Tonsu

I give up - people are dwelling on problems where they hardly exist, over-analysising where there is nothing to analyse. Deliver me the box of letters on the morning of 12th December, with no prior contact with Debs, crew, anyone, and I will guarantee that box would be in the hands of the band by Monday lunchtime at the latest. Sheesh.:thinking:

Very sad to see trolling of other boards is encouraged here...:dizzy:

Thanks Cris :) Another vote for Coldplaying's own Ian and Jen from here as first choice! (Although we have to remember it's a big - no HUGE - burden for anyone to do this, and we'd certainly be putting them on the spot with this at such a busy time of year (see my earlier concerns)- perhaps Lore could liaise with them and just let us know if they can or can't do it??! We're all very thankful for the offer RedGirl :dance: A PO Box is linked to a personal or business address, and is based at the nearest sorting station/mail depot to that address. So you can't set one up anywhere - it has to be near your own base. It would only work if someone lived right near the Bakery. And can we please stop talking about leaving the box of postcards out in the rain? THAT IS NOT AN OPTION AND WAS RULED OUT PAGES AND PAGES AGO :D The final planning, and instructions to everyone, will hopefully be finalised by early next week. Until then start thinking about designing your postcard!!

I think it's really important to stress that for the Post(wo)man route we all need to feel confident that we have someone who's 99.99% sure they can deliver (shit happens, and we need to understand that, but at the same time they have to be as close to certain as possible that the plan's foolproof). Whoever it is needs to consider all the factors at this time of year (work will probably be crazy busy, office parties, preparations for Xmas etc). A back-up's always a good idea for something that has the hopes of so many resting on it, too. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?mediaId=52100720&catId=600006 :) First, we check the mailing situation for the Bakery (I will on Friday, if people don't report before). Second, (Guru) Lore and Chelsea will email Debs, saying that we need to deliver these postcards en masse to the band in the first half of December, how can we do that (delivery to the Bakery through the door/crew member at a gig or outside the Bakery/standard EMI address?). Third, we tell Debs the EMI address is no good, because we're not sure the band will get them before Christmas (if that's the reply she gives). Fourth (got confused now...anyone help me out? :cool::laugh3:)

For personal delivery, PO Box is the only way to go I think. There will be thousands of postcards, or very many hundreds at the very least. If someone has a business address (their own business, not just a place of work) that would probably work. But there's a lot to sort out if this route's chosen....

Keep in touch then! :) (And please PM me if you like - I don't often normally check in to this thread). Was there a letterbox /mail slot?

I think there's been a very recent thread on this already notlost92 - have you had a search around?

I'll be at the Bakery on Friday, and will be able to confirm if they can receive post there and (possibly) the postal address (that's if someone else who's already been there won't confirm for us sooner than that - and plenty of people have been so I don't see why not). If it is decided that all the postcards will be sent to a reliable and willing 'Post(wo)man' in London/the UK to be delivered all together, then there's one more very important point to consider. That is, unless that person has their own business address, there will be probably thousands of postcards/letters (with the two postcards in) arriving within a few weeks at somebody's home. It just isn't practical I don't think (and quite honestly it's very risky (Lhunacy??) to give thousands of people around the world your home address anyway, no matter how wonderful almost all of them are). SO. The answer is for that person in the UK to get a PO Box just for the postcards. Their normal mail would be delivered to their home, and the 'good stuff' gets delivered to a private box at the nearest postal exchange. It takes ten days to set up, and costs just under £50 for six months, or £60 for the year (probably not needed). If this was the case then I'd suggest very small donations via Paypal to cover the cost of the PO Box for the person who is kind enough to put in so much effort for Coldplayers all around the world. It would only need 100 donations of £0.50 (US $1) to pay for. There would also be the added benefit of calling the PO Box 'From Far Away' or something like that (one of the the few compulsory things on the card could be From: Far Away, PO Box xxx') Wouldn't it be cool if even a little letter or thank you was sent back to that mysterious address by someone connected to the band, to be shared back with everyone??! All this assumes we can find that one person in the UK to make this great effort for everyone....

