Byte Night 09 – the sleepover @ The BALTIC

A write-up of the combined exploits of Byte Night 09 North East.

At last it has arrived!

I have to admit to being a bit apprehensive before the event. I had done some prep – as documented here and here. But I was a bit in the dark about what was happen, so really wanted to get it on.

In addition, the weather forecast seemed v. unpleasant – Heavy rain, 8 degrees, windy. Meh

I happened to be up in Troon, doing a presentation on social media in the morning, so had a three hour drive back yem. That said, it was made more bearable but the utter genius that is Down the Line on the CD player.

The night itself

A bulleted list to save time

• I arrived at the BALTIC at around 8.15 – there was a good introduction e-mailed in advance by what to expect
• We registered at the front desk: there were sleepers & their supporters already there and the party was getting started!
• Free drinks – provided by Codeworks I believe
• Supper was a decent–looking lasagne, but they did a chicken salad for me (with my funny tummy)
• I did some mini-interviews – see video below
• After supper, we had a quiz & some amateur singing
  • The MC was Kim Inglis
• When we arrived, outside on the wooden-floored balcony were some large parasols / umbrellas, which have lights and heat lamps underneath.
  • This was a good sign, but [I believe] the Action for Children people asked them to be furled, as it was a bit of a cop-out!
• I then used a bit of initiative to find a pitch. I had
  • A big bit of cardboard – well worth it
  • A bed roll – indispensible
  • 3 season sleeping bag
  • Foam cushions as pillow – excellent
  • Fleece hat – again a winner
  • Experience of week before, in tent, was v. useful
• All in all it was a big party outside – lots of laughter, music etc., for most of the night!
• I slept from about midnight until 0400
  • Wind started up
  • Did a video recording with David Coxon
• Went back to sleep & we were woken just after 6
• Breakfast of bacon butties, sausage baps, tea coffee & orange – winner!
• Check all the tweets etc. via http://bytenight.osmosoft.com/

Video

Photos

Mine

David Coxon

Paul Keating – Red Boat photography

Wash up

Well done

• Derek Curtis and the team for organising g
• Providence for being pretty kind with the weather – it was filthy later in the morning, with rain and high winds
• David Coxon from the BALTIC for being our host and sorting the A-V side of things
• Kim Inglis for the MC’ing
• Codeworks for the free booze
• Everyone for staying out there and at it!
• AfC team for organising, St. John Ambulance for attending

Fund-raising

• Bond Solutions for mega fund-raising – £10k
• My sponsors – I’m standing at £770 at the time of writing
• You can still contribute – if you missed out

Beard

My brother kindly said that he would double his donation if I shaved my beard off. So, taking him at his word, I decided to grow it a bit longer than the normal (long) stubble.
So, I thought I would do a before-and-after comparison – terrifying and slightly cringe-making that it is! ;-D

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