Difference between revisions of "LondonFur Meet"

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The LondonFur Meet is a local meet held in London for furs in the UK furry community known as the LondonFurs. The meets are currently held on every third Saturday and have been held with few interruptions since 1999.

In addition, there are also occasional coffee meets (usually on the Friday before a 'main' meet), but these generally draw much smaller attendance.

LondonFur Meets are open to any furs who can attend. It is advised to get to know the people who attend either via the UKFur Forums or the IRC channel, #UK.

Origins

Primarily organised by Ia'Kat, furs in the London area first started having organised meets approximately March/ April 1998.

History

• Established 1998
• Regular meets every 3 weeks by mid 1999
• Following Ia'Kat's relocation to Sheffield, Makali took on responsibility for the meets.
• Makali gave up his responsibility for organising the meets following a lot of hassle. In Nov 2003, Daktalis became the chief organiser.
• In July 2006 Daktalis retired from managing the LondonFurs. Rapido has taken responsibility for organising the Tri-weekly meets and with the website now being ran by Foxberance.
• As of July 29th 2006, the LondonFurs meet changed location to the Theodore Bullfrog pub near Charing Cross/Embankment.
• In 2006, Red, Blue and White is created by Rapido, the purpose of which, is to create a single entity for organizing the Christmas Parties. It saw its first major success in the December 2006 LondonFurs Boat Trip.
• In 2007, following the great success of RBW 2006, RBW 2007 returns to create what is the biggest UK furry event. Attendance for the 2007 event held from 1st to the 2nd of December is confirmed at 242.
• Due to previous misconduct during meets, on the 23rd October 2007, Rapido published a new official code of conduct for the LondonFur Meets.

Locations

When the meets first became established as a regular tri-weekly event in 1999, meets didn't have a 'base' like they do today. Instead, the plan was to meet up at King's Cross train station in London, below the departures board at 11am (some furs still meet there to this day) and go from there. This was an idea of Scruff's as KingsX was the station many people would arrive in London at, is easily found by those not familiar with the city, and is well-connected via the Underground to serve as a point of departure for wherever people decided to go during the day. Typically furs would congregate around Soho Square before going to the pubs The Ship or for more obvious reasons, The Intrepid Fox.

From late 1999 until early October 2000, the meets were held in The Devonshire Arms, London's premier Goth pub, in Camden Town. The group was, however, asked to leave as they had outgrown The Dev and, it is claimed, were "putting off" the regulars.

From late October 2000 until October 2003, the meets were held in the Jorene Celeste pub in Kentish Town. A change of management, followed by a steady decline in relations between the new management and the London Furs culminated in a bitter eviction in the middle of a meet.

From October 2003 until 8th July 2006, The meets were held at 'Ye Olde London pub' (formerly The Bell, Book and Candle until it was refurbished in mid 2005) which is close to St. Paul's Cathedral. Due to a change of management that left the LondonFurs unwelcome, along with the increasing size of attendance, a new location was found. This caused some sadness amongst the regulars, as the Ye Olde London had been a sentimental place of residence.

From 29th July 2006, the London FurMeets are held at their current home, the 'Theodore Bullfrog' pub in Charing Cross. However, the meet for the 3rd November 2007 had to be relocated at short notice to a pub named 'Ochre' in St. Pauls due to the apparent continued appalling behaviour by some individuals during the previous 2 furmeets, as the management of the Theodore Bullfrog had stated that they do not want the LondonFurs back^[1].

The meet on the 24th November 2007 is due to take place in another temporary venue of 'The Jamaica Wine House' located near Bank and Monument tube stations in London City^[2].

From the 15th December 2007 onwards, the Londonfur meets will be permanently relocated to the 'City Golf Bar' in the Blackfriars area of London^[3].

Attendance

The people who were regulars at the original meets include: Ia'kat, Orinoco, ANTIcarrot, Bruce, Darkclaw, Cabbit, Vexen, Scruff, SlyCat, Ruin, Hawx, Glis & Timon/TimmyPup, however few of these members still attend the meets today.

Current attendance figures are typically 45-70 members per meet.

Participants of the LondonFur meets are not restricted to just those who live in London. The meets have had furs visit from all over the globe, including Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.

