My whistle stop #Blogfest15 tour

On Friday I headed up to London thanks to Coca Cola for my trip to Blogfest. I had a train ride on my own which felt like luxury! Luckily I struck a conversation with another mum on a weekend pass to keep me company. Once I got to Euston I had a walk through the city to my hotel near King's Cross station:

I had arranged to finally meet up with the lovely Michelle who I have chatted to on the Internet since 2008 but have never met. Whilst settling in to my lovely room I noticed that Kerry had posted a pic from the same hotel so invited her to join us:  

After dinner we took a while to find somewhere not too astronomical for a drink. Finally we ended up at King's Cross Station and I got a chance to do my Harry Potter pose:

The next morning after a disturbed night (I am so not used to street noise!) I was up bright and early for our breakfast symposium with Coca Cola (I will be writing more about that later...):

Then we headed up in a mini walking convoy to the conference venue. We arrived part way through the opening address but were in time for the first panel:

This included a slightly fuzzy link to Canada with the incredible Margaret Atwood:

An intriguing discussion on whether being a mother is good or bad for creativity. Amazing to be a room which such a distinguished panel. Then off to sample the stalls of the event sponsors:

Next up was my first optional session on photography with Hayley from Shutterflies. Lots of useful tips and tricks on making our photos better on our blogs, Instagram and Pinterest: 

There was also a brief talk from Western Digital about the importance of backing up our photographs - using the external drives they gave us! Then back to the main hall for "Think Bombs" with three funny and thought provoking speakers. First up Sandi Toksvig on women's equality:

Then Val McDermid on embracing your creativity:

Finally David Baddiel on dealing with trolls:

It was good to have some time to socialise and eat yummy food at lunch time. I finally got to do the blind taste test and failed:

Afterwards I joined up with Michelle for a session on taking videos with Mike Figgis a genuine Hollywood filmmaker. Great tips on lighting, sound and equipment. Michelle has now challenged me to get on Periscope: 

Our final break out session segued nicely as it was "How to be a YouTube Sensation". Some great tips on how to attract and keep a YouTube audience. I will be off to apply those tips to my channel after writing this post....:

We didn't even have time for a coffee before the final panel in the hall. Chaired by the BBC's Fi Glover it was a very honest discussion about what we share in public about our private lives. Shappi Korsandi had us both laughing and close to tears:

The official part of the day ended with well deserved blogging awards:

This was followed by grabbing our things from the cloakroom (and trying to get goodie bags into suitcases!) and then a drinks' reception with prosecco, wine and cocktails. A chance to chat to even more lovely bloggers whilst enjoying a refreshing drink:

Then I had to dash back across town to catch my train back north. A super day and so glad I got to finally meet so many "virtual" friends and just sorry there wasn't time to say hi to everyone I wanted to see. Lots of food for thought, useful tips and excellent goodie bags! Think I need to save up to go again...