OP
OP
Just home. Time to unload!
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UKPinfest 2021 - August 27th, 28th & 29th
- Thread starter Big Phil
- Start date
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Excellent news - I'm going to have to use my bifocals till they arrive
Just got home - now to unpack 8 machines then on to Dundee for Chris with his two - absolutely knackered but totally worth it - what a brilliant weekend . Big thanks to Phil and all his crew , big thanks to Andy Netherwood and NLP guys for working so hard on that bloody x files and big thanks to everyone else for the laughs and safe distancing hugs . Finally my sincere thanks to Traci , Chris and of course Colin from the Scottish pinball crew for putting up with my excitement [emoji3]
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OP
OP
What an event. Absolutely shattered but all so worth it. The feedback on here and the thanks we get in person over the weekend really makes it all worthwhile.
As usual, there are so many people to thank. I'm always terrified I miss someone.
The machines donated this year were a tremendous selection and of great quality(apart from sh*te files). No major issues and even Andy Netherwood commented that it was a good breed this year. Thank you all for donating your pride and joy.
My friends and family who work tirelessly all weekend. A lot of them burning the candle at both ends too. Early starts and late socialising. 3am, 4am etc....
The competitions were run superbly by Wayne, Paul, Shaun and John.
Scorebit greatly assisted the competition so thank you Neil.
Streaming as professional as ever from Tim. I need to watch the stream. I'll probably do that this week.
Stall Ball by Neil. A really popular part of the VIP session.
Thanks to Pinball heaven for donating the most recent games and choosing to donate the money taken to charity.
The electrics by Peter, Helen and their son Dan. A little added bonus with the light display this year too. Not only do they support with the electrics, they're maintaining machines, helping assemble and tear down machines as well as cleaning machines. Dan was getting into small tight areas and renamed the pinball sweep. I'm a little embarrassed to say they turned up before me on Thursday and had already unloaded their van raring to go.
The NBA comp run by Scottish Pinball. Always very popular and sold out immediately. They have bigger plans for it next year.
The NLP crew and Andy Netherwood for the maintenance over the weekend. The only ICU case was sh*te files. But even then, Andy brought it back from the brink.
Thanks to Martin Ayub and Chris Gonz for their press coverage. I'll be catching up with the website and videos soon.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Once we got the last van away, the team were already discussing next year. What we could do better and differently. Could you really ask for a better group of people to look after the show? No one gets paid for what they do. Everyone is a volunteer. They do it for the hobby and this community. They missing out on playing so many machines yet they're eager to start planning for next event. They give up their time and work holidays to do this. We really do have the most generous people in this community.
OK, so lets talk about the hotel. There were problems with 3 room bookings that I know of. There were issues with some room keys having to be coded again(I didn't have a problem) and there were one or two issues with peoples rooms. The hotel is getting more dated as each year goes by. No matter what venue we use, there'll always be issues and niggling problems. I believe the benefits of using Daventry outweigh the problems we had. The hotel room hire is cheap(I've looked at other venues and can't get anywhere near the price they charge), we basically have the run of the place and do what the hell we want.. They never badger us or check up on us really. We also have the added advantage of getting the Thursday and Monday for free. That's five days for the price I pay.
I've reserved Daventry again for next year. Just have to sign the contract. I WILL discuss the issues we had an ask about refurbishment/spa facilities. The main benefits of carrying out the event over the bank holiday weekend is the team normally save having to book a holiday for the Monday and we'd probably have to get everything out of the building on Sunday night as there would be a good chance of some sort of conference being held on the Monday(if it wasn't a bank holiday)
And lastly, thank you to the few machine donators who tipped the team once we loaded your vehicles on Sunday evening. It paid for our pizzas. It was a lovely, kind and generous gesture. Thank you.
I'm bound to have forgotten something. I reserve the right to edit this post as I'm so tired.
As usual, there are so many people to thank. I'm always terrified I miss someone.
The machines donated this year were a tremendous selection and of great quality(apart from sh*te files). No major issues and even Andy Netherwood commented that it was a good breed this year. Thank you all for donating your pride and joy.
My friends and family who work tirelessly all weekend. A lot of them burning the candle at both ends too. Early starts and late socialising. 3am, 4am etc....
The competitions were run superbly by Wayne, Paul, Shaun and John.
Scorebit greatly assisted the competition so thank you Neil.
