London Meet up

I got into London bright and early enough – in fact a bit too bright and early as I was the first one there!

I’d managed to grab an early train from Birmingham New Street to London Euston and had a vague idea as to where I was going. I’d looked on the net and found that “The Bricklayers Arms” was just down the way from Tottenham Court Road Tube.

As is nearly always the case whenever I visit London, it was raining, I managed to walk past the road I was supposed to take a few times having obtained ropey telephone directions from the Aussie Barmaid.

I phoned Paul and Jan Parkinson who were ten or so minutes behind me and met them back at the point where I’d started from; Tottenham Court Road Tube. My other mate; Paul Pinfield was an hour or so behind.

Standing, laptop in hand waiting in the rain with my back to The Dominion Theatre which proudly displayed the fact that “We will Rock You – the musical” was in it’s fourth “successful” year I caught a glimpse of Paul Parkinson as Janet shouted across to me.

Paul, Jan and I sat in the very small downstairs room wondering how many folks would turn up.

After three quarters of an hour or so, folks started to show up, and we adjourned to an upstairs room at 3pm. Familiar faces started to pour in – Adrian Pegg, Neil and Jen Dixon, Paul Pinfield, John Buckley, Kosso, Joe Twist, Neil Ford, Tom Morris… the list goes on.

Eventually Adam Curry, Ron Bloom, Patricia Paay and others joined the throng which has now swelled to some 50 odd folks, some names I knew, and some voices I knew too. I stood chatting to Martin Baker, Lynn Parson’s partner in crime and was saddened to hear that Lynn was too ill to come along.

There was much banter, some big Podshow cigars smoked by the Podshow boys and a really nice convivial atmosphere. There didn’t seem to be any schmoosing around Curry & Co, and I have to say that Adam did make a real effort to get out and chat to everyone in the room, he seemed very pleasant, though I certainly didn’t get to chat to him too much.

I was dead pleased to catch up with some old faces from Podcastcon from last September.

So, do I know anything about Podshow UK? Not really, there seems to be a proliferation of companies springing up on the back of RSS and Podcasting… and I’m involved in one of them.

The evening closed off at around twenty to seven and some folks had left prior to me, I could feel my eyelids becoming heavy and knew it was time to move on.

It’s now quarter past eight and I’m hoping to goodness that I’ll get back home before I fall asleep, it’s been a big day for a small podcaster...

I don't know what was going on here, I simply overheard Paul Pinfield say to Ron Bloom "I wonder what Sooty looks like naked?"