Cybermummy 2010- In the company of friends

I kissed my daughter and husband goodbye on Saturday morning to travel down to London for the first Cybermummy conference and what a day it was!

I sat on the train behind a ridiculously annoying child whose voice was the only one to be heard on the carriage and tried to tweet from my ridiculously archaeic mobile phone.  I can’t even download an “app” to allow me to follow Twitter properly like a grown up.  Bah.

I felt the butterflies beginning to grow in my stomach which weren’t helped by the lack of any brekkie or tea as a result of arriving at the Peterborough Train Station with only minutes to spare.  I had told my husband that I was nervous and he said “Why?  You’re just going down to meet some friends and talk!  No big deal!”  He was right…it wasn’t like I was PRESENTING or anything (maybe one day??).

I got off the train and joined up with New Mummy Carol and Mummy’s Shoes Carly (they’d been in 1st Class!) and we made our way to the Tube to catch the Piccadilly line to Earl’s Court.  Thankfully the Piccadilly Line was one of but a few tube lines that were not closed due to rail works.  We found two other bloggers and continued on our merry way…almost like Pied Pipers…collecting bloggers as we went.

Entering the Ibis Hotel Earl’s Court was like wandering into a bee hive!  All the buzzing, all the flitting about…but thankfully, none of the honey.  We were collecting our goody bags, getting our name badges and meeting bloggers we’d only known through our blogs but had never met in person.  There was a lot of hugging going on.

There was an impressive array of sponsor stalls in the social area outside the conference rooms and I felt a bit like a kid in a candy shop…what to go to first?  I struggle with stalls…a bit of stranger anxiety; not wanting to get drawn into something I don’t want; not wanting to appear to be a “swag hag”.  There were more goody bags and free things from every stall and oh, were there cupcakes!  Obviously these sponsors know the way to a blogger’s heart…food!

It was wonderful to find old friends (not that they’re old, mind you) and share in the excitement of what was about to unfold.  There was more hugging.  But at Cybermummy 2010, I was in the company of friends…many of whom I had NEVER met in person before.  How bizarre really??  I read these lovely bloggers posts regularly, chat with them on Twitter, share ups and downs and possibly know more about them than some of their friends in real life.  Yet, we’ve never actually met!  Everyone lived up to their billing however and many of them were a lot taller than I had pictured in my head.

The conference kicked off with a welcome from Susanna, Sian and Jen who organised the hell out of the very first Cybermummy.  Around 200 bloggers (including 1 very special Daddy Blogger) sat and listened and learned and tweeted and iPad-ed and live blogged all of the proceedings.  It was amazing.  I can’t say that my knowledge was massively enhanced but my faith in the blogging community has been restored and I find myself with a new energy and excitement for the future.  Blogging, whether Mummy or Daddy, is an amazing thing and I’m proud to count myself as one.

So thank you lovely UK bloggers, for including me in the fold, for allowing me to make new friends and create my own little niche that’s JUST MINE.  And as for Cybermummy 2011…look out world!  There’s bound to be some amazing things on offer next year.  And for the record, I’m staying overnight next year…there was too much fun that I missed after lugging my 30lbs of swag home on the train at the end of the night.

To read more about other bloggers experiences please visit A Modern Mother , Mummy Tips , and the Flickr Cybermummy 2010 Pool.