Streaming as professional as ever from Tim. I need to watch the stream. I'll probably do that this week.
Stall Ball by Neil. A really popular part of the VIP session.
Thanks to Pinball heaven for donating the most recent games and choosing to donate the money taken to charity.
The electrics by Peter, Helen and their son Dan. A little added bonus with the light display this year too. Not only do they support with the electrics, they're maintaining machines, helping assemble and tear down machines as well as cleaning machines. Dan was getting into small tight areas and renamed the pinball sweep. I'm a little embarrassed to say they turned up before me on Thursday and had already unloaded their van raring to go.
The NBA comp run by Scottish Pinball. Always very popular and sold out immediately. They have bigger plans for it next year.
The NLP crew and Andy Netherwood for the maintenance over the weekend. The only ICU case was sh*te files. But even then, Andy brought it back from the brink.
Thanks to Martin Ayub and Chris Gonz for their press coverage. I'll be catching up with the website and videos soon.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Once we got the last van away, the team were already discussing next year. What we could do better and differently. Could you really ask for a better group of people to look after the show? No one gets paid for what they do. Everyone is a volunteer. They do it for the hobby and this community. They missing out on playing so many machines yet they're eager to start planning for next event. They give up their time and work holidays to do this. We really do have the most generous people in this community.
OK, so lets talk about the hotel. There were problems with 3 room bookings that I know of. There were issues with some room keys having to be coded again(I didn't have a problem) and there were one or two issues with peoples rooms. The hotel is getting more dated as each year goes by. No matter what venue we use, there'll always be issues and niggling problems. I believe the benefits of using Daventry outweigh the problems we had. The hotel room hire is cheap(I've looked at other venues and can't get anywhere near the price they charge), we basically have the run of the place and do what the hell we want.. They never badger us or check up on us really. We also have the added advantage of getting the Thursday and Monday for free. That's five days for the price I pay.
I've reserved Daventry again for next year. Just have to sign the contract. I WILL discuss the issues we had an ask about refurbishment/spa facilities. The main benefits of carrying out the event over the bank holiday weekend is the team normally save having to book a holiday for the Monday and we'd probably have to get everything out of the building on Sunday night as there would be a good chance of some sort of conference being held on the Monday(if it wasn't a bank holiday)
And lastly, thank you to the few machine donators who tipped the team once we loaded your vehicles on Sunday evening. It paid for our pizzas. It was a lovely, kind and generous gesture. Thank you.
I'm bound to have forgotten something. I reserve the right to edit this post as I'm so tired.
Not seen it posted here, but the Pinball News article has been posted 
www.pinballnews.com
UKPINFEST 2021
After the 2020 show had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, UKPinfest was back at the Mercure Daventry Court Hotel for 2021. The Mercure Daventry Court Hotel - home of UK Pinfest Held over the bank (public) holiday weekend at the end of August, UKPinfest is a pure pinball event featuring over...
www.pinballnews.com
D
Deleted member 2463
what an epic photo!
What a comeback!
Massive thanks from me to a few of the behind the scenes people - such as Karl DeAngelo and Brian O'Neill who were communicating with us to get Neil's Scorbits working with the tournament software through the night and literally hours before we used it. It all worked fantastically for us and was a massive benefit to the tournament.
Loads of people helped with our tournament - Chris and Graeme scoring, Nick helped out with a few repairs as soon as he arrived. Tim's stream was even better than last year's incredibly high bar thanks to some lighting tweaks. Neil's Scorbits were invaluable. There is already some early talk about how we can improve things even more next year, so fingers crossed.
And of course thanks to all the pin loaners whom an event of this scale would just be impossible without. Hopefully we continue to see such fantastic support next year too!
Massive thanks from me to a few of the behind the scenes people - such as Karl DeAngelo and Brian O'Neill who were communicating with us to get Neil's Scorbits working with the tournament software through the night and literally hours before we used it. It all worked fantastically for us and was a massive benefit to the tournament.
Loads of people helped with our tournament - Chris and Graeme scoring, Nick helped out with a few repairs as soon as he arrived. Tim's stream was even better than last year's incredibly high bar thanks to some lighting tweaks. Neil's Scorbits were invaluable. There is already some early talk about how we can improve things even more next year, so fingers crossed.
And of course thanks to all the pin loaners whom an event of this scale would just be impossible without. Hopefully we continue to see such fantastic support next year too!
