more/lots then bring some and some to share  cant be running out of beer now can we!  Food wise, I cant really do â€˜no glutenâ€™, â€˜no wheatâ€™, etc, etc type food but I'm happy to sort a veggie dish if people would like.  Otherwise thinking a few vats of something, curry or similar.  Keep it simple.

Think thatâ€™s about everything.

John - yeh those plants were what I was thinking, not sure about the microsorum pteropus, as I think it would get to big.  That said Iâ€™m after some for my main tank so if you have some spare I would gladly have it for that tank  Bring the limnophila sessiliflora as well, cant hurt.  I've used Pogostemon helferi in the tank before and that worked well. Utricularia graminifolia would also work well perhaps as a midground plant in a tank thats 8" tall.  And yeh can send them to my home/work if needs be 

George - I do have some landscape rocks, but they are not at all mini!  To big to do an iwagumi.  I took a hammer to the biggest one in the hope of getting some nice smaller pieces out of it but no such luck, so yeh please bring some along, some goes for wood (and substrate if you are able?) again I have some but too big.

Think thatâ€™s everything.  Once I get confirmation of people Iâ€™ll pm everyone with my address and phone number.

Sam


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## Dan Crawford (14 Nov 2007)

I will bring some black 2-3mm gravel courtesy of unipac 
George has very kindly passed on some of his tropica substrate to me so i'll bring some of that too. I think i have a nice piece of wood that may fit the bill if your gonna go that root (pun intended) i'll also bring some rock although it's ot to everyone's taste.


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## Themuleous (14 Nov 2007)

Right,

To add to the itinerary, Dan has been chatting to Jeremy and they have sorted a bit of a shop tour, to include the oxford MA and the gold fish bowl.  So as it stands the plan now is to all meet a MA at 12ish, then onto the GFB and then to mine.

He also said that the MA are willing to order in plants if we want any, which is very kind.  I've tried getting HC and the supplier they use never seems to have it in stock.  Given John's very kind offer, it doesn't seem like we'll need anything else.  However if people want plants for their own tanks then feel free to ask for them now so they can be ordered.

Think thats right Dan?

Sam

EDIT - Sorry Dan, didnt mean Dam of course!


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## Dan Crawford (14 Nov 2007)

indeed, if your coming to sams and would like to order some plants and not have to pay postage then let me know and we can get them ordered for collection.


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## Lozbug (14 Nov 2007)

blimey, right lads night   have fun you guys


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## John Starkey (14 Nov 2007)

BigDanne said:
			
		

> indeed, if your coming to sams and would like to order some plants and not have to pay postage then let me know and we can get them ordered for collection.



Hi Danne, will you order the plants i have promised and i will settle up with you when i arrive if thats ok with you,regards john


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## John Starkey (14 Nov 2007)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Right,
> 
> To add to the itinerary, Dan has been chatting to Jeremy and they have sorted a bit of a shop tour, to include the oxford MA and the gold fish bowl.  So as it stands the plan now is to all meet a MA at 12ish, then onto the GFB and then to mine.
> 
> ...



HI Sam, i cant make it over to yours until about 7pm unless i can get off work about 4pm, 
is that going to ok with you and the wife, as for food i will be happy with an indian or chinese take away, as for staying the night i would like to if thats ok with you both, regards john.


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## Dave Spencer (14 Nov 2007)

Sounds like a good meeting place to me.

I can bring along a ton of rocks of all sizes from a local quarry, if anyone is interested.

I will also bring something that may be of interest to the photographers among us.

As for sleeping over, I don`t mind kipping on the floor, provided there are others wanting to stay.

Dave.


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## Dan Crawford (14 Nov 2007)

john: that sounds fine!


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## Dan Crawford (15 Nov 2007)

Right folks, lets get a list together of what plants we would like to see in this setup. Sam recons that HC is unavailable so thats off.


