At an impromptu VoxGate of two this evening in a secret location near the bar in "The Flask" in Hampstead, the suggestion was charmingly put that, given the impetus generated by Mrs.X's sterling efforts in getting holders of the faith together for drinks and banter over the last month-and-a-bit, perhaps a pre-Christmas gathering for similar purposes might not be such a bad idea. My contribution to this splendid idea was the daft name. I didn't even bother to take my coat off . . .

So, the suggestion is that interested parties assemble, as before, somewhere like the Monty P one week-end before the Winter Solstice to drink, converse and mock defenceless soft toys. From my point of view, next week-end would be less good as I'm out of the country (in Vienna, no less), so perhaps the 10th or the 17th? (Then again, this might make next week-end of the 3rd more attractive!)

What do people think? I know it's London again, which is a bummer for many, but it's not terribly official. Maybe we should have simultaneous, multicentric meets around the country, link up by mobile phone to co-ordinate them like the football hooligans do?

Suggestions welcome. Keep it clean.

17th is better for me (unless anyone wants to meet during the week). Xmas works do on the 9th in London and I'm not likely to be well enough to travel the following day.

Awwwww...that's so sweet that you are carrying on the tradition!! I wish I could make this one, but will be thinking of you all on that night.

Mrs. X

Hello
Yes OesterreicherII and I suggested we should do another Voxgate before christmas which he called a Yulevoxgate or something along those lines.
Weird name but hey therefore I poured an inch of Youngs stout into my bag...which was nice!
Flip I am glad to see you again and everyone is welcome to come along.
Mrs X you will be there in spirit and I will have a drink on you.
And if it stays that cold and we are all drunk enough we might even build a really dodgy snowman. - Or a Snowgate for that matter complete with everything and everyone we find in the snow.
Look forward to that one already
XX

Hi Oesterreicher II,
I definitely won't be able to make a Yulevoxgate, which is a bit unfortunate for me, as I enjoyed everyones company that was at the previous two voxgates.
I'll think of you all especially Ost II drinking Old Rosie. Two pints of that and I'll need some assistance to get home.
Regards
Peter

Hi Oesterreicher II,
I definitely won't be able to make a Yulevoxgate, which is a bit unfortunate for me, as I enjoyed everyones company that was at the previous two voxgates.
I'll think of you all especially Ost II drinking Old Rosie. Two pints of that and I'll need some assistance to get home.
Regards
Peter

OOPS
How I did I manage to post the same message twice?

You're after that 1,000 posts badge, aren't you!

Shame you won't be able to make any YuletravoxGate that happens, I do hope others will be able to come (in spite of the corny name. Maybe "Yulevox" would be better after all . . .). Attractions will include Trouble assuming that "carry outs" from a pub means pouring it directly into your knapsac rather than smuggling out the bottle and Oesti-II being soundly spanked by Old Rosie - unless someone very sensibly decides that a different venue, unsullied by the by-products of the Herefordshire chemical weapons industry, would be a good idea.

C'mon, it's the perfect antidote to the plastic bonhommie of an off-the-shelf offering from Christmas, plc.Gemuetlichkeit is the word we're aiming for (trust me on this one).

Eh...??? You sure Old Rosie hasn't got a grip on you already, Osty??

Anyway, in my absence, here's a little reminder of me whilst you're all sitting there having many delicious beverages and building anatomically correct snowpeople:





Mrs. X

BOBO!!!!!

Yep, it's dear loveable Bobo. May he see you through many a booze-up...er...Voxgate until our return.

Mrs. X

Hey, maybe we could even re-create The Monument sculpted from snow/bits of old litter/fallen chavs ?

where is this fabled snow that you and Trouble speak of? Unless yulevoxtragate (or whatever) is being held oop north a bit - hardly ever seems to snow in London these days and I can't quite see there being enough in charing x road to build a "snow ant" never mind a "monument"...

Aye, I think the whistful bit of my brain must be operating at the moment. You know, that bit that thinks, "Christmas" and automatically adds, "Snow!", even though I've seen precious few white Christmas(s)es in my life.

Mind you, you never know . . .

Its a nice thought - more chance of you seeing it in Vienna though, I would think. Maybe we should all decamp there.

Come here!! Plenty of snow for dodgy snowpeople here! I was wondering, actually, where you'd find enough snow to build snowpeople there. I didn't imagine there'd be enough. :p

By the way...our pics from the last two Voxgates have been developed so I will work on scanning them very, very soon! Some are a bit dodgy as neither Mr. X nor I are adept in photography, but they didn't turn out too bad. Bobo needs to go into rehab, I think. I shall inform my mum-in-law. :p

Mrs. X

i don't think I'll be able to make either dates as its a busy time at work, maybe next year

It might be quite good to get an idea of the level of interest in a gathering. The date of 17th December seemed to come up, and that's perhaps nearer when folks are thinking about shutting down work committments so may be more keen on gettign a little kettled. Or would 10th be better? Or maybe somewhen else entirely?

If you could post with a favoured date and a likelihood of coming it means that perhaps an attempt could be made to reserve a table at the MP rather than having to fight for and steal one. Then again, it's close to Christmas (there, you see! Who said I wasn't on the ball?) and folks might have quite enough drinking and socialising to do already. Speak, darlings! Speak!

I spoke...I guess I don't need to say it again though... Hey, if its just the 3 of us, we can still have a drink or 10...er, I mean 2...

Hi folks...

Sorry I can't make any weekends in London for a get together, but there are a few locals meeting in Cafe Chloes, Ormskirk Street, St.Helens at around 3pm on 10 December..Some of us are venturing to a local social club to see Clear Cut, an 80s covers band

Feel free to get in touch if anyone can make it, though I do realise this could be a bit of straw clutching, due to the travelling issues..

