By popular request, the first ever get-together of UK-wide BedPosts members is taking place in Oxford over the period 25th - 27th January 2012. The event is partly social and partly business.

The business part is described under Conference programme and is bookable on-line under Conference tickets. The conference is open to day trippers not taking part in the BreakAway. Indeed the whole event is pick 'n' mix.

Arrive late afternoon/early evening on Wednesday 25th January 2012 at The Oxford Spires Hotel (part of the Four Pillars Group), Abingdon Road, Oxford, OX1 4PS (directions and other details are on their website) www.oxford-spires-hotel.four-pillars.co.uk. Abingdon Road is a long straight road that ends up in Oxford City Centre, the buses go back and forth along it all day.

If you are planning on staying at the Oxford Spires Hotel on the 25th January then eating together on the first evening is a must really if we are to get to know each other, and after spending the day travelling, I just thought it would be much nicer to shower, change, eat and chill without leaving the hotel. It will also make it easier for us all to locate each other. ** It might be a nice idea to have a couple of little icebreaker games in the lounge if you wish (all seated - not charades).

We have been offered a fixed rate for occupancy of the reserved rooms as follows:

1st night (25/1/2012) - Dinner and B&B:	2nd night (26/1/2012) - B&B only:
Single room - £124.00	Single room - £105.00
Double room - £149.00	Double room - £111.00

These rooms are being held under the booking id number of: 67505 you will need to quote this number when you call up to book one of the blocked rooms at the agreed rates.

To book - telephone 01865 324 324 - I dealt with Lauren Johnston, Reservations, in case anyone asks.

If you would prefer a premium room at an extra charge, simply quote the same reference number and ask for an alternative quote for a higher priced room. Ditto if you only wish to stay at the hotel for only one night, or more than two nights, just quote the id number and explain what you are trying to achieve, you should still get the BedPosts discount for part of your stay, but it may or may not be such a good discount overall.

I am not handling anyone's booking, you should ring the hotel and check every detail that matters to you, such as if you want late breakfast, early check in etc. Please check the cancellation policy yourself before agreeing to it, and if you want to use the leisure centre facilities (which are charged for separately) please ask about and organise this yourself when booking.

So to recap - Day one - arrive - check in - freshen up - find each other - find the bar - find the food. Bed when it calls, maybe a swim or a sauna etc in between.

Click here to see the menu

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The Workshop will start in Oxford Castle at 11am so you will have plenty of time for a lie in, a leisurely breakfast, a swim, the gym, a jog or a wander round Oxford. I will talk a bit more about the workshop itself at the end.

The Workshop will end at 2pm (we have to be out by 2pm) and I have organised two tours of the Castle - they only take 16 people per tour, the first tour will start at 2pm, it is only about 5 minutes from the Conference room to the start of the tour, so anyone who is giving the workshop a miss (not too many of you hopefully) or coming for the bulk of the workshop but not wishing to stay for the whole three hours, can go on the first tour.

I have arranged for a sandwich buffet lunch and beverages to be brought into the workshop at 1pm.

Because we booked the Conference Room we are only paying £5 per head for the Castle Unlocked tour instead of £7.95 per head. For those not wishing to come to the workshop, and enjoy the buffet lunch, but wishing to join the tour, there are restaurants in the Castle complex.

After the tour of the castle www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk there will be free time in Oxford, to shop or visit a museum. www.ox.ac.uk/visitors_friends/visiting_the_university/index.html and for anyone wanting to take in a show Spamelot is showing at the New Theatre Oxford on 26th January. You will of course need to ring the Box Office and get your own tickets. 01865 320760. I'm sure by then you will have split into little groups all keen to do different things.

So to recap Day 2, Leisurely or keep fit morning - workshop 11am - 2pm - tour of the castle - free time in Oxford - eat out or at the hotel as you wish.

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The actual workshop details are now published under Conference programme but here is what I previously wrote :

Introductions, followed by some fun Planning For Real brain storming on the future of BedPosts, to include what is achievable now, what could be achievable, and some out of the box whacky ideas that might grow into great ones, and fun debate in small groups about what you want from BedPosts, with lots of opportunity to influence decisions by voting on ideas, and also and equally as important, an opportunity to identify the challenges and drawbacks that face BedPosts in its aim to make a difference to your industry, lastly and far more important than anything else - your solutions. This will be broken up with some training courses, I think talks on SEO and Social Media will be the most popular. You will also have an opportunity to ask individual "how to?" questions.

I have already paid a deposit, and BedPosts is able to raise an invoice for training if anyone wishes to put the conference costs against tax, and of course if you are visiting an out of town conference centre, you can also claim accommodation costs against tax.

Lastly, there is no time until 25th January when it is too late to decide to come, the only thing that I can't guarantee is that the Oxford Spires Hotel will have space or that I can get you on a Castle tourat the reduced rate, or that we can arrange for a buffet lunch for you, so the sooner you put your name down the better, and by 17th January if you would like to be sure that you are booked on the Castle tour and that your lunch is booked at the Conference.

Also, if you wish to stay elsewhere in Oxford (say with relatives or at a cheaper hotel) just let me know if you are coming to the BreakAway and the evening meal at the hotel, ditto if you live close enough to go home each evening. I would like to stress that you don't have to stay at the hotel to go to the workshop, the castle and the evening meal on Wednesday, and you don't have to go to the workshop to come on the BreakAway and stay with us in the hotel, but I do need to know what you are doing and which parts of the BreakAway you will be taking part in.

Best regards

Carol Starkey
BedPosts Chair