but unfortunately this requires build 811 of ActivePerl 5.8

Seems a bit odd that a particular *build* of ActivePerl would be needed.
Usually, the requirement is for a particular version (or range of versions) of perl.

I'd be thinking that any ActivePerl 5.8.x (for x >= 0) would be fine.
However, IIRC, there were some problems with the early versions of perl 5.8 on Windows so it's quite possible that the minimum value for "x" is greater than 0 in this case.

Of course, I don't have build 811 either, but build 806 (perl-5.8.0) is available from here should you wish to try that build.
The installation of those old "zip" builds is a bit kludgy.
After you've unzipped the file you'll have an ActivePerl directory and Installer.bat.
You then run the Installer.bat to install perl where and how you want it (just follow the prompts).
Then you can delete the ActivePerl directory and the Installer.bat that the unzipping had created.

Cheers,
Rob