Damn it, sir, Ultravox recorded one of their best songs with only three people ( Paths and Angles) so I'm sure three fans a can create a bloody good pre-Christmas knees-up with the same number!

You proposed 17th, I believe, which is fine by me.

Sorry Shirl, getting up to St Helens after my party the night before would be a leeeetle bit difficult...don't think my head would stand the train (or the strain!)

Osty sir, I believe you have hit the proverbial nail on the head! Assuming Trouble can make it as well, the Paths and Angles Snowtravoxultragate2005 will do just fine. And if anyone else wants to come along, they of course can...!

OH Ö2!!! For Christ's sake!!

Good you haven't taken it off yet!



As for attending... no matter what you call it - Yuletravox or Uuuuuultravox - no lava warmth will overflow London this time again (can you wait?!)...

You may consider changing your flight destinations for 2006 though... You cannot perform the breath-in-the-spot-light-at-night-trick here (not even at the moment) and it must not necessarily be baroque always, must it...? So let's just for one second consider that an Old Rosie is swoppable for a Voll-Damm... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="cool.gif" />

From there, the ÖSTERREICHER II will simply convert into... EL CATALÁN II

I am almost certain Oesterreicher could bring a bag full of snow with him from Vienna. - Unless he gets arrested for carrying huge quantities of white powder through customs... or all that stuff starts to melt and drips down his leg - then he would get funny looks at customs.
Sorry I hope no-one felt offended! Cerise I really do love staying on this forum so p l e a s e no offence.
We could all bring white carrier bags - they have a cold feel and are slippery as well... to build a 'plastic Vox-/ Yulevoxgate'. We could build one right outside the MP on Charing Cross Road - I would so not care! But then again I am up for anything crazy as long as we get some attention from passers-by.
Oh my god I can not wait!!!
XX

I hope someone will be there with a camera! I have got to see this!!!!

Mrs. X

This is Österreicher II, broadcasting to you Live from VIENNA. I said I´d post and here it is, laboriously typed out on a grindingly slow Austro-Hungarian internet connection which seems to run on´the same diluted electricity as the lights. Glowing darkness is a design feature here.

Never mind that, though, I´m here . . . and I have someone´s umlauts to play with! That´s always a pleasure as well as a thrill. Now snow: there is really none in town but there is some up in the Wiener Wald (I could tell you tales). A test kidnapping of an innocent snowball was ultimately unsuccessful, so I think that shipping large amounts through customs might prove a trifle difficult, as Trouble predicted. Trouser damage and embarrassment would certainly follow. The plastic bag idea might work better, maybe a bit of baby oil, too(to add shine, you understand, purely artistic). Then again, we could just sit and drink and grin and become the subjects of incriminating photographs for the soft toy police to follow up.

I am surrounded by opportunity, so I intend to go and walk in the cold air soon, even though it´s turned milder. Freezing breath on the window pane might be a little more difficult, though, but lying and waiting is something I´m pretty good at, as is being alone in the night as the daylight brings a cold empty silence. If I can work out how my ´phone´s pictures may be transferred to the computer, there might even be some photographic evidence to follow.

I realise this is utterly unrelated to Yuletravox Gate-MP3, but I´m feeling all Habsburg at the moment so I don´t care! Ha!

Now, let´s see if this internet link - which might easily be out-run by the average glacier - can cope with all this information . . .

That was Osty II bring a little bit of Ultravox back to Vienna after 25 years ...



Damn, er no umlauts, sorry...

Some kind of "Vienna Calling" .

Here are Umlauts again for all who want to use some:
äÄöÖüÜ

Let's sing the austrian/german version:

"Dies bedeutet mir nichts, dies bedeutet mir nichts, oooooooooooooooh Wien!"

Ooh, a bit of Falco. That reminds me I need to put Jeanny on my iPod.

I know it's off-topic, sorry, but Oesty started it with his half-cut reminisces...

"Half cut"?! A third at most, I assure you!

As for Falco, I was here four or five yeras since and there were posters up for some kind of musical based around "Rock me, Amadeus". Well, the posters have got bigger and glitzier and the musical has obviously become something of a national institution as the ads are everywhere. Frightening.

17th, Monagu Pyke, early afternoon onwards, bring a friend, snow if you can manage it, umlauts if they´re to your taste. Gemütlichkeit will surely follow.

Östi-II.

I might be up for it

Can't make it - hopefully we can get something together for January but I'm having to do shopping/christmassy/family things all weekend. Sorry!

That's a real shame! I do hope someone turns up. Mind you, posting that means that the thread now "comes alive" again and attracts attention, perhaps persuading people that it's the perfect place to be on the last Saturday before Christmas Eve. I wonder if they'll mull Old Rosie for me?

I shall be there, about three-ish. I'll be wearing the same green coat as last time.

Roy

So how did it go?

Not had a right lot of time to get to my computing engine to post a report, sorry.

"Select" and "Quiet" might be two useful words. Personally, I found it very interesting and informative and I understand some aspects of physics a whole lot better now. Whether Roy would apply those adjectives is another matter!

Unfortunately, Trouble was called in to work that afternoon so only managed a fleeting end-of-the-evening appearance, having to rush off for a late shift too.

There were only two photographs taken, both on a phone, both of a bear.

Too tired to think just now, but that's the general shape of it!

What a bummer! Well at least not a total waste. Sorry for the last minute dropout - hopefully the next one will drag more people in.

That's the spirit! Keep the Monty P tradition alive!! But I just thought...what happened to Thethoughtcriminals? I thought he'd never miss something like this!

Mrs. X