From dtm@castle.ed.ac.uk Tue Mar 29 11:08:05 1994 Received: from sun2.nsfnet-relay.ac.uk by dkuug.dk with SMTP id AA07940 (5.65c8/IDA-1.4.4j for ); Tue, 29 Mar 1994 11:08:05 +0200 Via: uk.ac.edinburgh.castle; Tue, 29 Mar 1994 10:07:18 +0100 Date: 29 Mar 94 10:07:15 BST From: D Muxworthy Subject: Local arrangements for WG5 meeting, August 1994 To: sc22wg5@dkuug.dk Message-Id: <9403291007.aa13393@uk.ac.ed.castle> X-Charset: ASCII X-Char-Esc: 29 A paper version of the following information, together with some tourist pamphlets, will be distributed by mail this week. That is except for X3J3 members who will receive the paper copy, along with additional information relating to the X3J3 meeting, from EPC following the Lake Tahoe meeting. I look forward to seeing everyone in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, please do not hesitate to ask if you have any queries. David Muxworthy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information on Local Arrangements for WG5 Meeting, Edinburgh, August 8 to 12, 1994 X3J3 Meeting, Edinburgh, August 15 to 19, 1994 Place. The meetings, and hotel accommodation, will both be at the Grosvenor Hotel, Grosvenor Street, Edinburgh EH12 5EF, UK; telephone +44 31 226 6001, fax +44 31 220 2387, telex 72445. The room rate is 55 pounds per day, inclusive of breakfast, service charge and VAT, or 45 pounds per person per day for those sharing a twin or double room. At the time of writing, 1 pound is worth US$1.50. The hotel accepts all major credit cards. The hotel has recently been refurbished and offers first-class accommodation. It is in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the city centre, five minutes walk from Princes Street and with some shops and restaurants nearby. Reservations. Hotel reservations in connection with the meetings will be handled by Jane Bannon of EPC (address below); reservations for the period of the meetings should not be made direct with the hotel as they will not attract the special rate. Jane is able to take reservations for the period August 5 to August 20. However any reservations outside these dates must be made direct with the hotel and will not attract the special rate. June 30 is the cut-off date to get the special room rate. Please advise Jane if you have any special requirements. Parking. The area was developed in the 1860s. The hotel has no parking space of its own and there is only meter parking near the hotel. There are commercial car parks about 400 yards away which charge up to 5 pounds per day. Public transport (bus and taxi) within Edinburgh is good and cars are unlikely to be needed during the meetings but could be useful for excursions outside the city. Travel. Air. Most international travel to Edinburgh is via London (a cause of continual grievance to locals). There are 22 flights daily from Heathrow (slightly fewer at weekends), 5 from Gatwick and 3 from Stansted; the scheduled flight times are 75-90 minutes. There are direct flights from Amsterdam, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich, but no direct transatlantic flights other than charters. Edinburgh airport is some 7 miles west of the city centre and the airport coach services stop near the Grosvenor Hotel. A taxi would cost about 10 pounds. North American participants might find it quicker and/or cheaper to fly direct to Glasgow; there is an hourly coach service from Glasgow Airport to within 400 yards of the Grosvenor Hotel, which takes 1 hour 40 minutes. Alternatively a taxi from Glasgow Airport to Glasgow Queen Street Station will cost less than 15 pounds. Trains from Glasgow run half hourly (hourly on Sundays). The fare is 6 pounds. Haymarket Station in Edinburgh is less than 5 minutes walk from the meeting venue. Transatlantic carriers into Glasgow are Air Canada (Calgary, Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver), American (Chicago), British Airways (New York-JFK), North Western (Boston, San Francisco) and United (New York-LGA, Washington). Glasgow also offers a wider choice of direct flights from Europe: Bergen, Copenhagen, Hanover, Munich and Reykjavik. Rail. There is an hourly train service from London to Edinburgh, with additional trains giving a half-hourly service at times, with typical journey time 4 hours 30 minutes. A few of the trains stop also at Haymarket, 200 yards from the hotel (the main station is 1.25 miles from the hotel). At present the return fare is 59 pounds return (69 pounds on Fridays and Saturdays); some concessionary fares are available only outside the country so check beforehand if you plan to travel by train. There are also two overnight trains; an additional fee is payable for sleeping accommodation and reservations are recommended. It is not yet clear if the Brussels and Paris to London passenger train service