hi everyone, the world fire fighter games are coming to sheffield
28 august 2004 4sept 2004.
i am leading a team of 6 male aussie fire fighters from the gold coast area( surfers paradise) just sth of brisbane.
we are looking for accomodation and things to do at night and day.

we are considering commuting from london each day but are unsure how far it is away it is time wise on train.
what sort of cost is b& b or would letting a flat or house be better.
also looking to make contact with locals to see how the locals have a good time.
hope to talk to you soon

rabbit

You might want to check out the uni accomodation:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/conferences/self_catering.html

I wouldn't recommend commuting from London. The train takes about 2 hours and will probably cost you around £30 a journey. I'm sure you can arrange something cheaper and easier here in Sheffield. You might also try emailing housing@sheffield.ac.uk and asking them for a list of local B&Bs. Most B&Bs will offer a discount if you stay for more than a few nights.

Also, in case you haven't seen it already:
http://www.titanserver.co.uk/Firefightergames/intro.asp

I lived in Auckland for a while and thought of commuting to Sydney every day on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Seriously though, commuting is a non-starter as it's 2 hours plus on the train. Renting a house would be cheapest if you are here for any length of time.

I see Geoff got in before me with some useful info.

Don't even think about commuting from London to Sheffield everyday. Not only are the trains extremely unreliable but it would be expensive aswell. It would take probably 3 hours or more at a guess.

You could get hotel or B&B accomodation pretty cheap.

Try this link:
http://www.sheffieldcity.co.uk/accomm2/hotels.asp?location=CC

All of these hotels are in the centre of town.

As for things to do, Sheffield has loads on offer from swimming to ski-ing, ice skating to bowling, bars, nightclubs and restaurants galore, shopping, cinemas and art galleries, aswell as the new winter gardens.

Try here for information on everything to do in Sheffield:

http://www.sheffieldcity.co.uk/

Hope this helps.

thanks everyone,
lots of usefull tips hopefully we'll catch up when we're over.
talk to you soon
rabbit

Have you not tried Fire fighters in the Sheffield, they may be able to put you up.

I have a friend who is a Fire Fighter, I will have a word with him. They may be able to put you up in the station.

What sort of events will be taking place? and where is it at.

Originally posted by "mikey"

What sort of events will be taking place? and where is it at.
Check the link I posted ^^

The Winter gardens will make you feel right at home as it is full of Australian and New Zealand plants. Just in case you get home sick.

ahh a well needed rest, 830 am here

i am looking forward to coming over and know the rest of the team is as well, in our team we have competetors in world toughest firefigter a seies of gruelling events held over two days. i woldnt even contempate it but some guys and girls get off pushing their bodys to the limit. (NO thanks)
ill be competing in swimming events,so what theswimming facilitys like, in aussie we have indoor and outdoor pools.

also at august september time of the year what is the expectant weather conditions.

i dont think the winter gardens is really up our alley, maybe more suited to cyclists.

rabbit

Originally posted by "rabbit"

ahh a well needed rest, 830 am here

i am looking forward to coming over and know the rest of the team is as well, in our team we have competetors in world toughest firefigter a seies of gruelling events held over two days. i woldnt even contempate it but some guys and girls get off pushing their bodys to the limit. (NO thanks)
ill be competing in swimming events,so what theswimming facilitys like, in aussie we have indoor and outdoor pools.

also at august september time of the year what is the expectant weather conditions.

i dont think the winter gardens is really up our alley, maybe more suited to cyclists.

rabbitYeh but you take all that for granted maybe looking at our snow covered ladscape in winter may be up your street.
By the way snow is white, cold and slippy and falls in the Northern hemasphere.
You Aussies have it to good.
Augast and Sept are about the best months of the year here about the same as your winters.
Grrrrr not fair. :x

Originally posted by "rabbit"


ill be competing in swimming events,so what theswimming facilitys like, in aussie we have indoor and outdoor pools.

rabbit

well, i assume it'll be held in "ponds forge" which is an international indoor swimming pool :)

are you guys for real, our winter which is at the early onset now, temps will get down to min 12 max 27 i still go to the surf, and snow what the hell is that. never seen it .

seen plenty of crystal clear water, golden sand, bikini babes etc

what the hell am i thinking going to sheffield hahahaha.