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## Themuleous (15 Nov 2007)

John - no probs come alone when you finish work, Im sure it wont be finishing early! 

Dave - Rocks sounds great if you're able, I'll certainly take a load off you're hands!  And yeah you can stay.  John is as well, maybe more.

Dan - Yeh HC is off, but I guess it cant hurt to ask anyway?

Sam


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## JamesC (15 Nov 2007)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Dan - Yeh HC is off, but I guess it cant hurt to ask anyway?
> Sam



I've got a nice patch of HC growing in an experimental tank if you want it. Fancy trying something new so this is a good excuse. Let me know where you want it posted to.

James


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## Themuleous (15 Nov 2007)

That's very kind James.  Are you in any hurry to get rid of it?  I dont really have any tank suitable for storage at the mo.  If you could hold onto it for a couple of weeks that would be great.  If not then we could send it to someone else running a high light EI tank to hold it until the weekend.

Cheers

Sam


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## JamesC (15 Nov 2007)

Should be OK to hold on. Got some spare willow moss if you want that as well. It won't attach to anything so needs to always be tied down.

James


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## George Farmer (15 Nov 2007)

I'll have Rotala sp. 'Green'.

Maybe some E. tenellus, B. japonica and C. lucens, from Plants Alive too.


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## John Starkey (15 Nov 2007)

Hi guys, whatever plants you lads decide you want just get  them and like i said whoever pays i will settle up with them on the day, regards john.


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## Dave Spencer (16 Nov 2007)

Shouldn`t we make some kind of thank you gesture for Sam`s missus for putting up with us? A bunch of flowers, chewing tobacco......whatever she would prefer.  

Dave.


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## Themuleous (16 Nov 2007)

She's well stocked on chewing tobacco, but I'm sure that as I'm such a tight git some flowers would be gratefully received.

Sam


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## George Farmer (16 Nov 2007)

Dave Spencer said:
			
		

> Shouldn`t we make some kind of thank you gesture for Sam`s missus for putting up with us?
> 
> Dave.



Lovely gesture that.  Nice one.


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## James Flexton (16 Nov 2007)

and no aquatic flowers guys. if she's anything like my misses if it needs to live in a fish tank it doesn't count!! lol.

sorry i haven't posted much in here guys but i'm still coming on the saturday, not overnight though so will have to skip the beers. 

looking forward to it.


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## John Starkey (16 Nov 2007)

Hi Sam, if your missus likes flowers as much as mine then a nice bunch of flowers it will be then, whats her favourite ? regards john.


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## Themuleous (16 Nov 2007)

She likes anything, but freesia's are a particular favourite.

Thanks for this guys, she'll be well made up with a bunch of flowers 

Sam


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## Themuleous (20 Nov 2007)

Right, I'm gonna have to make a last call for the weekend at mine on 1st Dec.  So far I have the following confirmed

George
Dan
Jeremy
Jim
Dave
John

I'll be doing the necessary shop this wkd, so places will be fixed as of Sat morning when I get my ass out of bed to go to sainsburys.

Sam


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (20 Nov 2007)

Im coming!!! but driving home, so wont be drinking


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## Themuleous (20 Nov 2007)

Right ho, thought you were but wasn't 100% sure.  Glad to have you along   shaping up to be quite an event.

Sam


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## James Flexton (20 Nov 2007)

yeah i'm really looking forward to it. i'm driving as well matt so you wont be the only sober one dont worry.


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## Themuleous (20 Nov 2007)

Haha, Dan is driving as well, shame I've got 4x18 cans of beer in!


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## Graeme Edwards (20 Nov 2007)

Im going to be there, Dans my taxi! lol


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## Themuleous (20 Nov 2007)

Another one hitching a lift hey Graeme? 

Sam


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## Ed Seeley (20 Nov 2007)

I still can't 100% confirm Sam, I'm really sorry.  I might have been commited to do something already, sure you know how that goes....

