Colleagues,<br><br>Apologies for my absence at
the last meeting. I'm not sure if this sort of option
was discussed or not but most universities have
country retreats. Could the meeting be held at one of
these? The main problem is that SPM facilities would be
lacking, but is this a big problem? We all know what one
looks like and in any case some retreats would still
permit a company rep. setting up an instrument for
workshops, etc. The big benefit would be the reduction in
cost, which would allow more students to come. For
example the ANU retreat (<a href=http://kioloa-fs.anu.edu.au/
target=new>http://kioloa-fs.anu.edu.au/</a>)
costs something like $20/head/night. Ok, so it's not
the Ritz, but the beach is bloody beautiful. I'd be
happy to do a rough costing if people were interested
in pursuing this type of
option.<br><br>Cheers,<br>Tim.