:? :shock:

honestly what temps should i expect,

crisp clear morning here, 21 deg shirt off, pair of shorts on, got my sunnies on,

about to go for a walk.

same ol same ol
can i expect the same in sheffield.

rabbit

hehe, expect your winter temps for our summer, its pretty much the same temps here at the southern island of new zealand, or closer to home for you melbourne, its a good job its not in the winter :D

Seriosly (that word, i can never spell it right, seriously ) Rabbit the weather here can be at its best here at tha time but unlike your weather, the weather here is unpridictable all year round.
It rains an awfull lot in this country so bring a rain mack and some warm clothes for the chilly evenings.
Tempratures can vary here from 70 deg to 90 deg in Augast, depends on pot luck if the wind blows in from the continent.

I noticed fencing in the list of competitions. Is that right? I run a fencing club and would be happy to supply help & equipment if you are in fact running a fencing competeition which I doubt as it's such a minority sport and nobody watches it except when it's b****y Madonna and James Bond or judge whatsisname in that tv prog or D'Artagnan or the Count of Monte Cheese and Onion Crisps and it was dropped from the C'wealth games and only gets shown on Sky Sport at 3 in the b****y morning and as I don't have Sky and none of my so called 'friends' can be a****d to set their videos I never get to see it. Oops, stream of consciousness there.

Are you doing fencing?

hi all,
sorry for the late reply, in between night shifts and worked the weekend so am pretty tired, in relation to the fencing question. personaly No i am not competeing in the fencing :lol: only swimming and have the role of team manager.

if you are interested in assisting the competetion volunteers are always needed in organising the events,judges etc . please contact the games organisers and register your interest im sure they would love to have you on board.

me i am just sitting here in the 10.10 am sunny 21 deg beautiful crisp clear morning enjoying a cup of cha and trying to sort out ittinerys for sheffield.

when the games are over

if we are to base ourselves at sheffield whats the time to travel scoltand, and ireland. can i catch a plane over to ireland and what sort of price would i pay for the fare.

we are looking at hiring a car and touring whats the nearby attractions that people do go to, and the attractions that only the locals know about.


ahh the jugs boiling back in a minute
rabbit

about 4 hours by car to scotland, longer by train probably as the route it takes is weird.

i whole heartedly recommend Cornwall to you (about 5/6hours from sheffield) as it has the best surfing the country has to offer, and it's closer to the temperatures you are getting now ;)

cornwall is the sticky out bit in the southwest of the UK, but trust me it's well worth it, with places like "The Eden Project" (VERY VERY hot inside the biomes The Eden Project (www.edenproject.com) )

and newquay which is famed for its surfing championships

Ireland.....I stopped in a place called Cootehill in County Cavan.
Good base for both northern Ireland and Eire.

Originally posted by "RPG"

i whole heartedly recommend Cornwall to you (about 5/6hours from sheffield) as it has the best surfing the country has to offer, and it's closer to the temperatures you are getting now ;)

and newquay which is famed for its surfing championships

Scotland has the consistently best surf in the whole of Europe - esp near Wick. Unfortunately the water temperature means only the hardiest of surfers will persist. I scoff at Cornwall and its measly three foot waves. Pchah.

hi all, well we have ur b.....dy weather here now, cold miserable and raining :(, who said anything about surfing whilst over there, tooo b...dy cold. i may have misled you . i want to meet the locals see the things that they want to go and see forget surfing, why, cause the best beaches in the world are here and i dont have to wear a wet suit. 3 foot waves hahah we have a swimming pool theme park here on the gold coast with bigger waves than that www.waterworld.com.au
i am looking to have a bit of fun . we will be finally finished training and looking to let our hair down a bit.