I'm trying to wiggle my way out of it to come to yours but can't say either way yet - if this is a problem then you may have to count me out.


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## Themuleous (20 Nov 2007)

Well keep me posted, Ed.  I can cope with the odd person not committing, just not to many! haha

Sam


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## George Farmer (20 Nov 2007)

I'm deffo coming.

Should have lots of goodies to bring too...


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## Ed Seeley (20 Nov 2007)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Well keep me posted, Ed.  I can cope with the odd person not committing, just not to many! haha
> 
> Sam



Cheers Sam.  As soon as I 'know' I'll let you know!


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## Themuleous (21 Nov 2007)

Nice one George 

Ed - cool 

Sam


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## Themuleous (26 Nov 2007)

Right the final agenda for Sat is as follows:

Meet at the Oxford MA shop at 12noon.  Ignore the MA website is seems they are either relocating or are adding a new shop.  Either way the address listed on fishkeeper.co.uk is wrong.  The actual address is London Road, Wheatley, OX33 1JG.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x ... search.srf

From there we go to the Gold Fish Bowl at 118-122 Magdalen Road, Oxford, OX4 1RQ.

Then its back to mine for the rest.  I should think this'll be around 2-3pm depending on how long we stare at the fishes!

I'll send round a PM with my home address and phone numbers in case people need them.

See you all Sat!

Sam


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## Themuleous (26 Nov 2007)

Forgot to say.  If people want to bring some snacky type food, then please do.  As I said I'll provide a meal but Im sure we'll appreciate some snacks during the afternoon. And something to drink 

Sam


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## Dan Crawford (26 Nov 2007)

See you at MA, looking forward to it.


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## Matt Holbrook-Bull (26 Nov 2007)

sorry peeps, but im not going to be able to make it.. i just have way too much on, and no time to do it in.  bit gutted tell you the truth, but heyho, there will be other time.

i hope you have a good time.


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## John Starkey (27 Nov 2007)

Hi sam, thanks for the pm i cant wait to meet some of you guys on sat  ( i have met some of you already) especially for a tipple or two, regards john.


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## beeky (28 Nov 2007)

I'm really looking forward to this...and I'm not even going!

I'm interested in whatever you produce. That's assuming you don't pig out on chinese takeaway and beer and then wake up in the early morning not having done anything!


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## Themuleous (28 Nov 2007)

Haha thats a distinct possibility, Beeky!

Its a shame you cant make it, perhaps next time


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## beeky (28 Nov 2007)

Yeah, hopefully. My life is getting quite busy at the moment - getting a new job, moving house and have a baby on the way. And at the moment it looks like it's all going to happen in the same week!


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## Themuleous (28 Nov 2007)

Doh!  Thats life I guess, it all happens at once.  My boss is in the same situation, new baby, half finished extension (due to crappy builders) recent move of offices, it all builds up.

Sam


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## George Farmer (28 Nov 2007)

Frolicsome_Flora said:
			
		

> sorry peeps, but im not going to be able to make it.. i just have way too much on, and no time to do it in.  bit gutted tell you the truth, but heyho, there will be other time.
> 
> i hope you have a good time.



That's bad news mate.  

We'll be sure to get a load of pics etc. for the site, so you don't miss out too much...


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## daniel19831123 (28 Nov 2007)

I wished I could make it there.... If this was held in any month from the august just passed till november, I'll be able to do it on any weekends. Now I'm starting this new post which requires me to work nights and weekend I won't be able to make it. Make sure you guys take plenty of photos and load it up. Won't want to miss out on anything.