I might be up for visiting again to get more pictures taken if I have to go alone this Friday.

2 postcards should be the limit, I think. That's one each for a local postcard and message, plus one more for an original artwork and message (maybe the same message in your own language?) And I love the templates and designs so very much, but the more unique each card is, the more I think it'll mean to the band...?!

Absolutely Mitch. They can play any band off the planet as far as I'm concerned in a small venue. I think it must just be a confidence thing - they want so much to be the biggest and best band in the world, what keeps them going, and what pressure that must be for them. If only they could fully understand that, for so many of us, they took that title long, long ago, and effortlessly too!! The irony is, that if they played some of their songs truly live in this sort of setting - stripped down, casually (with the space to let the songs really breathe), and maybe even acoustic - they'd be far more acclaimed by the critics and the non-coldplayers imho. These guys can really play, and do almost day-in, day-out. Ah well, but I guess their shy, unconfident, side is the very thing that makes all this beautiful music possible in the first place... That said here's an excuse to post a vid of one of my favourite songs ever - Martha's Harbour by All About Eve. This is from the week after they appeared on Top of the Pops live to the British public, and the vocal tape didn't play. The singer couldn't hear what she was miming to properly (even though the viewers could), and spent three or so embarrassed minutes hiding her face from the camera live on national TV :embarassed: It was quite a big thing at the time in England, and they were asked back the next week to make amends. The faux pas video has been removed from Youtube for some reason :dozey: so this is what we're left with. Hope some people enjoy it, it really is a great song ;) [ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3oHTyCrIPnU]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3oHTyCrIPnU[/ame]

Well, fairplay I say. If you're going to blatantly use multiple backing tracks, show some confidence about it! Chris did a similar thing at the June BBC gig when the TV in the background showed him playing the Lovers in Japan keyboard part - that very hand was in fact scrabbling around behind said TV for something! To all those who say 'it diminishes the live performance' I say 'it adds something no other band have done so well since Martha's Harbour on TotP' :D

It looks like the EP might be a physical release too, but Anchorman's message is slightly ambiguous :\ Let's hope it is though - it really really should be.

No, I must say I'm sorry - I read your post wrong. To be fair, this is the written word, and it's so easy to take things the wrong way. So to clarify for everyone: read the first post under the second spoiler on the first page here, ignore kimchi's point on this, listen to Approximately Infinite and get those postcards ready!! :sunny:

Fantastic ideas Ian, especially number 1 (though not to play down 2 & 3 in any way!) Stunning!! :cool:

My mistake, I should have been more explicit (for those that haven't read my earlier suggestions on this thread). By 'get it to the band' I really should have said 'ensure it gets delivered to the band by getting it to someone who will do that for sure; crew or assistants. If you can get there fairly early, it's almost a certainty - but I was actually suggesting arranging this in advance with Debs, not just turning up in hope. Absolutely, you'd deliver it well beforehand, at the entrance to the gig/backstage door/whatever. <edit> (this next bit I wrote I got the wrong idea about Chelsea's post, and have apologised just a few messages down - my bad) You've horribly misquoted me here, and if you think I haven't read every line of this whole topic you're wrong. I was saying it's only thanks, rather than an effort expecting a personal message back from the band to any of the thousands who sent postcards. :embarassed:

I don't think it matters what kind of tickets they have. Anyone who's going to a gig could almost certainly get this to the band, although of course with their position they would have an extra hope of arranging things in advance to make things smooth. I guess the main thing is that this is going to be a huge job for someone - receiving all the post, taking it to deliver, thinking about all this rather than just concentrating on the gig they've paid so much to see. It just might not be practical for people, so we need to understand that. That's an idea! People would get the point I'm sure, and the number would surely be doubled :) But not yet I think, we don't even have a plan yet! Just one more thought from me (sorry, this idea's really fired my imagination, too many ideas) but it might be worth saying that there will be no hope of any sort of reply from anyone who sends a postcard, this is just to show our thanks for the band. Otherwise, imagine how Debs and the band might feel knowing there are thousands of extra bits of post turning up all at once, and thinking they might have to respond (we know how considerate they all are, after all)!!

