Hey Brits - Anyone attending the London Cat Show?

The one held by the London Cat Club on June 14 -
http://www.londoncatclub.org/show.htm

There's a very good chance that I'll be there!!! I'd love to meet some of our British members there!

I wasn't aware of the show - I have been looking for ages for a decent cat show to go to, and with the added incentive of Anne being there - well, I'd say that is a definite (Yola checks diary). Yup - it looks good.

It is actually in Staines which is outside London, near Heathrow Airport and about 3 miles from where I grew up.

It's a 20 minute drive from where I live now so I think I'll be making that trip!!

Sorry I won't be there.

Cool!!! you'll be the first TCS member I'll be meeting IRL (other than Nunny of course ).

We will be staying in London in June (12-22) and we'll be taking the train to Staines on that Saturday. We still haven't planned the rest of the trip. We are traveling with Ron so we're still debating among ourselves whehter to keep it London-only or maybe rent a car and go outside the city for a bit. I've never been to the south of England, so I'm thinking about going out of London, driving south to Brighton, then along the coast and the downs, up to Bath, maybe up all the way to Oxford and then back through Guilford (where we have good friends) to Gatwick (from which we'll be flying home). So far we only booked the flights (we got a great deal at $350 for a return ticket) and the rest we're only sketching out now.

I've never been to the UK in June - I wonder how's the weather going to be. Any tips about traveling with a toddler in June would be appreciated!

Can't wait to see you there Yola! maybe other TCS'ers will be there as well?

Oh sorry Tamme - didn't see your post before. Are you planning on being in the UK around June?

The weather in June is usually OK - it will certainly be warm, but I can't guarantee sunshine - sorry :-)

My recommendation would be to see if you can hire a car - but I would certaily spend the extra and go for one with aircon, summer traffic can be bad (everyone going on holiday) and you don't want to be stuck in a hot car with a little one in an endless traffic jam.

DEFINITELY go to Bath!! It is one of my favourite places. The whole city is Georgian, and it is actually a World Heritage Site now, as it think it has the largest unspoilt collections of Georgian buildings. Great shopping and of course the Roman Baths can be visited and the spa water sampled (I liked the water personally, but it looks a bit yellow and it is warm).

Oxford is OK. I live about 20 minutes drive from Oxford and although there are some really interesting old colleges and museums to see and although it IS a beautiful city, I would suggest you head for Brighton which is just such a fun place - it is the gay mecca of the UK and as such as such a relaxed feel about it.

Other suggestions would be Windsor (castle, town and Legoland - for Ron), Cheddar Gorge, Wookey Hole (caves in the South West of England where they still hand-manufacture paper), Cotswold Wildlife Park, the Cotswolds in general - I could go on . . .

If you need a stopping off point, give me a shout, we have a large spare bedroom with own bathroom if you need a rest (we're about 35 - 40 miles West of London), and it would be FAB to see you too! I'll treat you guys to a curry from my favourite curry house!!!!

ok - we have the flights booked - but that's about it Other than the cat show on Saturday I'm not sure where and what we're going to do. We're now looking into traveling by train but renting a car is certainly still an option. Looks like there's tons of things to do in Brighton - although it also seems to be just as expensive as London accomodation wise. we thought maybe taking the train from London to Brighton as it's so near and then staying in Brighton for 3-4 days in a B&B. Bath is just a little bit too far away - it's 3 hours by train from London. Normally that wouldn't be a problem (we have traveled as far as Scotland in the past) but with Ron I don't want to make very long journeys.

Yola, would you say the traffic would be worse on the weekend? How bad would it be? traffic jams all the way? Just wondering - if we do rent a car, would it be better to take the car out of London in the middle of the week rather than on a Saturday or Sunday?

Also, I'm looking for other cat-related events or places to visit. Does anyone happen to know of any cat themed shop (a brick and mortat sort of shop, not an internet one) or a big pet shop in London of within 2 hours drive of London?