Grid London Gathering Thursday 11th September, 7:30pm The Hammer and Shovel, Shepherd's Bush
I'm ever so excited, because tonight sees the latest Gathering for Grid London contributors. We all meet up every month and sit in an obscure pub getting mildly drunk at someone else's expense. We discuss what's going on in the blogosphere, and we show off our digital cameras, and we point at one another excitedly and go "Oh my god, so you'reCamden Queen!" Really it's ever so interesting, and a great way to mix socially with a cross section of commercially savvy Londoners. Such a good night.
Last month I was delighted to meet Sally from My Left Sprocket, who's genuinely as charming as she comes across in her writing. It was also an honour to chat to Yellow Peril about Boris's transport policy, and to lock horns with Raymond over the future of East End skyscraper development. Bev brought along her Samsung V280, which we all coveted, and Top Panda made history by Twittering simultaneously from the gents and ladies toilets. I also got to meet Zavinda, The Wandsworth Wizard, Fudgepack, Alas Poor Yorick and several other wannabes who'd started a blog three days earlier and hoped that, by turning up to a pub, everyone else would link to them. Way to go, guys.
Of course I also met the charismatic Magda. I must say, Grid London's chief impresario didn't look quite how I was expecting. Her thigh length motorcycle boots were an unusual touch, and a fringed turquoise poncho is not everyone's idea of style. But, as she sat there in the leatherette booth hidden behind a pair of designer neon sunglasses, I felt somehow unable to resist her commercial advances. Indeed after my seventh free glass of the chief sponsor's guava-based energy drink, Magda convinced me that signing up my blog to Grid London would be the perfect way to unlock a seam of untapped marketing potential. It's great to see how positively my loyal readers have reacted to this unashamed sellout.
We're promised a really top-notch sponsor tonight, something to do with brain-nourishment chewing gum I believe, and hopefully there'll be lots of freebie giveaways that we can review on our blogs in the morning. I trust the talk won't drag on beyond 90 minutes this time, because everyone's really there for the geeky smalltalk and the free bar. So the only place to be this evening is the upstairs lounge of the Hammer and Shovel in convivial W12. I've not been before, but of course Grid London's excellent pub reviews always give a clear indication of the sort of atmosphere to expect. See you there?
Grid London Gathering