I'll echo what everyone else has said, what a great show. We're extremely lucky to have such a long list of volunteers, in no particular order @Big Phil for putting the show on, the guys unloading and setting up machines, sorting out the power, doing the livestream, providing the scoring systems, the fixer uppers throughout the weekend, those who run the comps, etc. But most of all to those people who bring their machines - without which there wouldn't be a show.
The machines were in excellent condition this year, long may that continue. I only had 2 malfunction issues to deal with throughout the comp, which was a relief.
Roll on Pinfest 2022
The machines were in excellent condition this year, long may that continue. I only had 2 malfunction issues to deal with throughout the comp, which was a relief.
Roll on Pinfest 2022
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As has already been said many times, a massive thank you to @Big Phil and everyone involved with organising and running the show. It was my first and I'll definitely be back next year, probably with my brother and hopefully a few friends. My wife (who's not that into pinball) says she'll also be happy to come along again if the pool/spa bit is open!
Amazing how many people bring their pride and joy to the show to allow others to play on them all weekend. I managed to put my initials on a few machines, including no.1 on POTC.
The competitions were fun to enter, and watching the finals, it really shows how advanced the better players are.
Highlights of the comps were some of the extended multiballs on Led Zep, and also (I think it was in one of the semis), watching William Dutton play an amazingly long and fast multiball on WOZ.
Great to meet lots of people over the weekend, loved the Stallball (and so did my wife), and I'll post up some photos of the show when I've downloaded them off the camera.
Finally, on behalf of myself and my wife, I'd like to say a massive thank you to Flig from Leeds (don't know his username on here), who was fortunately still helping pack up around noon today, and came to the rescue with his tools, multimeter and jump leads to get our car started. What a pleasant and helpful guy. We got home to London without any further issues - thank you so much!
Amazing how many people bring their pride and joy to the show to allow others to play on them all weekend. I managed to put my initials on a few machines, including no.1 on POTC.
The competitions were fun to enter, and watching the finals, it really shows how advanced the better players are.
Highlights of the comps were some of the extended multiballs on Led Zep, and also (I think it was in one of the semis), watching William Dutton play an amazingly long and fast multiball on WOZ.
Great to meet lots of people over the weekend, loved the Stallball (and so did my wife), and I'll post up some photos of the show when I've downloaded them off the camera.
Finally, on behalf of myself and my wife, I'd like to say a massive thank you to Flig from Leeds (don't know his username on here), who was fortunately still helping pack up around noon today, and came to the rescue with his tools, multimeter and jump leads to get our car started. What a pleasant and helpful guy. We got home to London without any further issues - thank you so much!
Finally got home @6.15 pm after dropping off pins ,big thanks to all the machine loaners,comp runners,and all my mates in nlp,and of course big phill and his team,curry night was fab (apologies for hasty travel back from curry… I’ll factor in tad slow service next time if there’s interest for it next year) brill to chat to old friends again ,great weekend all round.
,curry night was fab (apologies for hasty travel back from curry… I’ll factor in tad slow service next time if there’s interest for it next year) brill to chat to old friends again ,great weekend all round.
Massive thanks to everyone who donated pins, organised comps fun and more serious, fixed up and broke down pins, came to the show for a day or five, sorted out the power to run all the machines, cleaned the machines inbetween people playing them, fixed the broken machines and much more.
But thank you to all the good friends who make this hobby so good it's been great to talk to all these great people again after so long without anything happening.
Thanks guys.
But thank you to all the good friends who make this hobby so good it's been great to talk to all these great people again after so long without anything happening.
Thanks guys.
Thank you, I love my Banzai but I hate moving it! Glad you enjoyed WoZ too
I can also confirm it's not an easy one to move, I got the pleasure of taking it off the Luton when it arrived at the venue, I was wondering why everyone suddenly disappeared at that point. It was no easier putting it back on either.
Banzai; strangely addictive, remarkably difficult, oddly satisfying.
Great on free-play but would cause insolvency on pay-per-play.
Great on free-play but would cause insolvency on pay-per-play.
I promise I'll put names to faces starting from next year's Pinfest, but until then I'm going to have to dish out some very generic thank you's to everyone who made this possible. Cheers!
