There will be an ‘Ask Simon Facebook Chat’ on Friday 23rd January at 6.30pm – 8.30pm (GMT).
Simon is our Gathering Concierge and is available before and during the Gathering to ask ANY gathering related questions.
The chat on Friday will be co-hosted with Gathering organiser Jules Peters.
www.facebook.com/TheOfficialAlarm
And here are some words from Simon…..
What is a Gathering?
According to the dictionary a gathering is “an assembly or meeting, especially one held for a specific purpose”. Another definition is “bring together and take in from scattered places or sources”. Both are a good description but somewhere along the line, the Oxford dictionary missed out the Rock N Roll bit.
Our gathering is definitely a meeting but it’s not a meeting where people have been forced to attend. It’s not a meeting where we have to sit and listen to people go on about PowerPoint presentations. It’s not a meeting where everyone is looking at their watches and wishing it would hurry up and end. It’s a meeting where everyone you meet has at least one thing in common with you. The music of Mike Peters and The Alarm. How easy does that make it to start a conversation and to potentially make new friends.
So does this Gathering have a “Specific purpose”. Well that maybe different for everyone one. It may be just to enjoy the music. It may be to catch up with old friends. It maybe to forgot all the stresses of your everyday life and just relax a little. It may be to finally win the quiz. It maybe to see how much beer you can drink and how late you can stay up. It may be a combination of all of those. Whatever it is, come and make it your weekend.
I particularly like “take in from scattered places or sources”. People travel from all over the world to come to our Gathering. From all over Europe, America, Canada and Australia. I honestly expect one day that if the earth ever gets visited by extra terrestrials, it will be because they are attending their first Gathering. Everyone there is an Alarm fan but in their day jobs they may be plumbers, accountants, doctors, builders, shop workers, housewives (or house husbands) and even the odd Audiologist. You will come across people you may never normally speak to but who will more than happy to spend time talking to you. The first conversation is usually about how many Gatherings have you been to or favourite Alarm songs but then it can lead anywhere. Many long standing friendships have been forged over a pint with people you would otherwise never have met. If you meet someone who is at their first gathering and you are a veteran. Make them feel welcome. Remember, you were new to this once.
From now till the 30th January 2015, the anticipation will start. Who is going? What will Mike play? Will any other musicians turn up? What will be the talking point of the weekend? What will be this years outstanding moment? Will you make it back to your hotel after the gig? How many people will actually make breakfast in their hotel? Whatever the answers there is one thing we can actually predict. Our gathering will be an assembly of amazing people meeting for the specific reason of having a great time.
As usual I shall be around all weekend if you have any question about the local area or just need some help. I look forward to seeing some old faces and also to welcoming all the new people. Those who know me will tell you I am always available for a chat so do come say hello. You can visit my page on TheAlarm.com (http://thealarm.com/archives/15521) for some basic information about the weekend and also email me any question before hand from there. So time to start the preparations, let the Gathering begin.
#iamgonnabethere
You can find the ‘concierge’ section on thealarm.com