through the Channel Tunnel will start before August. Certainly the proposed through trains between the continent and Edinburgh will not have started by August. Road. Edinburgh is 378 miles (609 km) by road from London by the east coast route and 413 miles (665 km) by the faster, west coast route; the roads are good, if crowded for the southern half of the journey. For those on a budget there are express coach services from central London, from Heathrow and from Gatwick to Edinburgh; typical journey times are 8, 9 and 10 hours respectively. Edinburgh Festival. The Edinburgh International Festival (ballet, concerts, drama, exhibitions, opera, recitals and other events) will take place on August 14 to September 3. The programme will be available and ticket sales will start in late April or early May. There are always some events for which tickets are available on the day, indeed for up to three selected events tickets are available at half-price on the day. Prices are reasonable by some continental festival standards: in 1993 concert prices ranged from 8 pounds to 26 pounds, opera from 10 pounds to 35 pounds and theatre from 5 pounds to 15 pounds. In addition there is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which is claimed to be the biggest arts festival in the world. This offers all kinds of performances and exhibitions by amateurs, semi-professionals and professionals with events from 9 or 10 am through to 1 or 2 am daily. The programme will be available in June but for most events it is sufficient to book at most two days in advance. The fringe increasingly tends to start earlier than the festival and there will be a number of events starting about August 6. Ticket prices are typically 3 pounds to 8 pounds. Further there is the Edinburgh Film Festival, like Cannes but somewhat cooler. The city's two art film houses are taken over and show a kaleidoscope of new films, with occasional retrospectives, throughout the first two weeks of the International Festival. The Edinburgh International Jazz Festival is for one week only and consists of both concerts and informal sessions in various pubs around the city. It takes place on August 6 to 13. The Book Festival is held in alternate years: 1994 is an off-year. The Edinburgh Tattoo is the military contribution to the festival - a spectacular annual outdoor event set against the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. It features the Massed Pipes and Drums, Display Teams, Dancers and Bands from all over the world. A once in a lifetime experience. Weather. As always in the UK the weather is unpredictable; in Scotland it is cooler (56 degress N) and more unpredictable. Last year was considered a particularly poor August. Records for the period corresponding to the meeting were: Date Sunshine Rain Temperature Summary (hours) (in.) max min 7 1.5 0.01 19 14 bright pm 8 0 0 16 10 cloudy 9 5.6 0.14 19 12 rain 10 9.9 0 17 13 sunny 11 0.8 0.60 12 9 rain 12 8.6 0.02 17 7 showers 13 8.1 0 18 7 sunny am 14 0 0 17 11 showers 15 5.6 0.13 17 10 sunny pm 16 6.2 0.32 18 10 rain am 17 8.8 0 19 6 sunny 18 0 0.03 18 10 rain 19 4.0 0 19 8 bright 20 4.1 0 18 10 bright Social Events. At the time of writing arrangements for social events are still being developed. During the WG5 meeting it is planned to hold the traditional reception on the Monday evening and to have a social event on another evening, probably Wednesday. It is not proposed to hold any social events during normal meeting hours. Money. Scottish money is the exactly same as English money except that commercial banknotes are in common circulation alongside Bank of England notes. This is a curious 19th century banking feature, once common throughout Europe, which has died out in most other countries. However be warned that may be difficult to change these notes outside the UK. Also if you have UK money from a previous visit, note that the 5 pound note with the Duke of Wellington on the back is no longer legal tender, although it might be accepted in banks, and the 10p coin which is approximately 1.1" (28mm) in diameter is no longer legal tender. Addresses. Formally the host for the WG5 meeting is the British Standards Institution, with David Muxworthy of Edinburgh University Computing Services as local organizer, and for the X3J3 meeting is Geoff Millard of Edinburgh Portable Compilers Ltd. David Muxworthy Geoff Millard & Jane Bannon EUCS EPC Ltd Main Library 17 Alva Street George Square Edinburgh EH2 4PH Edinburgh EH8 9LJ UK UK tel: +44 31 225 6262 tel: +44 31 650 3305 fax: +44 31 225 6644 fax: +44 31 650 6547 e-mail: geoff@epc.ed.ac.uk (Geoff Millard) e-mail: D.Muxworthy@ed.ac.uk e-mail: jane@epc.ed.ac.uk (Jane Bannon) Further information. Please contact one of the organizers if you have any queries. David Muxworthy 29 March 1994