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## Themuleous (28 Nov 2007)

We will, dont you worry


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## James Flexton (28 Nov 2007)

Hi Guys, i'm still good to go. will be at the fish shop as mentioned a few pages ago at the meeting time (forgotten store and time already lol...will check back in a mo). I may have to leave quite early though, explain later but problems at home (nothing to worry about just cant mention on the forum).

see you all on saturday


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## Themuleous (28 Nov 2007)

Right oh Jim


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## Dan Crawford (28 Nov 2007)

> sorry peeps, but im not going to be able to make it.. i just have way too much on, and no time to do it in. bit gutted tell you the truth, but heyho, there will be other time.


thats a real shame mate, you'll just have to make up for it at the next one! lol


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## John Starkey (30 Nov 2007)

Hi guys, hopefully i can talk my boss into letting me leave work about threeish, pop home quick shower and i should be at yours Sam about 5 ish,see ya all tomorrow regards john.


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## Themuleous (30 Nov 2007)

See you tomorrow John, looking forward to it


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## Ed Seeley (30 Nov 2007)

Sam I'm really sorry but I'm not even going to be able to make it down for a part of the day.  I was hoping that I could come down for the shops bit and then dash off, but it ain't happening!  Hopefully I'll get along for the next one...


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## George Farmer (2 Dec 2007)

Thanks for a super day, everyone involved!

Special thanks to Sam and Biz for hosting us all.  And for Dan and Becki for allowing me to stay over.

I look forward to seeing the photos...  P

Perhaps someone would like to write a brief 'report' of the day.  I would but I'm currently nursing a hangover combined with playing with my 2 year-old daughter.     8)


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## James Flexton (2 Dec 2007)

I'll second that. Great day, thanks Sam and Biz. I didn't stay over so i'll have a go at a "report of the day"

I arrived at maidenhead aquatics, Oxford at 12 noon to be joined shortly by Sam. about 30 mins later George Farmer, Graeme Edwards, Jeremy Gay and Dan Crawford walked through the door quickly followed by Dave Spencer. 

We pretty much had the store to ourselves as the rain was hammering down (there was a touch of snow in the air as well!) to my surprise i had a very in depth discussion with one of the store guys about planted tanks, EI ferts glass diffusers etc and he actually knew what i was talking about. thats a first! 

They had a big 150G at a guess planted display tank with MH lighting. unfortunately they did not have co2 in there so it was a bit algaefied, not bad though. in it was a nice mixed shoal of torpedo barbs and another similar fish about 15 in total and each about 6 - 7 inches long it made an impressive display anyway whatever they were. i'm sure someone will step in here and give the proper names.

lots of the usual fish, dry goods etc.. i was impressed with the range of co2 kit things are obviously moving forward as i have only ever seen JBL profi kits in the stores but they had a few different brands there.

plant selection was not bad. i bought some glosso, Micranthemum umbrosum, a big anubias, some red stems (not sure what exactly, fine leaved), some eustralis stellata and ludwigia arcuata.

we chatted there for about an hour then went off in convoy to the Goldfish Bowl (one of the top stores in the UK). luckily no one got lost on the way and we then set about the next visit. First impressions were a distinct lack of space. they are obviously doing well there as there is not a square foot of floor space without a tank in it. loads of fish for sale, usuals plus some impressive oddballs, prices were in line with Wildwoods in enfield. ie they have the opinion their stock is better quality than elsewhere so do not price match etc. I saw some lovely Sterbai Corys there which i have been looking for for ages but these were priced at Â£12.99 each and i needed 10!

The store manager made a point of saying hello and giving us a run down of what he has to offer (he knows Jeremy...nice to be treated as royalty lol) he took us "out back" to the wood store where he had a decent selection of redmoor wood amongst other wood and rocks. rocks were good although i cant tell you the names (feel free to step in someone) needless to say George, Graham and Dan were like kids in a play pen. George selected two nice big pieces for his tank, the first thing he has spent money on for the hobby this year!!! it's alright for some hey! lol

I went off happy as well as the manager said he'd do me a deal on the sterbai's. i got 10 for Â£75 instead of Â£130 - cant grumble at that so i went for it.

They did have a good shrimp stock worth mentioning with cherrys, tigers and Chrystal reds! also a new nano tank section bursting with 40+ small tanks.

