Event: Suffolk Blogger Meet

A couple of weeks back I went to the Suffolk Blogger Meet arranged by @DaisyXXO.  Held in Bury St Edmunds, a place I have zero knowledge of, I was pleased/relieved that Clashing Time offered to give me a lift.  We met up with Life's A Catwalk and Loved By Laura and after a mini mare due to all the car parks being closed (!!) arrived at the venue only a little late to see what the what was.

Inside we were greeted with cookies, chocolates and a smiling if slightly nervous looking Daisy. Stall holders happily chatted away to whomever approached them, their smile never wavering as we rearranged their products for our countless photos. The only slight annoyance was the venue was rather dark which meant it didn't lend itself to wonderful images with tons of natural light.  This did become a conversation starter though and I got to meet a couple of fantastic ladies running their dream businesses.  **Queue a little free publicity for those gorgeous indie traders**

Ivy Joan are a new company selling all manner of cute interior furnishings.  Their soft and cosy blankets were a real hit, perfect for snuggling under on forthcoming predictably damp winter days. So too were the framed letters but as you can see from the below picture, they know their market! 

The Charity Candle Company are just that, beautiful candles that you can purchase safe in the knowledge you are helping one of four totally worthwhile charities.  The scents were mellow yet fragrant and prices being between £2.50 and £8.00 meant these beauties pretty much sell themselves, especially in the run up to Christmas.

To add to the fun of meeting new blogger friends like Sahara Splash, there was also a raffle which had an immense number of prizes.  I wasn't as lucky as Life's a Catwalk (who won four times) but did get picked to win one of five gorgeous packs of birthday/post cards and all sorts of fabulous paraphernalia from Yoohoo Mail.  I took this as a blessing from the Gods and confirmation that my stationary addiction was healthy/to be encouraged. 

This was particularly welcome as not 10 minutes earlier I had knocked one of the A4 framed posters from YooHoo's stand crashing to the ground. Incidentally it didn't break so I can also vouch for their durability... which was the plan all along.  Yeah, see I wasn't being clumsy, it was a performance test! 

And try not to touch suicidal frames!  

...... Anyway

The main thing I took away from this event, apart from the six(!) goodie bags - it's fair to say that Daisy is one connected chickee - was how our community is expanding.   The blogging scene has blown up over the past few years and while it's true there are those that are just in it for the freebies many do just want to connect with other like-minded writers.  Eager to learn skills, experiment with apps and attend events we used to have to traipse into the big smoke, but no more.  Thanks to people @DaisyXXO and @ClashingTime who started CambMeetUp, those of us on the outskirts can now get a piece of the action. 

About time too!

Have you found that blogger events are spilling out from London to the smaller cities?