I would offer to deliver them myself as I live near London, have places to stay there, and will be attending at least two of the o2 gigs, but they could be probably be delivered to the crew by prior arrangement at any of the UK gigs, so Ian and Jen really should have the honour of doing it, if they'd like to and it's practical for them. After that, our good UK based mods surely deserve the honour.

I suggested that as a last resort, in case the (very, very possible) plans A & B I suggested earlier didn't work. There are benefits too, to doing it like that. Firstly, they arrive all together, hopefully nicely wrapped and arranged. And all at the same time, rather than a few here and there for weeks (which is what it will be like the other way, however good the planning is). I strongly suggest that if a personal delivery's decided on, and the chosen deliverer left them outside - especially when there would be other delivery options - that both the deliverer and the people who selected him or her be shot!! Absolutely, as much time as possible just to be safe. In the UK 2-3 days is fine.

People really must check I think locally. Airmail from Japan to England arrives within ten days, if not a week.

She's the main point of contact for the band/coldplay.com. And also probably the Oracle. Welcome to the forum by the way :) Absolutely! If it's a personal delivery, as discussed before, then I think we need to get them all to the deliverer at least a week to ten days beforehand. The beauty of this way, though, is that they can be sent much earlier - as soon as they're ready. (If this is the way forward we need someone who's got the time and the flexibility to fit in with whatever the agreed method of delivery is with Debs/the crew/EMI/whoever). If everyone's sending individually, then it's impossible to predict exactly how long it'll take - they'll probably be turning up for a week or two. That is nice in a different way, maybe they'll get to look at each one a little more, but planning should be as precise as possible anyway. Debs probably would just give us an address now. But nearer the time, if we contact her and say "thousands of Coldplay's biggest fans have done this for them, how can we get these to the band?" I'm sure something could be organised. The worst case scenario - deliver them to the EMI offices in Hanover Square, London. There's a nice pub round the corner, too :cool: Great work Lore, enjoy your rest!!

We need to decide the date for arrival with the band. Mid-December is pushing it I think if we want them to have them by Christmas/New Year because a) the postal services around the world get increasingly crazy the further into December you get b) if they're going to EMI then the staff there will also be crazy busy, and anything not seen as a priority TO THEM will get put aside. I'd say it'd be good to aim to have the postcards arriving at their destination (as yet undecided) at the beginning of the month, avoiding the worst of the rush. Oh, and also, in the Xmas rush British postmen tend to get letters wet, more get lost or mis-delivered. The earlier the better I think.

Coldplay are all about fulfilling your own potential, individuality and creativity, I think. So it's really nice to have templates, but imho people should feel free to design their own if they want to. As long as there's something that ties it in with the others (at least the 'From Far Away' message, or a butterfly, etc). I'll certainly be doing it that way myself.

Right, you're on - see you at 2pm October 6th 2009. Don't be late!! :P If you see a tall, tanned, muscly fellow with short cropped blond hair and wearing a leather jacket - that won't be me. I'll be the dark haired skinny stubbly chap there later in the week, once I've roped a friend into coming along to take pics :D Seriously, though, have a great time, please do report back (especially if there's a letter box!)

1) It's plenty of time - 2 months away! Surely sea mail from Australia to the UK wouldn't take that long, and obviously people will be sending airmail, won't they? 2) Fair enough, let her know with more notice, and then get in touch nearer the time for a final arrangement. 3) Fair points. I'm not suggesting turning up at a random time in hope though. I'm saying find out in advance if it's possible. If not, offer to deliver them anywhere in central London that same weekend. That is surely impossible not to be possible!! I'm not sure about Ian and Jen, other than I think they're going to the gigs. If you turn up well before the gig (easy for anyone on Sunday 14th at the o2, are any of the other UK gigs at the weekend?) it should be fairly easy for the staff to get a message to someone in the crew. And I'm saying this could also be arranged beforehand - just tell Debs they'll be coming. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but if people are going to worry a lot about it, it'd be better just to send them individually I think.