One thing that stood out about the store is all the display tanks ie selling the tanks themselves not the fish in them were set up and running. i always think it's a waste when stores have a big dry goods section with loads of empty tanks. these were all filled up, decorated and filled with live stock, running on their own filters, not a centralised system. 

so with every corner explored we headed to Sams. 

Got back to Sams for about 4 - 4.30 floated the fish in his tank and the beers came out along with some aquajournals freebie bits and bobs people had brought along etc... John Starkey arrived about 530 and then we started to make up sams tank. I had to leave at 6 and by then we had tropica substrate with black quartz over top and 5 rocks which were moved about in at least 50 different positions before graeme settled on the design. i then had to shoot off back home so i'll hand over to one of the others to finish the report.

I had a great day and the fish / plants made it home safe and sound. Speaking of which i better pull my finger out and plant them.

Thanks again Sam, i'll do one round mine soon.
Jim 

ps. i forgot my camera so i'll leave the pics to someone else. I have met most before but Dave Spencer and John Starkey i met for the first time there. Both are really nice guys and for a change age / mental picture was as i had thought although John did think i would have been a little older lol. i do love meeting people you speak to online it always has it's surprises. For anyone thinking of coming along to the next event they are all a great bunch of guys, friendly and not overly nerdy lol. you will be made very welcome so chip your hat in when the next thread opens and i'll see you there.


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## Themuleous (2 Dec 2007)

To continue from where James left off...

The atmosphere in the room turned noticeably grouchy as people started to get hungry so the curry was cooked and eagerly consumed.  

The scaping ground to a halt when George discovered the Snes (old school baby!) but I showed them who's boss on street fighter but wasn't up to much on Mario cart.  Having forgotten the HC the tank remained as Jim described and is unplanted in my spare room at the moment.  Plans include growing UG emersed to see how it would work.

The rest of the night was really just more of the same, beer and chat, until George, Graeme, Dan and Jeremy left at 9pm.  Me, Biz, John and Dave stayed up continuing to chat and drink until 1am, when I think we all decided it was time to turn in for the night.

That's really about it.  I personally had a fantastic time, got 10 tiger shrimp for Â£16 in MA (they very kindly gave us a discount) and enjoyed the chat, always good to pick the brains of some of the UK's best aquascapers.

Thanks to all who made the effort to come and for the stuff I got.  Will keep you posted re the nano and emersed UG spcape.  Dave - I might have to make a trip up to that quarry of yours, for a boot load of rocks 

Glad people had a good time, looking forward to the next one 

Sam

PS - Biz has worn here UKAPS t-shirt all day today!


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## Dan Crawford (2 Dec 2007)

Well as everyone has described the day was great fun.
a huge thanks to sam and biz, I'm glad she likes her shirt!
I am still suffering, once again George and graeme and myself made it our business to drink as much alcahol and have as little sleep as is humanly possible, Its like a fast growing ukaps tradition.
I am looking forward to the next one!


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## Graeme Edwards (2 Dec 2007)

Yeah big up to the Ukaps MASSIVE lol
We mashed it up this weekend, very Leary indeed, the drive home from Sam's was poticulaly interesting when Dan decided to put Trance classics on full blast while bombing it down the M40, i was driving Dans flash Lexus while Dan, George and Jeremy was giving it all large and such like, while i just wanted to have a nice cup of tea and sit the hell down ( in joke dudes lol ). No we really messed that M40 up, it was a good laugh.

Thanks to Sam and the wife Biz for their great hospitality and fine fodder. It was good to see you all again and to meet Dave Spencer for the first time. 

I just want to say how nice it is to be able to sit around talking not only about aquaria but anything in general. Its not at all pompous or stuck. Its so nice to relax, learn new things and get mulled or ruined ( phrases of the weekend folks) with very down to earth people.Great thing this Ukaps!!!!!!

