![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
[London & remote] Volunteer weekend: coming up!
As previously announced I am hosting a Dreamwidth volunteer party this weekend, from Friday to Sunday morning!
The delay in updating this announcement is largely because A Family Commitment has come up on the Sunday afternoon, and I needed to work out how to wrangle logistics. I can now confirm that Doors Open some time on Friday late afternoon, and![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
me_and and I will need to be hitting the road by 11am on Sunday -- this means we can provide brunch. (If you've spent a bunch of time in our house before we're probably comfortable leaving you to continue chilling after we've left, but check in with me about that if you think it's a thing you'd like to do.)
As ever, we'll be around on Discord, IRC, and Skype-by-arrangement if you wanna join us remotely. I'll be working largely on the Support Board and docs, with maybe a few tiiiiny code fixes, but mostly I expect to provide moral support and overcatering. I am super excited to see you!
Access notes and house rules under the cut (developed in consultation withalexwlchan and cesy); if you need my address or contact details and can't see this post in my personal journal ping me and I'll IM you!
There is unrestricted on-street parking in the area, and a reserved accessible spot right outside our front door. We are normally parked in that spot but can move our car on request.
The front door can be opened by buzzer but is rather heavy, at the top of a shallow slope, and has some awkward door mats - please say if you’d like us to come out to open the door for you, or ask for our phone numbers so you can contact us that way if you’d prefer not to reach for the doorbell. There is a handrail below the doorbells.
The flat has entirely level (ramped) access with a 92cm wide door, or there is a wider entrance over the lawn and decking that can be ramped. The building hallway has hard-wearing carpet tiles. The flat hallway and bedrooms have relatively thin carpet. The majority of the flat has hard flooring.
The first aid kit is located in the hallway.
The flat and decking are entirely no smoking. Please do not wear clothes that have been smoked in (or near) since they were last washed; please ensure that anyone who has smoked or hung around chatting to smokers has washed their hair very thoroughly in advance.
Please be careful about wearing strong scents - please do check with us if you’d like to discuss specifics. If you’re staying over, please check withkaberett before using any aerosol sprays, and be aware that Lynx products definitely can’t be used.
The spare room/study will be dedicated quiet space during the day. The main bedroom can provide additional quiet space. The garage has electric lighting and some seating should you want to lurk somewhere even quieter.
Wi-Fi internet access is available, with access details on the fridge, and we can provide other methods as required. It's probably possible to provide a wired ethernet connection on request. We use AAISP, who provide a generous but not infinite download data cap; upload to your heart's content (although please don't chew up everyone's bandwidth), but please don't spend hours streaming high-definition video or downloading tens of GBs of data.
There is not usually background audiovisual media but discussion in the main space can get quite animated; the kitchen and living room are open plan. If you’d prefer that we not play specific music or videos, please say (in advance or in the moment).
The flat is double glazed throughout. We tend to keep the main flat at a minimum of 18 degrees, and sometimes higher if kab is struggling with thermoregulation.
The bathroom usually maintains a temperature of around 21 degrees; it's possible to get this lower with concerted effort if necessary. It's not possible to get a wheelchair into the bathroom unless you fold it and then engage in some serious wrangling. The sink has lever-operated mixer tap. The shower is positioned over the bath, which contains a seating platform; a shower stool is also available. There are lots of spare towels. Sanitary products are in a white tray above the toilet - please help yourselves.
The living room contains a daylight-temperature lamp. Please do say if you’d like this either on or off. In case of a conflict we will default to off.
Available seating includes a large sofa, a large beanbag, a foot stool, at least two wheelchairs, four dining chairs, and two saddle stools.
We have some physio equipment available to borrow while visiting, including a foam roller, resistance bands, and a floor mat.
Please check before taking photographs.
We can provide some crash space. The spare room/study contains a double sofa bed, and the door can be closed. Most of the sleeping surfaces are in the living room (so not available until the party’s winding down): these include the sofa (can sleep a minimum of two people, if they like their space and don’t want to touch; more if cuddling is acceptable), a double air bed, a beanbag, and a single camp bed.
The spare room has slatted blinds that do let some amount of light in, but the window is west-facing.