i am begining to lean towards an apartment or house, flat in sheffield close to the center of town whats the chances.

rabbit

:roll: i have give you a bum steer with that last link here is the correct one www.wetnwild.com.au sorry people

rabbit

Originally posted by "rabbit"

hi all, well we have ur b.....dy weather here now, cold miserable and raining :(, who said anything about surfing whilst over there, tooo b...dy cold. i may have misled you . i want to meet the locals see the things that they want to go and see forget surfing, why, cause the best beaches in the world are here and i dont have to wear a wet suit. 3 foot waves hahah we have a swimming pool theme park here on the gold coast with bigger waves than that www.waterworld.com.au
i am looking to have a bit of fun . we will be finally finished training and looking to let our hair down a bit.

i am begining to lean towards an apartment or house, flat in sheffield close to the center of town whats the chances.

rabbit
You'll probably have a good chance of being able to rent accomodation close to the centre, but you'll have to check out the location beforhand. There are some areas of Sheffield which are a stones throw from the centre, which you definately don't want to move into.

And so you know the weather here is sunshining and warm today! :lol:

well i would probably need to know the areas not to botther going into.
a little insight would be good. just areas to steer clear of.
still miserable and wet here :( :cry:
rabbit

As part of the promotional team working on this event I have attended the last two games in France and New Zealand. If you want to email a bit more information about what you are looking for I will help - the cheapest option would be to stay in accommodation usually used by students which is self-catering, easy to get to the Games village and within walking distance of the nightlife of Sheffield. Contact the Visitor Information Centre at visitor@sheffield.gov.uk for further information.
Look forward to seeing you in Sheffield - 28th August - 4th September!

Hi wendy,
I too attended the games in Paris, and also attended the first games New zealand. were you on the organising team in paris. if so did you have an wrist injury. if not , we may have never met. hahahaha

as of this stage we're not sure where the games village in sheffield will be. in relation to all of shefield.

but is sure is good to hear from you.

i would like to keep in touch, and seeing as i live in sunny Queensland and right on the heart of the Gold Coast. if i can be of any help organising or co-ordinating promotional activites i would be only too keen to help. even if just a contact point. also if there is any new details regarding the games that i should be aware of just give me an email . yes i have visited the official web site for the games. and yes am waiting for an update.

also busily trying to raise some funds we do have a Fire fighter calender coming out soon any chance helping distibute it, we are seeking to have it put on disk as a screensaver. anyone interested. we also have some caps for sale any takers.

with regards to the accomodation at the uni. who will be organising that, will we have to go through the games organisers or thru the uni themselves. for our purposes it sounds ideal though.

keep in touch

Steve

My understanding is that the Games village will be build in Don Valley Grass Bowl - about 4 miles east of the city centre but really easy to get to using the tram system. Lots of work still to do to get the event together but am pretty sure it will rival anything you've already seen in France and NZ (& no, no wrist injury!) Look at www.victoriahall.com for details of the accommodation that will suit you - not only is it a great price, it's in the city centre, near to the bars (obviously as trained athletes you'll not be interested in these) shops etc and also less than 5 minutes walk to a tram stop (10 minute journey) to the games village!
Anything else you need to know? :lol:

hi wendy,
good to hear from you . obviously as trained athletes we would want to celebrate our victories so local bars and clubs will be crucial to our celebrations. hehehehe hopefully you will be able to help us celebrate our good fortunes and inform us of local customs and rituals.

i will check in on victoria hall accom. is it better to wait for the games team to organise accom or do it ourselves.

well it seems that we may have not met , but hopefully we will get a chance to meet when we come over.

hopefully will get an adress of you and send a firefghters CD rom screen saver over for you.

regards

steve

Make yourself at home up here in the North and I'm sure the people will show you the highlights of the M1 corridor nightlife (Leeds, Wakefield, Barnsley and Sheffield are all excellent nights out). There are loads of short term house lets available at reasonable prices and B&B starts at around £15-20 a night, if you don't stay at the village.