Cheers to all who came, to Sam and Biz, and a thank you from me to Dan and his Wife Beckii for putting me up for the weekend, cheers all !


Regards, 
Graeme,.

PS ill put some of the pictures up when i get a min tomorrow night.


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## Dave Spencer (3 Dec 2007)

It was great to meet you all for the first time and rub shoulders with the greats of the UK aquatic plant scene.   It was an excellent day, and freebies are always welcome. Anyway, here are some piccies, untouched by Photoshop.

Substrate was a layer of Tropica, followed by Unipac black sand (I think):




Graeme was trusted with the hardscaping, being the only sober one (driver):




Add a touch of N. Wales` finest rocks:




Options were limited for Graeme, as the rocks were a little samey, but this was the result. It was actually the final result, due to a combination of booze and the SNES but, most importantly, a complete and utter lack of plants.  




Here is the point when testosterone kicked in and Super Mario Kart put in an appearance. If I never have to look at George`s blue boxers again, it won`t be a day too soon! The lovely lady in the picture is Biz, Sam`s wife. Boy, is he punching above his weight.  




This is jeremy Gay, Deputy Editor for PFK, the one we have to grovel to for a possible trip to the Amazon:




Thanks to everyone, especially Sam and Biz, and I am looking foreward to the next meeting. I`ll hold one of these once I get my life sorted out post divorce.

Dave.


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## beeky (3 Dec 2007)

Was the tropica substrate mounded up in the middle as well?

I was nearly right with my prediction of binging on chinese takeaway and beer and then falling asleep 'till 1am!

Glad everyone had a good time. I'm looking forward to making the next one!


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## Dan Crawford (3 Dec 2007)

> Was the tropica substrate mounded up in the middle as well?



The tropica substrate was slightly higher in the middle but no where near has high as the black gravel.



> a complete and utter lack of plants.



Sorry folks that is completly my fault, unlucky for Sam I am the most unorganised person in the world. Four hours sleep the night before may have had something to do with it and maybe trying to think about three scapes in one weekend may have pushed my little brain over the edge.  

Nice pics Dave.


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## Themuleous (3 Dec 2007)

Superb pics, they look like the ones CAU do!  If only I have enough to get that camera!

Dave - punching above my weight hey?  You cheeky git!

Dan - no worries, I'm gonna try Georges advice and try some UG emersed in the nano.

Sam


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## John Starkey (3 Dec 2007)

Hi Guys, firstly i would like to thank  Sam & Biz for putting up with me for the night and i must say i enjoyed the evening very much ( my head was banggin from three bottles of red wine ) i enjoyed the talk about aquascaping and also the food was great but i must mention the insant bond i made with biz (sams wife),we talked at some length about other things in our lives and i can say this much she is a very fine and caring young lady and sam is a very lucky guy and she is a credit to her profession, My wife Ann is very keen to meet her soon, It was also nice to meet james flexton aka jimboo, jeremy gay, and dave spencer, once again Sam and Biz thanks for the weekend it was great, regards john. 

PS: when i arrived home and checked my setup i noticed that my golden rams had spawned on some of my wood, now concidering i asked for all males when i bought them this was a surprise indeed anyway we will see what bcomes of the eggs.


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## Themuleous (6 Dec 2007)

Biz wanted me to post a little thank you for the flowers, which arrived today. Ive not seen them but she says they are lovely and was very surprised to get them.

Thanks guys (Dave?)

Sam


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## George Farmer (6 Dec 2007)

I bet it was John...  Watch out Sam!! lol


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## Themuleous (6 Dec 2007)

Haha will do, but Im not afraid of a little competition!


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## Dave Spencer (6 Dec 2007)

It was me, and you are out of your league, Sam. Apparently, short, fat and balding is the new look.

Dave.


