https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicRATParty
The Real Ale Train
The Watercress Line <
http://www.watercressonline.co.uk/> is a small
steam powered railway line in Hampshire. It runs from Alton Station to
Alresford
<
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&doflg=ptm&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110924223913592625250.00046e455bc83c71d5867&z=12>.
Alton is the end of the line for scheduled services from Waterloo. Every
month or so they run an evening special, the Real Ale Train, or RAT.
Basically the train turns into a very very long bar for the evening.
There are several converted bar carriages and plenty of seating (comfy
old seating in groups of 4). There is a RAT train on the 7th of
November, a week after the launch of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala. Steam,
Beer and Software Freedom seems an irresistible combination so we are
making this one a Karmic Release Party
<
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicReleaseParties>.
You need to book your ticket
<
http://www.watercressonline.co.uk/section.php?xSec=191> before arriving
(and fairly soon, they sell out several months in advance), tickets can
be booked online and cost £10 each. This includes a voucher for your
first pint. Beer is not "Free as in Beer", but it is just £2/pint
Beards are strictly optional - it may sound like a male dominated event
(and to be fair, it is) but it has a very friendly atmosphere and all
are welcome.
Other alcoholic and soft drinks as well as snacks are on sale at the
on-board buffet. Hot food can be purchased on board the train with
vegetarian alternatives available. You have to be 18+ to buy beer, but
there is no age limit (at either end of the scale) for joining in.
The RAT starts at Alton and tootles gently up and down the line a couple
of times, returning to Alton in time for the 22:44 train back to
Waterloo. (This is a connecting service, if the RAT is late, the
mainline train will wait for it)
Dress - something Ubuntu related.