If you're especially nice I'll let you have details of my friends. She has a thing for firemen and Australia, so you could be in luck, but I'll have to see how I go on first....

Look forward to seeing you round the place. Show us all how to do a proper BBQ.....

(I forgot to mention - there is always snowboarding available. Although it's not on snow)

ah but you could do it on the virtual snow ;) its cold and everything :D

Steve
It would probably be best for you to book your accommodation direct with Victoria Hall. I am not sure how the reservation process will work via the event administration.

I will pass your offer of help to promote the event on to the right people, no doubt someone will be in contact with you, but it probably wont be until after the 28th August 2003 as this is the date being used to launch the event.

Thanks for the offer of a CD rom - it would be useful for us to be able to compare the differences (cultural - obviously) between Australian firefighters and those featured in the current British Firefighter Calendar!!

Wendy

welll gang i have returned, i ma sorry however it has been tragc over here lately with the death of a fire fighter.
i want to meet up with all of you people when over there.


steve

please get on board
who can help some aussie firefighters comming over next year.
we are suffering because of our lousy dollar, and it will be a struggle just to get there.
so tips on where to stay , where not to stay .
which pubs to go, which not, to sort of thing
:help:
rabbit

What are you coming over to do ? Be Firefighters here ? There are a few cheap B & B's around and a wonderful pub on Ecclesall Road called Classic Rock ;)
Although thats NOT Ecclesall.....apparently ;)

fire fighter games :D
the world is coming next year to your city.
you will have athletes comming from all over the world
to compete.

a pub hey now that an idea , we could set ourselves up in a pub have it like a unofficial get together spot.

rabbit

Got any dates for this event?

I'm sure Fuzzy Purple (and I guess a few other ladies) will be interested to know.

:)

Nomme

How many events are there and what actual events take place?

well will i be able to meet some locals
this reason behind this post is so that i may begin friendships with locals before i arrive, and so that when i am over in your country i will be able to meet and share a few ales with my new found friends.

rabbit

I'm thinking ...........hmmmmm yum yum just how many firefighters are coming ? Where are these events at ? If it's down the Valley then an idea place to stay would probably be the travel or premier lodge or for a pub the nooses and gibbert ?

and I am thinking OMG how wonderful!!

I do have some blurb actually, let me see

The world firefighter games has been described as a mini Olympics. It is expected to attract 4500 competitors with an additional 3000 guests from 40 countries.
It is a major international sporting event which has been held biennially since its inception in 1990.
28th August - 4th September next year 2004

That will be 4500 firefighters in Sheffield for my birthday then....HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!

i cant wait

well louiseb
That will be 4500 firefighters in Sheffield for my birthday then....HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!

we would be honoured to help celebrate your day of birth in true fire fighter tradition.

which is lots of alcahol, dancing on tables, and the traditional running of the bulls ( to which i will have to explain when in company)

but we are out for having a good time and hope to meet all you guys when we arrive .

we will be staying on afterwards to have a break from training.

i will be bringing a team of 4-6 guys, we live in between brisbane and the sunny gold coast (which of course is in queensland.)
we hope to stay at a place that can alow us to bunk down with perhaps our own cooking facilitys and stuff so that can settle in easily.
but we would like to hopefully strike up some friendships before then.

what sort of a pubs name is the nooses and gibbert.


lindseyw



:o :o :o

steve

I was in NZ last year for the games. Had tried to contact John Redpath as he left a message on my mobile but the phone number was unclear. Is he one of your members travelling over? I am also going to Sheffield too.
:) Should be great......can not wait to hit the night life .....in great aussie style of course

Cheers Teen (WA)

Hi there, if you are still looking for accoomodation: We are a local venue finding agency and have a some rooms on hold. Prices starting from £ 60.00 per room per night inc breakfast and if you book with us it doesn't cost you any thing extra, as our services are free of charge!
Regards

try this link people...
http://www.wffg.co.uk/site/welcome.asp

Does anyone know which countries are participating in the games?