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## Themuleous (6 Dec 2007)

Haha whatever, Dave.  You really telling me brad pit good looks and boyish charms are not what women want these days?  Seems to have worked on Biz 

Thanks for the flowers, she really appreciate the gesture 

Sam


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## James Flexton (6 Dec 2007)

hey all,

did anyone end up coming home with 2 pots of glosso and some crypts? george and i had a bag mix up at MA but thought we'd sorted it and i cant remember anyone else buying any plants. i only picked up one carrier bag and thought everything i had asked for was in it but there was no glosso or crypts. 

George: i assume your bag did contain the plants you bought? i have no idea what i paid for i just handed over the card as you do whilst chatting. no biggie i just wondered if anyone got a surprise in their bag?

i have a ton of HC to plant now so i don't really need the glosso anyway but i did want to try some crypts as i have never grown them before. never mind.


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## Themuleous (6 Dec 2007)

Nothing was left at the house as far as I know James.


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## George Farmer (6 Dec 2007)

Just my Anubias and Ludwigia in my bag, James.

Who else bought plants?  I thought it was just us two? 

Weird.


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## James Flexton (6 Dec 2007)

yeah i haven't left it anywhere so dont worry Sam. i had 3 bags, one of plants which i left in the car and the 2 cory bags which i brought in to float in your tank. the plant bag never left the car so i cannot have been given them in the first place. you know how it is. i said i'll have 1 of those, 2 of those, 4 of those etc... he said i'll bag them all up and meet you at the counter. i paid later on and just picked up the bag he gave me. i didn't check what was in it and i dont know what i paid for. i just heard the total and paid that. as i said it's no biggie i just wondered if they ended up in someone elses batch. i think i only paid Â£17ish and i did get an anubias, 2 bunches of red stems, 2 of the tiny ludwigia pots and some MU. i dont think they charged me for the missing items but TBH i have no idea.

i am really not looking forward to this HC planting session tonight... James3200 sent me a slab the size of a shoebox for Â£10 you can imagine my back pain on the way tomorrow morning i'm sure lol. he sent some hairgrass as well so i'll plump up the current section of hairgrass as well. anyway rambling now so will leave you all to it.

George: OK mate, no worries. i think it was just us who bought plants. thanks for the reply


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## Themuleous (6 Dec 2007)

Ouch!  All that HC is going to take ages!  You could do a bit of en experiment and plant some as individual stems and some as clumps, see which does best, Ive never very sure if it makes a difference with HC or not.

Sam


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## James Flexton (6 Dec 2007)

yeah i am going to have some fun with it. i'll plant the main carpet as very small clumps an inch apart all over the open forground area. i really want it to carpet properly. if i have any spare i will put some in my nano and tie it to bogwood just under the surface and see if i can get it to grow emerged as the wood is 50/50 in the tank/out of it.


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## John Starkey (6 Dec 2007)

Hi Jimboo, have fun doing that amount of hc it took me ages when did mine, but the worse thing is when it keeps popping up to the surface its really frustrating good luck with it anyway i am sure it will be worth the effort, regards john


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## TDI-line (26 Feb 2008)

Graeme Edwards said:
			
		

> Yeah big up to the Ukaps MASSIVE lol
> We mashed it up this weekend, very Leary indeed, the drive home from Sam's was poticulaly interesting when Dan decided to put Trance classics on full blast while bombing it down the M40, i was driving Dans flash Lexus while Dan, George and Jeremy was giving it all large and such like, while i just wanted to have a nice cup of tea and sit the hell down ( in joke dudes lol ). No we really messed that M40 up, it was a good laugh.
> 
> Thanks to Sam and the wife Biz for their great hospitality and fine fodder. It was good to see you all again and to meet Dave Spencer for the first time.
> ...




This has got to be one of the best replys i have ever read, and made me chuckle.

Nice one.


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## Dan Crawford (26 Feb 2008)

A great summery of a great weekend!


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## Arana (25 Oct 2010)

Gutted i missed this Sam, coz you still owe me a Poker rematch


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