There are also a fair number of regulars to attend meets, such as Daktalis, Shep Shepherd, Rapido, Tryst, Nutsy, SouthPaw, Klepsydra, Tungro and AndySquirrel. Other furs that attend include DarkRacoon, TwoTailedFox, KurtBatz, Nybras, PaperKup, HelenBaby, EzFoxie and Scorcher, some of which are often infrequent.

Those who attend the meets are from all areas of the furry fandom. Typically at an average meet, there will be a fair number of artists, fursuiters and lifestylers.

Activities

The normal agenda for a LondonFur meet will be to meet up at the pub from midday onwards. Currently in the Theodore Bullfrog, both floors of the pub are now hired every meet, with most congregating downstairs, where most will partake in drinking. The upstairs is used for a degree of privacy, but there are still concerns about "Public Affection", being displayed, even if it is upstairs. There are many tipples available, including real ale, soft drinks, and cocktails.

At the pub, some members might change into fursuits or don furry items such as ears or tails. After this transformation many will have their photograph taken or wander about the pub feeling rather silly. Some even go outside and mix among the public. Trips to Trafalgar Square in Fursuits are not uncommon, with the group often allowing photographs with tourists and/or children.

Furs will leave the pub in small groups for shopping or food. One much-visited store is Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue, known for its unique ability to attract even the most reclusive of geeks. Keeping within the West End area, some furs like to visit CyberCandy. This small shop specialises in imported sweets and drinks; from New Zealand-only Raspberry Coke and Mountain Dew to coffee.

Chinatown is the usual favoured place for eating out. Wong Kei is a Chinese restaurant known for its cheap meals and its even cheaper service. However, with free tea and meals usually coming to under £10 a head, it's nothing to be sniffed at. Not only that, but it's damn tasty too! Zipangu's is a Japanese restaurant also enjoyed by a few furs. Again, it's pretty cheap food with a home cooked feel. Other places people like to go is Misato, a cheap eat with huge portions, and the usual favourite Pizza Hut.

After these activities, it's usually time to hit the arcades. Play2Win on Old Compton Street provides the only ParaPara machine in London, and is proving more and more popular with time. Situated on possibly the gayest street in London, this arcade not only provides effeminate dancing but many shoot-em-ups too. Las Vegas arcade just south of Old Compton Street provides some Dancing Stage, other games like Percussion Master, as well as many shooting games.

Trocadero is a developing favourite with a few furs, due to its rich mix of amusements, location, transport links, and ability to easily go for refreshments afterwards. DDR Machines are plentiful, as are the usual arcade favourites, such as racing games, and air hocky, as well as a dodgems area.

Eventually, the furs end up in Namco on the South Bank, Westminster, providing some startling and well-known views of London, but it also provides the comfiest seats and the most expensive drinks. However, it does have a DDR machine, a giant screen for watching sports, coin-operated bowling, dodgems and pool.

Non-meet locations

Very occasionally, groups of LondonFurs band together, and decide to descend on a particular area of London for a day. Camden Town is a favourite, as is St. James Park.

Media Appearances

• The London Furs were featured in a documentary shown late night on the UK's Channel 4, under the title "Human Furry Animals" in 2000 as part of their strand of programming called "The Other Side", designed to give new Directors a "break" into TV. It was one of the first early television documentaries to show furries in a positive light.
• Members of the LondonFur community were also featured in a segment on the London only ITV show NightLife, in a piece titled "The Furverts" aired in 2001. Prior to filming, the production crew promised that the segment would not focus purely on the sexual nature (like other documentaries had done) and would give a fair and balanced view. However when the programme was aired it had been edited down to anything but; giving a negative and embarrassing portrayal of Furry. Most, if not all the furries that feature, regret taking part.

It can be downloaded from SlyCat's download page.

See also

• List of media links

External links

• New & Updated LondonFurs Homepage
• Old LondonFurs Homepage
• LondonFur events on Furmeets.co.uk
• Photos of LondonFur meets since 1999
• Vexen's photos of LondonFurs
• LondonFurs discussion forum

References

1. ↑ 3rd November Relocation Notice - Rapido (October 23rd, 2007)
2. ↑ 24th November Location Notice - Rapido (November 8rd, 2007)
3. ↑ New Furmeet Location Notice - Rapido (October 11th, 2007)