The Gathering 

Hi, and welcome to the group of guys going to this year’s Gathering in a field near Swindon!
Now that you are signed up there are a few practical matters to start to address in no particular order of importance, as they are all important! 
 
Why is my £50 deposit non-refundable?  - Based on your initial payment the church will fund the purchase of the required number of tickets. If you then later decide you don’t or can’t go, then the church is ultimate out of pocket by the balance of the ticket price. Each circumstance will be reviewed, but If you are able to encourage a friend to go in your place, then the deposit can be refunded on full payment of the ticket. Your friend will be made to feel welcome to join our merry band, or equally they may have other friends that are going, and we won’t be offended if they join them instead.

Catering
There will be burger vans and street food for you to buy from so you will not starve completely over the weekend. That said, provision will be made for a meal both Friday & Saturday evening. There will also be a fry up for breakfast both mornings. Sharing a meal is a great point of fellowship, especially if you have been assigned washing up duty! If you have dietary requirements, we will aim to cater for them. If you have soft delicate hands, we suggest you bring a set of marigold gloves! There is a site rule that bans all types of fruit – I think Cider is an exception.

Equipment List - What to bring! 
This is not a major overland expedition. We will not be needing a fleet of 4x4’s with roof tents, although that would be cool! You will need the following if you wish to be a bit more comfortable than basic roughing it.

• Camping bed/Inflatable mattress
• Sleeping bag – despite being June, it can be very cold at night. Blanket, pillow and Teddy.
• Clean clothes – you will only be away for about 48hrs, you can stay in the same clothes all weekend if you want but you might want to think of those you are returning to. They will be showers and washing facilities on site, should you wish to make use of them.
• Eating implements – Bowl, plate, Mug, knife/fork/spoon. A Band-Aid sticking plaster with your initials on will help you identify your kit at the end of the weekend.
• Folding Camping Chair – If you have more than one that could be good, as someone might not have one at all.
• Wellies (optional) – keep an eye on the weather, both prior to the event and the forecast for the weekend. The clue is in that it’s held in a FIELD nr Swindon. The English summer can be unreliable at best.
• Tent – There is always the option to Bivouac, and if it rains find a corner of the event tent that might keep you dry through the night, but I think you might find it more comfortable in a tent. Experience has shown that having your own 1-2 man tent is most fit for purpose for the event. There will no doubt be individuals that don’t have a tent, and others that have a tent that will sleep 2, 3 or 4 that might well accommodate those without one.

So, it’s key to let us know if you have or don’t have a Camping Chair and/or a tent(space) you are willing to share.

General Logistics
As with all things we will fine tune this one much near the time. But it’s good to get your head around this as early as you can. The field is near Swindon, which is fortunately for us just a couple of junctions down the M4 from us here in Newbury.
It would be good to know whether you are planning to drive and whether you are hoping to have a lift. 
Also, what time you might expect to leave Newbury – some might already be planning to take the afternoon off work and get there earlier. Others might not be able to make it until Saturday morning. 
It would also be good to know what size of vehicle you are planning on bringing so we can ensure all the equipment (which includes cooking and event tents etc – so not just your personal stuff!).
So, it’s key to let us know if you plan to drive/need a lift/when you might leave and how much room you have in your car.The event has changed over the years – there was a time when you had to lug all the stuff from the car park. In recent years you’ve been allowed to drive on the camping area to drop stuff off, and then remove the car to the safety of the car park. Here’s hoping the latter is still the case. 

Communication 
At some point it will be useful to create a WhatsApp group specific to the event. It’s very useful leading up to the event as far as final logistics and indeed at the event itself. The group will no doubt be deleted after the event. We may use your registered email address to send you updates and further.

Please note your email will be used, and you will be included into a specific WhatsApp group for the purposes of communication about the event. If you DO NOT wish this to happen , please discuss with Dave.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Dave Andrews