The guys and girls on the entry table
Everyone who brought a machine
Everyone who fixed a machine... I'm not jealous
The sanitizer runner-arounders
Whoever was welcoming/said hello, even if I had no idea who you were (see my first sentence )
Organizers, stall-runners, the bar staff even... anyone I can't think of at this moment.. thanks
The guys and girls on the entry table
Everyone who brought a machine
Everyone who fixed a machine... I'm not jealous
The sanitizer runner-arounders
Whoever was welcoming/said hello, even if I had no idea who you were (see my first sentence
)Organizers, stall-runners, the bar staff even... anyone I can't think of at this moment.. thanks
What an amazing show.
Everyone on the team was so organised and professional
The range of games had something for everyone, and in excellent condition
The comps were well organised ( I have to say that don't I!) and controlled
But most of all it was great to get to see so many of the pinball community (including first timers) after so long
Thank you, thank you to all those who made it happen and who have been named in previous posts, and most of all to @Big Phil for having the faith and energy to bring back the pinball event of the year.
Everyone on the team was so organised and professional
The range of games had something for everyone, and in excellent condition
The comps were well organised ( I have to say that don't I!) and controlled
But most of all it was great to get to see so many of the pinball community (including first timers) after so long
Thank you, thank you to all those who made it happen and who have been named in previous posts, and most of all to @Big Phil for having the faith and energy to bring back the pinball event of the year.
OP
OP
Is Vin on here? I don't know his username or full name. He had major issues with his room booking. Can you pm me please with your full name and details of what the issue was. I'm speaking to the sales manager this afternoon.
Also, @Andypc, could you PM me details. Your room numbers too if possible.
Also, @Andypc, could you PM me details. Your room numbers too if possible.
Awesome weekend!
Big thanks to all the volunteers they work round the clock tirelessly making this happen (not forgetting the pin donors, great lineup this year!)
(and extra special thanks to @Big Phil and @Andypc for solving my room issue)
Great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new ones, see you all again next year!
Big thanks to all the volunteers they work round the clock tirelessly making this happen (not forgetting the pin donors, great lineup this year!)
(and extra special thanks to @Big Phil and @Andypc for solving my room issue)
Great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new ones, see you all again next year!
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Hi Phil, will drop you a PM now, thanks for looking into this - hopefully they will take bookings with a credit card in future.
Thank you for a top, top event! Aside from the room issues, it was perfect, and thank you also to all those who contributed to make it happen. The volunteers are all legends.
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I'd just like to say thanks to everyone that made this happen and all the people that came and those that played the competitions also - without you guys it wouldn't happen.
The Classics ran itself to be honest and i'd like to thank @JMP and my better half Eve for helping out with the scores on saturday.
The final standings (if anyone is interested) are below and at https://matchplay.events/live/70wwj/standings and https://matchplay.events/live/70wwj/matches
I'll try and incorporate any suggestions people put forward at next years event..
Cheers
Shaun.
The Classics ran itself to be honest and i'd like to thank @JMP and my better half Eve for helping out with the scores on saturday.
The final standings (if anyone is interested) are below and at https://matchplay.events/live/70wwj/standings and https://matchplay.events/live/70wwj/matches
I'll try and incorporate any suggestions people put forward at next years event..
Cheers
Shaun.
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Other than the room issues, what other problems did people have with the hotel? Or is it worth another thread?
There was a really annoying noise in our room, one time at 0300, waking us up. (High pitched whistle/alarm type noise for 30mins at least).
The heating was on in the room
No gym or pool (didn't bother me but seems odd for a four star)
Camden pale ale running out on the first night.
Our door key cards kept failing even after I was advised to keep them away from my phone.
I don't feel I can complain too much considering the reduced rate and how good the event is!
There was a really annoying noise in our room, one time at 0300, waking us up. (High pitched whistle/alarm type noise for 30mins at least).
The heating was on in the room
No gym or pool (didn't bother me but seems odd for a four star)
Camden pale ale running out on the first night.
Our door key cards kept failing even after I was advised to keep them away from my phone.
I don't feel I can complain too much considering the reduced rate and how good the event is!
Hotel was pretty much on it’s ****. Nothing in isolation was overwhelming but as a package;
- Failing key cards
- Generally tatty decor
- Skeleton staff, obviously struggling to cope.
- Payment system issues.
- No ability to order drinks in restaurant.
- Safe not working.
- Food taking nearly an hour just for starters; in an empty restaurant.
- No pool or gym
The list goes on. The Hotel is a good central UK location and has a lot of potential but is in trouble and it shows.