The living room/kitchen is set up with blackout curtains across the French windows and a blackout blind in the kitchen window; the window above the dining table has a slatted blind that does let light through, but is again west-facing.
Guests may be seen in their underwear or pyjamas. If you are not comfortable with that kind of partial nudity in the early morning, please let me know in advance so we can let everyone know to bring appropriate clothes. We also have dressing gowns you can borrow, and may be able to lend you clothes to sleep in.
We usually have spare toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, toothpaste (in mint and non-mint flavours), shampoo, shower gel, sun cream, sanitary products, paracetamol, cocodamol and ibuprofen. We also have spare chargers for USB-C , micro-USB and mini-USB.
We are a vegetarian household. It’s usually okay to bring meat into the house for cooking or consumption provided you wash up after yourself and don’t leave any here.
kab will usually provide a range of savoury and sweet options, which will by default be vegan and made without gluten. Please feel encouraged to make requests, ask to use the kitchen, or bring or order food as you prefer.
Again, if you would prefer a party to be alcohol-free, please say. Even if we’re open to alcohol being consumed at the party, please don’t bring us any more - we’ve almost certainly got some already and in any case the booze cupboard is full!
We try to maintain the house as a safer space. If anything is making you uncomfortable, please let us know (either verbally or via SMS/IM/e-mail/etc) and we can discuss appropriate responses.
We have sticky labels and multi-coloured Sharpies available. You are very welcome to make yourself a name and/or pronoun sticker.
If there is something that would help you feel welcome or make your visit easier, please ask - we know we won’t have covered everything!
The delay in updating this announcement is largely because A Family Commitment has come up on the Sunday afternoon, and I needed to work out how to wrangle logistics. I can now confirm that Doors Open some time on Friday late afternoon, and
me_and and I will need to be hitting the road by 11am on Sunday -- this means we can provide brunch. (If you've spent a bunch of time in our house before we're probably comfortable leaving you to continue chilling after we've left, but check in with me about that if you think it's a thing you'd like to do.)As ever, we'll be around on Discord, IRC, and Skype-by-arrangement if you wanna join us remotely. I'll be working largely on the Support Board and docs, with maybe a few tiiiiny code fixes, but mostly I expect to provide moral support and overcatering. I am super excited to see you!
Access notes and house rules under the cut (developed in consultation with
alexwlchan and cesy); if you need my address or contact details and can't see this post in my personal journal ping me and I'll IM you!Let us know in advance
- If you need gluten-free or nut-free food, or have any other dietary requirements/preferences and would like to be included in the catering (the kitchen is not nut- or gluten-free, or easy to decontaminate thoroughly, but we’re happy to buy in appropriate food in sealed packaging)
- If you want milk that's not whole-fat cow’s milk (we usually try to have some soy in but this isn’t reliable)
- If you'd prefer the whole event to be alcohol-free, and if you’d prefer that all alcohol be stored out of sight
- If you’d like particular scents to be avoided, or if you’d like us to have only low-scent hand soaps etc out
- If you’d like us to provide bar soap as well as liquid hand soap
- If you'd like sleeping space, and if you'd prefer a particular location/privacy
- If you'd like us to sort out any grab rails in the bathroom - this is on our to-do list but we haven’t got to it yet
- The bathroom has a bolt-style door lock, which is quite stiff - again, replacing this is on our to-do list but please let us know if you’d like us to bump up the priority
- If you'd like people to bring pyjamas in addition to underwear for overnight stays (we’re a clothing-optional household left to our own devices, but usually expect more clothing when guests are present)
As you arrive
There is unrestricted on-street parking in the area, and a reserved accessible spot right outside our front door. We are normally parked in that spot but can move our car on request.
The front door can be opened by buzzer but is rather heavy, at the top of a shallow slope, and has some awkward door mats - please say if you’d like us to come out to open the door for you, or ask for our phone numbers so you can contact us that way if you’d prefer not to reach for the doorbell. There is a handrail below the doorbells.
The flat has entirely level (ramped) access with a 92cm wide door, or there is a wider entrance over the lawn and decking that can be ramped. The building hallway has hard-wearing carpet tiles. The flat hallway and bedrooms have relatively thin carpet. The majority of the flat has hard flooring.
