ThePortForum.com

Tom has kindly agreed to host the Christmas offline again, which will be at the White Horse in Newport. The nearest train station to the pub is Newport (Essex), which is a 10 minute walk from the White Horse. Those staying overnight usually stay at the Saffron Hotel in Saffron Walden, a 10 minute car journey from the White Horse, at the Tollhouse B&B in Newport or at the Cricketer's Arms in Rickling Green (a 7 minute drive).

The theme will be the usual, that is The Unknown Shipper and His Peculiar Friends

Space at the White Horse is a little tight so numbers attending have to be limited to 10. Normal practice is to offer those who attended the previous year first refusal. The industry guest will probably be Dirk Niepoort.

Last Year's attendees were as set out below. Last year's attendees have until end of May to confirm their intention to attend in 2017 and to book their place (which can be cancelled later, if required).

1. Uncle Tom (confirmed)
2. EDN or other industry guest currently vacant
3. Axel Probst (confirmed)
4. AHB (confirmed)
5. DL - replaced by IDJ
6. MEN - replaced by MPM
7. WS1 (confirmed)
8. DJ (confirmed) replaced by PW
9. RLC (confirmed)
10. CPR (confirmed)

RESERVES

1. SGD - declined offer to replace EDN

There are usually one or two people who can't make it at the last minute each year so being on the reserve list gives you a decent chance to attend. If you'd like to be on the reserve list, please say so.

Bitterly disappointed at not being able to attend last year and so can you please add me to the reserve list for this year please Alex.

Could I also be a reserve please? Hopefully I will not be as busy as last year!

Having had to unfortunately drop from last year's event, I would very much like to attend again this year if possible.
Please add me to the reserves also.

In the faint hope that a few spots may open up, could I also add myself to the reserve list.
Many thanks,
Simon

Yes, please

Yes please

I would like to join the XMAS bash this year. Bring it on....

First post updated. 5 places gone, 1 being kept for an industry guest, 4 places still to be confirmed...

Although some 45 minutes late on the deadline I hope this post is sufficient for me to reserve my place as usual.

Goodness the forum is slow today..

Anyway, consider me confirmed please.

See some of you on Wednesday.

List has been updated - and before anyone asks, DJ made the deadline in an email exchange rather than by posting on the forum. He weakly claimed that he was "too busy to post on the forum" and since I hadn't specified that confirmation had to be by posting in thread I decided to accept his confirmation.

Ian, Mike - you currently have places.

Tom, Axel - do you want to reach out to Dirk?

AHB wrote:
Ian, Mike - you currently have places.

This is cheering news-thanks Alex

If anyone is planning of staying at the Cricketer's Arms in Rickling Green then please let me know and we may be able to share a cab between Rickling Green and the White Horse at both ends of the offline.

I have booked into the Cricketers again as it worked well last year thus keen to share a taxi both to and from The White Horse.

Thanks

Sorry, I did attempt to post a few weeks ago that I couldn't make this - clashes with the last day of teaching unfortunately.

Have now finally got around to booking the Cricketer's Arms at Rickling Green and so happy to share that cab suggested. Fingers crossed I can make it there this year

Phil - Daniel's withdrawal leaves a place open for you if you'd like it.

AHB wrote:Phil - Daniel's withdrawal leaves a place open for you if you'd like it.

Yes please, I should still be ok to make it.
The bottle I intend to bring is an unknown/unknown, believed circa 1890s, so if someone with tongs could bring them along that would be appreciated.

I have now also booked into the Cricketers and would be up for taxi-sharing; has anyone already set up bookings, and if so for what times please?

DJ has dropped out and been replaced by PW.

EDN has dropped out and has not yet been replaced since SGD declined the opportunity.

This means there is a place spare at the table for the Xmas tasting - is anyone interested?

The Bell didn’t have space for glasses pages — stickies were used. What is the format at the White Horse? Glasses pages? Cork display? Other?

Are there any pre-revelations of bottles? Are any Names to be associated with multiple bottles?

jdaw1 wrote:The Bell didn’t have space for glasses pages — stickies were used. What is the format at the White Horse? Glasses pages? Cork display? Other?

Are there any pre-revelations of bottles? Are any Names to be associated with multiple bottles?

Stickies for the White Horse too please. No cork display. No pre-revelations. No association of bottles with people.

Please check www.jdawiseman.com/2016/20161215_White_Horse.pdf.

jdaw1 wrote:Please check www.jdawiseman.com/2016/20161215_White_Horse.pdf.

The layout looks good, but it is very unlikely that we'll have 26 bottles between 9 of us. If I recall there are 13 labels down a page - if we had 13 bottles on the tasting sheets then it would be just as easy to share the labels out between us.

