I am back from our long weekend in Wales. Had a great time with the extended family with wonderful weather. Back to work tomorrow.
Just before I went away we got the news from 
Roeland lives in Amsterdam, as far as I know, so I cannot blame him for doing this on home turf. Of course anyone is free to organise events elsewhere, but we know he is an amazing organiser. I missed the very first St--mfest that was also there, but I made it to the second in Lisbon (Portugal) and the third in Krakow (Poland). Both were wonderful experiences.
I have a few reminders of those events and I would love to do it all again. It is an intense experience as you are pretty much either listening to presentations or talking to fellow Hivers. Everyone ends up losing their voice to some extent. There have been evening meals and events such as bowling and pool laid on. I did not make it to the one in Thailand, but that looked like fun too.
We have had two virtual Hivefests since then that were enjoyable, but not quite the same. Just remember that anyone can organise a meetup in person or online at any time. Even if only a few turn up it has value.
We do not yet have details of who will be speaking, but I would expect most of the big projects to be represented and quite probably a lot of smaller ones too. We are also waiting to hear about ticket costs, venues and suggested accommodation.
I flew to the previous events from Luton, which is not far from me, but I would like to use the train this time. I have been looking at Eurostar and that could be affordable depending on when I travel. I know flying is generally cheaper, but it can be more hassle getting to and from airports. I can get into London pretty quickly without having to drive.
There seems to be a range of hotels in the city centre. I really just need somewhere to sleep as the days will be very busy. Something like Air BnB is a possibility if I can find people to share with. I just want to be close to the venues.
This is something I am prepared to power down to pay for, as I did for the previous events. It is just a shame that crypto is not doing so well right now. Others are likely to be travelling much further, so I am relatively lucky to be so close.
I can really recommend going if you can. The presentations should get streamed and recorded, but the interaction in person is priceless.
Will I see you there?
Hive five!