Edit: The comments above in no way reflect badly on the ‘event’. That was awesome!
- Failing key cards
- Generally tatty decor
- Skeleton staff, obviously struggling to cope.
- Payment system issues.
- No ability to order drinks in restaurant.
- Safe not working.
- Food taking nearly an hour just for starters; in an empty restaurant.
- No pool or gym
The list goes on. The Hotel is a good central UK location and has a lot of potential but is in trouble and it shows.
Edit: The comments above in no way reflect badly on the ‘event’. That was awesome!
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I have loved the pool/ jacuzzi at this hotel - it’s great to have a dip when you are tired/ hungover etc [emoji3] . However it was starting to look tired and had been closed during covid lockdown so they are refurbishing it - (as it explains on their website ) - I had a wee look - looks like it will be smashing when done .
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Thanks to Big Phil for bringing comunity pinball back again.
What a show! Probably the best line up ever. A certain pinball "lady" superstar was missing but i'm sure I can rectify that at the next show in sunny Blackpool
Thanks to my assistant and new pinhead Jordan for doing virtually all the manual work and for the guys and gals who helped load and unlodad our van.
The hotel is what it is and is like all hospitality recovering from covid. Phil has already pointed out its significant "pros" so lets hope the "cons" are ironed out for next time.
Hope the newbies enjoyed the first blast of noise when they first entered the hall. I can still remember that wow factor from Birmingham in 1986
What a show! Probably the best line up ever. A certain pinball "lady" superstar was missing but i'm sure I can rectify that at the next show in sunny Blackpool
Thanks to my assistant and new pinhead Jordan for doing virtually all the manual work and for the guys and gals who helped load and unlodad our van.
The hotel is what it is and is like all hospitality recovering from covid. Phil has already pointed out its significant "pros" so lets hope the "cons" are ironed out for next time.
Hope the newbies enjoyed the first blast of noise when they first entered the hall. I can still remember that wow factor from Birmingham in 1986
I agree Steve - Hospitality had a bad financial year due to covid and while I was talking to the manager - he explained they have a lot of new staff still being trained and still more to be recruited . I found the manager very helpful - he was serving in bar until late and gave me everything I asked for like bin bags and wee shot glasses [emoji3]
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OP
OP
Yes the hotel is tired and looking dated and there are niggling issues. I'm prepared to put up with that. There should be no excuses for the reservation problems we had though. And that's what I'll mainly be talking about. It's a shame the spa facilities were closed. I'll try and find out the opening date. I wasn't made aware they'd be closed and I didn't check the website.
Unfortunately, we can't afford a nice modern all singing all dancing hotel and complex. I've looked around for something else which is central to the country. We just can't do it unless prices are ramped up and I don't want to do that.
Numbers were slightly down this year but we made it into the black. We're £500 up which will be going towards a plane ticket next year as we're hoping to get some one over from the US.
We're very lucky to have all the volunteers helping out otherwise we wouldn't have a show at all. Just look at the electrics. How much would that normally cost? £2k for equipment hire and labour? Maybe more. Peter and his family do it all for free. He even brings along 2 pinball machines.
Ok, you have to wait a little longer for food and you have to get your key card scanned again and the wallpaper is dated. Which would you rather have? That or pay maybe an extra £100 over the course of the weekend to have everything right?
Unfortunately, we can't afford a nice modern all singing all dancing hotel and complex. I've looked around for something else which is central to the country. We just can't do it unless prices are ramped up and I don't want to do that.
Numbers were slightly down this year but we made it into the black. We're £500 up which will be going towards a plane ticket next year as we're hoping to get some one over from the US.
We're very lucky to have all the volunteers helping out otherwise we wouldn't have a show at all. Just look at the electrics. How much would that normally cost? £2k for equipment hire and labour? Maybe more. Peter and his family do it all for free. He even brings along 2 pinball machines.
Ok, you have to wait a little longer for food and you have to get your key card scanned again and the wallpaper is dated. Which would you rather have? That or pay maybe an extra £100 over the course of the weekend to have everything right?
I agree Phil - and the hotel was clean with nice soaps in the toilets [emoji3]
I was in a premier inn in Manchester recently - they had one person on reception and the bar and problems with shortage of pillow cases etc
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I was in a premier inn in Manchester recently - they had one person on reception and the bar and problems with shortage of pillow cases etc
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