AHB wrote:if we had 13 bottles on the tasting sheets then it would be just as easy to share the labels out between us.

Done.

I have noted that Phil, Ian and Charles have all volunteered to share a cab with me.

I'm about to book a cab to pick us up from the Cricketer's Arms at 17.15 to drop off at the White Horse at 17.30 and pick up at the White Horse at 00.20 to drop us back at the Cricketers Arms at 00.30.

Please confirm if you'd like to share a cab.

If the 17.15 pick-up is too early for anyone coming up from London, you could catch a train direct to Newport (Essex) and walk up to the White Horse (a 10 minute walk) but catch the taxi back to the Cricketer's Arms. If you're going to check in late then let me know and I can collect your key for you.

AHB wrote:I have noted that Phil, Ian and Charles have all volunteered to share a cab with me.

I'm about to book a cab to pick us up from the Cricketer's Arms at 17.15 to drop off at the White Horse at 17.30 and pick up at the White Horse at 00.20 to drop us back at the Cricketers Arms at 00.30.

Please confirm if you'd like to share a cab.

If the 17.15 pick-up is too early for anyone coming up from London, you could catch a train direct to Newport (Essex) and walk up to the White Horse (a 10 minute walk) but catch the taxi back to the Cricketer's Arms. If you're going to check in late then let me know and I can collect your key for you.

Thanks Alex, happy to share the cabs and for the times proposed (I am targeting arriving at the Cricketers for 4pm). Should we decant at the Cricketers or leave until the White Horse?

idj123 wrote:

AHB wrote:I have noted that Phil, Ian and Charles have all volunteered to share a cab with me.

I'm about to book a cab to pick us up from the Cricketer's Arms at 17.15 to drop off at the White Horse at 17.30 and pick up at the White Horse at 00.20 to drop us back at the Cricketers Arms at 00.30.

Please confirm if you'd like to share a cab.

If the 17.15 pick-up is too early for anyone coming up from London, you could catch a train direct to Newport (Essex) and walk up to the White Horse (a 10 minute walk) but catch the taxi back to the Cricketer's Arms. If you're going to check in late then let me know and I can collect your key for you.

Thanks Alex, happy to share the cabs and for the times proposed (I am targeting arriving at the Cricketers for 4pm). Should we decant at the Cricketers or leave until the White Horse?

I'll probably aim to decant at the White Horse in the hope that Tom can either have a fire going or can let me have access to a gas ring hob which I can use to heat a set of tongs. If tongs aren't an option then I'll have to push a cork in and bag it out to have any chance of know what I bring.

A car has been booked with Clavering Connections costing a minimum of £15 in each direction - say £5 each person in each direction if 4 of us share - as Rickling Green is in the middle of nowhere and outside everyone's normal area. A generous tip like that will ensure we get remembered for next year.

But still much cheaper than last year's private driver service, which was all I could find, at £125!

Thanks Alex - sounds good and will be happy to share the taxis, as well as the tongs

I'm getting the 15:58 Liverpool St train, picking it up at 1610 from Tottenham Hale. Let me know if anyone else on the same train.

flash_uk wrote:I'm getting the 15:58 Liverpool St train, picking it up at 1610 from Tottenham Hale. Let me know if anyone else on the same train.

And a bit of a shocker. All trains through Tottenham Hale are suspended while emergency services deal with some issue.

All Cambridge to London Liverpool Street services suspended for the same reason (fatality). Have just got off the train that would at least have got me to Audley End, for the connection to Newport to then be cancelled. Argh.

Countermeasures deployed. Now in an Uber. Didn't realise they would take fares so far out of London!

OK chaps - you have now had two sleeps to recover from the debauchery of Thursday evening.

Can someone please create the TN threads (only headers required) so that they can be included in the TN Index update that I plan to do tomorrow morning?

Or send me a list and I will cope.

The traditional Christmas Tasting was held in Tom’s pub.

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• Davy's Crusted 197? (I — CPR);
• 196? Martinez (II — MPM);
• 1922 Martinez (III — AHB);
• 1935 Sandeman (IV — IDJ);
• 1945 Dow (V — THRA);
• 1912 Cockburn (VI — PW);
• 1955 Taylor (VII — ?);
• 1924 Unknown (VIII — RLC);
• 1927 Tuke Holdsworth (IX — AP);
• 1933 Quinta do Cais Colheita, bottled 1988 (X — WPS);
• Paperwork: sticky labels, TN and voting pages;
• Planning and arrangements.

Thank you. I will update the TN Index in the morning.