Yes, this is our twenty-fifth Bristol Splunch, a 'silver jubilee' if you like, and we are delighted to have Messmaster and Messmistress joining us; having swapped their usual Las Vegas holiday for a trip to the UK, and to join us at our meet.

The twenty-fifth Bristol Splunch will take place on Saturday, 16th May 2020 from 2:00pm - 7:00pm in Horts Bar, 49 Broad Street, Bristol, BS1 2EP, and for those who are still peckish/thirsty later at some eatery/watering hole elsewhere in or near the city.
This is a vanilla meet; all over 18 from anywhere are welcome, and entry is free. I might even buy your first drink.

What is it?
It's a 'vanilla' pub social meet - drink, chat, meet'n'greet, listen, learn, advise, offer opinions, discuss substances, etc, make friends, maybe arrange a session. This is usually followed by a meal in the evening, and an outdoor mud session the following day; always subject to the bl**dy weather.
If I can answer any more questions, I'll be delighted to help; and in any event to welcome you to the Splunch.

How do I get there?
Broad Street is about twenty minutes walk from Bristol Temple Meads railway station, easily accessible from almost anywhere in the country, and there are several car parks nearby.
From the railway station exit, turn right along Temple Gate to the roundabout, cross over onto Victoria Street, continue over the river bridge into High Street, and bear gently left into Broad Street as High Street turns to the right into Wine Street. Horts Bar is about one hundred yards down on the right.

From the bus/coach station, exit onto Whitson Street, left into Lower Maudlin Street, cross Lewins Mead to Rupert Street and turn right. After about two hundred yards, turn left into Christmas Street, cross Quay Street and through the stone archway into Broad Street. Horts Bar is about fifty yards up on the left.

For those driving, at the bottom of the M32/Newfoundland Street, turn right onto Bond Street, take the first exit at the roundabout into The Haymarket, turn left into Bridewell Street, left into Nelson Street, right into Halifax Street and into the multi-storey on All Saints' Street - only £5 for the whole day, and closer than any other one. Please note that many roads in Bristol are subject to a 20mph speed limit; the previous mayor, who introduced the limit, was caught speeding.
To get to the bar, from All Saints' Street, turn right into Pithay, right into Tower Lane, left into Newmarket Avenue, and right onto Broad Street - the bar is a few yards down on the right. (Politically correct notice other car parks are available in Bristol.)

For those flush enough (or subsidised) flying into Bristol (Lulsgate) Airport, take the Airport Flyer bus service to the bus/coach station and proceed as above from there.

Hotels ... the usual chains are readily available: All prices are for a double room. Premier Inn, Lewins Mead (approx a half mile from £97); Premier Inn, Haymarket (next to the bus station, approx a half mile: from £86); Premier Inn, King Street (approx a half mile: from £122); Premier Inn, Finzels Reach (approx. a third mile from £100); Hotel Ibis, Temple Quay (approx a half mile from £113); Hotel Ibis, Anchor Road (approx a half mile from £122); Travelodge, Anchor Road (approx a half mile: from £101); Travelodge, Mitchell Lane (approx a half mile from £104); Holiday Inn, Bond Street (approx 1 mile from £109); Holiday Inn Express, Temple Gate (approx three-quarter mile from £108); Novotel, Victoria Street (approx a half mile from £109); Mercure Brigstow, Welsh Back (approx a quarter mile from £106); and Hampton by Hilton, Bond Street (approx a half mile full). For those hotels that are not available for Saturday only, rooms seem to be readily available for two-night stays, either Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday nights at very reasonable rates. Other hotels are available; check http://laterooms.com or trivago or similar sites, or check the out-of-town hotels from the above chains.

Dinner - please let me know if you'd like to stay for dinner on Saturday evening; it's likely to be Chinese, Indian, or Italian unless there's an overwhelming vote for something else.

I'll be hoping to do an outdoor mud shoot on the Sunday (always subject to mud and the bl**dy weather and availability of models and sober drivers).
If you have any further questions, post them here or pm me.
Mike.

We'll be there for the daytime but unsure on dinner at the moment x

Thank you for the invite Mike, but having started a new job, lack of funds, lack of passport, and possible travel restrictions it's not going to happen for me in the near future.

Thanks for the personal invite, Mike

I am really hoping to be there.

I am just waiting to see how MM's visit overlaps or ties in with Jayce's proposed visit the same month (if it happens), as I have committed to that, plus have a number of family commitments atm and can't spread myself too thinly.

But if I possibly can, I will be there, as the opportunity to meet MM is not one to pass up lightly.

I will be able to be less vague nearer the time...sorry

I think I'll be over during the day.

Will be there for the meet, dinner and hopefully the Sunday mud bit (if the weather behaves!! Lol)

Hi everyone, I will come for the meet in the afternoon. Look forward to seeing you all!

I shall be there for the daytime meet, but I don't think I'll be around for the evening dinner. I'm looking forward to it!

I'm going to try and make this one, though daytime only, as will be working (remotely, from my hotel) in the evening.

So sorry I can't make this one - family commitment, dagnabbit!!!!

Thanks for the invite Mike. I'll try my best to make it down to your part of the universe for this.

Just to ask the obvious question, how will the pandemic affect this?

At the moment, sadly it's not going to happen. The peak in the Uk is expected in May/June.

And I am guessing Messmaster will not be having his holiday in the UK. I would certainly advise him strongly not to even if the option was there.

We sadly have a crystal ball and can see what is going to happen and how terrible it's going to be in terms of continued spread and ICU beds. Maths. and we can see a case in point that proves the maths. Italy. I fear our situation is going to be even worse due to the sluggish action of our government. When Italy had the numbers we did, they have already introduced red zones and closed all bars etc. I'm so, so gutted and sad for our NHS and our country. And I'm so sad for Italy who must be watching us with increasing horror at our inaction.

I've cancelled my (huge) 40th birthday party in June and looking at the graphs I think we are pretty screwed socially til September, with possible waves reoccurring for a long time and further measures in place as and when. So maybe I'll see you all next year

xx

I think life will remain in lockdown until there's a vaccine. So at least six months, probably a year, possibly eighteen months.

And if the idiots don't stop panic buying, martial law by Easter.

When we finally emerge from all this, the world is going to be a very, very different place.

Tonight's announcement (that all pubs have to close) pretty much seals the deal. So, if anyone was planning to travel to Bristol for this, best look at cancelling your tickets...

Yes, it's cancelled.
I am advised to self-isolate, being in an at-risk (heart issues, diabetes) group.
Those coming from the US wouldn't be allowed back, ...
and now the Govt have closed the bar.
I'm cancelling the August event too, so the next, revised, twenty-fifth Bristol Splunch should be 22nd May 2021.

Well, that was a really fucking depressing read... Considering a lot of people are losing their jobs and they are shutting down a new industry each day, I wonder what the fuck any of us are going to do come New Years 2021. I work in healthcare and set up respiratory patients with oxygen and I've watched my orders drop more than half in 3 days.