When you’re here
The first aid kit is located in the hallway.
The flat and decking are entirely no smoking. Please do not wear clothes that have been smoked in (or near) since they were last washed; please ensure that anyone who has smoked or hung around chatting to smokers has washed their hair very thoroughly in advance.
Please be careful about wearing strong scents - please do check with us if you’d like to discuss specifics. If you’re staying over, please check with
kaberett before using any aerosol sprays, and be aware that Lynx products definitely can’t be used.The spare room/study will be dedicated quiet space during the day. The main bedroom can provide additional quiet space. The garage has electric lighting and some seating should you want to lurk somewhere even quieter.
Wi-Fi internet access is available, with access details on the fridge, and we can provide other methods as required. It's probably possible to provide a wired ethernet connection on request. We use AAISP, who provide a generous but not infinite download data cap; upload to your heart's content (although please don't chew up everyone's bandwidth), but please don't spend hours streaming high-definition video or downloading tens of GBs of data.
There is not usually background audiovisual media but discussion in the main space can get quite animated; the kitchen and living room are open plan. If you’d prefer that we not play specific music or videos, please say (in advance or in the moment).
The flat is double glazed throughout. We tend to keep the main flat at a minimum of 18 degrees, and sometimes higher if kab is struggling with thermoregulation.
The bathroom usually maintains a temperature of around 21 degrees; it's possible to get this lower with concerted effort if necessary. It's not possible to get a wheelchair into the bathroom unless you fold it and then engage in some serious wrangling. The sink has lever-operated mixer tap. The shower is positioned over the bath, which contains a seating platform; a shower stool is also available. There are lots of spare towels. Sanitary products are in a white tray above the toilet - please help yourselves.
The living room contains a daylight-temperature lamp. Please do say if you’d like this either on or off. In case of a conflict we will default to off.
Available seating includes a large sofa, a large beanbag, a foot stool, at least two wheelchairs, four dining chairs, and two saddle stools.
We have some physio equipment available to borrow while visiting, including a foam roller, resistance bands, and a floor mat.
Please check before taking photographs.
If you’re staying overnight
We can provide some crash space. The spare room/study contains a double sofa bed, and the door can be closed. Most of the sleeping surfaces are in the living room (so not available until the party’s winding down): these include the sofa (can sleep a minimum of two people, if they like their space and don’t want to touch; more if cuddling is acceptable), a double air bed, a beanbag, and a single camp bed.
The spare room has slatted blinds that do let some amount of light in, but the window is west-facing.
The living room/kitchen is set up with blackout curtains across the French windows and a blackout blind in the kitchen window; the window above the dining table has a slatted blind that does let light through, but is again west-facing.
Guests may be seen in their underwear or pyjamas. If you are not comfortable with that kind of partial nudity in the early morning, please let me know in advance so we can let everyone know to bring appropriate clothes. We also have dressing gowns you can borrow, and may be able to lend you clothes to sleep in.
We usually have spare toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, toothpaste (in mint and non-mint flavours), shampoo, shower gel, sun cream, sanitary products, paracetamol, cocodamol and ibuprofen. We also have spare chargers for USB-C , micro-USB and mini-USB.
Food and drink
We are a vegetarian household. It’s usually okay to bring meat into the house for cooking or consumption provided you wash up after yourself and don’t leave any here.
kab will usually provide a range of savoury and sweet options, which will by default be vegan and made without gluten. Please feel encouraged to make requests, ask to use the kitchen, or bring or order food as you prefer.
Again, if you would prefer a party to be alcohol-free, please say. Even if we’re open to alcohol being consumed at the party, please don’t bring us any more - we’ve almost certainly got some already and in any case the booze cupboard is full!
Miscellaneous notes
We try to maintain the house as a safer space. If anything is making you uncomfortable, please let us know (either verbally or via SMS/IM/e-mail/etc) and we can discuss appropriate responses.
We have sticky labels and multi-coloured Sharpies available. You are very welcome to make yourself a name and/or pronoun sticker.
If there is something that would help you feel welcome or make your visit easier, please ask - we know we won’t have covered everything!
no subject