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London Wikimedia Meetup Number 141

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Date and time: Sunday 14 April 2019 — 13:00 onwards

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Location: Penderel's Oak Pub, Holborn, London WC1

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Attending

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People of all ages and all Wikimedia projects are welcome. Complete newbies also welcome!

Please also invite any London Wikimedia people you know (or have had wiki dealings with) – spread the word!

Add your name to the list by adding an asterisk and four tildes like this: * ~~~~

May be attending

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Interested but not attending

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  • Not attending. Penderel's Oak is run by a pro-hard Brexit funding organization, made notable for the CEO's pro-Brexit tour of Wetherspoons pubs and pro-Brexit literature left on customer tables. Choosing this venue remains a political act and it is not an appropriate safe space for Wikimeets. -- (talk) 08:02, 8 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    Various parties and other political organisations put objectionable literature through my letterbox several times a year. That doesn't mean that I should boycott my own house. --Redrose64 (talk; at English Wikipedia) 14:48, 9 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    Classic! :D ——SerialNumber54129 13:34, 1 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    I have attended this meetup for years and I have never seen any political propaganda on the tables, about Brexit or anything else. Philafrenzy (talk) 14:53, 9 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    Haven't seen it but Wetherspoons has produced brexit beer mats. They also had posters about the tax rate of beer in pubs at one point. This doesn't stop it being a reasonably safe space (at the end of the day its pub with all the issues attached to that).Geni (talk) 03:20, 10 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    They did have some table-top card things for a while before Christmas, such as can be seen here. And the magazine cover sometimes has a Brexit-related story... But I haven't seen any of this the past few times I've been. At the end of the day the owner is entitled to his political views and although I personally do agree that it's distasteful to put propaganda like that on a pub table, there's no evidence that it's gone beyond that and Bremainers are as much welcome in the pubs as anyone else. Amakuru (talk) 13:53, 11 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    do you have a venue you would like to propose?Geni (talk) 03:20, 10 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    Myself, Thryduulf and Yellowrose63 checked out several venues recently. It's possible to buy draught real ale for as little as £2.15 without stepping outside the North Circular. One of these has a nice view over Shepherd's Bush Green. --Redrose64 (talk; at English Wikipedia) 23:28, 11 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    We tamper with the location of this established meetup at our peril. I suspect that people often attend without checking this page as they know the location and that it is the second Sunday. We could, however, have a second London meetup on the 4th Sunday in the month, or possibly midweek, and certainly elsewhere in London. It's up to someone to organise it and try to get it established. Philafrenzy (talk) 12:57, 12 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    @Fae: there were a few beer mats- pro remain ones spread around the Penderels Oak when we left. Last month, I had quite a few conversations with EU nationals working in there- they were worried and on the front line, I believe there is a 'Wetherspoons staff against Brexit' organisation out there, but they still do require our support. ClemRutter (talk) 22:09, 16 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Not able to attend this time. --Redrose64 (talk; at English Wikipedia) 14:49, 9 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

About the meetup

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The Penderel's Oak in Holborn
Map
Location of The Penderel's Oak

London meetups are generally casual social events where we...

  • Drink coffee, beer, tea and some of us have Sunday brunch. Sunday roasts are no longer offered but they do a reasonable pizza now and have a range of other snacks and dishes.
  • Welcome guests from around the world and other groups which meet there
  • Chat about Wikimedia or any other topics
  • Experienced Wikimedians help out new editors and share experiences about anything from copyright to editing tools.

You can expect to meet some very keen Wikimedians; however, this is also an open invite for anyone interested in finding out more about Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, and Wikisource.

New and prospective editors are also very welcome.

The pub is quite quiet and family-friendly on a Sunday lunchtime, so younger Wikimedians will also feel welcome and safe. Alcohol consumption is not compulsory!

Disabled access

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The pub has an accessible loo on the ground floor. There are some sections of the pub that are only accessible by steps, but we always meet in the main step free section, usually opposite the main doors.

Location: Penderel's Oak

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The Penderel's Oak is a Wetherspoons pub in Holborn.
Address: 283-288 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7HP (OpenStreetMap) (Google Maps)

It's easy to find us – we're usually the crowd with several laptops on the large tables straight ahead of you when you enter the pub. If not, then look for a tabletop Wikimedia/Wikipedia poster and laptops with Wikipedia stickers on them. Wikimania t-shirts can also be a good clue.

Getting there

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Central line
 
Chancery Lane 0.2 miles

(350 m)

Central line
Piccadilly line
Holborn
Circle line
Hammersmith & City line
Metropolitan line

Elizabeth line

Farringdon 0.5 miles

(800 m)

Circle line

District line

Temple

The Penderel's Oak is between Holborn tube station and Chancery Lane tube station. Farringdon station and Temple tube station are not too far. The pub is also within walking distance of Waterloo railway station (1.3 miles; 2 km), St Pancras railway station (1.2 miles; 1.9 km) and Kings Cross.

Several bus routes also go directly to Holborn station; if travelling from Waterloo, it is quicker to travel by bus than by tube.

Bike hire (TfL scheme) is in Red Lion Street, just opposite the pub.

Visit the TfL Journey Planner for more information about your fastest route.

Back-up plan

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In the rare event of a kitchen closure or another problem at the Penderel's Oak, the meetup will be relocated to the Shakespeare's Head – another Wetherspoons pub located nearby. To get there from the Penderel's Oak, when exiting onto the street turn left, then when walking past Holborn tube station turn left again down Kingsway, and after a short walk the pub will be found on the left-hand side.