Yesterday was the day of the Hitchin Hive walk. I had several people interested, but a few could not make it in the end. I met two people for the first time when we met up by the station. In attendance were:
- @daniellemurray who I know well from making music together. She was our guide with her extensive local knowledge.
- @anna-newkey is another of my musician friends.
- I have known @stav for a long time since we were on the forum of the Six String Bliss guitar podcast and we have been to a few guitar events together. He drove from near Great Yarmouth.
- @atma.love has a place in Bulgaria, but had come from Thetford.
- @alonicus came from Farnborough.
We saw another musician friend at the station, but he was off elsewhere. He is not really into computers and the internet anyway.
After a very wet Saturday I was relieved that Sunday was dry and looking pretty bright. I soon needed to take off my raincoat. I had brought an umbrella too. Danielle took us across the meadows to the River Purwell. We passed the old mill and some cottages that probably housed some of the workers.
I was so busy talking to people that I hardly took any photos. Luckily Anke had taken lots. Her dog Mia seemed to enjoy the outing.
We explored some of the local nature reserves and a road that could date back before the Romans. This was all just on the edge of town, but felt very rural. We did not see any water voles or otters, but there was lots of insect life and a few birds.
When you get together with Hivers you will learn things as we each use it in our own ways. I always say that the bandwidth of face to face is much better than online. There are so many different communities and so we may not encounter some people. I do not have time to explore everything.
Danielle left us as we headed back into town as she had people coming over for a music session. I knew the way from there anyway as I am often in Hitchin. I had seen some new places this time though.
There are lots of nice old buildings around the town square where we rested our feet at an outdoor cafe. We even had a classical singer entertaining us. @atma.love made him aware of Hive as well as the people running the cafe. Perhaps we will see some businesses and buskers taking $HBD some day.
I had brought along some signed books by @katharsisdrill that I gave away in a random draw. @anna-newkey and @alonicus were the lucky winners.
Are we wandered back to our respective vehicles we bumped into @steve-o2023 who was having a trip out on his motorbike.
I really would recommend that people try organising events like this. Many Hivers have never met others in person and it enhances the community spirit. It need not cost money to set up as you just need some location where people can gather. I just like the idea of taking a walk as it gives opportunities for photography. We were lucky as Monday was wet as well. If we had been rained on then I would have just taken us to a pub or cafe where we could chat.
I will get to other meetups if I can. We used to have a few in London, so who is going to set one up? We have a few people in Brighton and I would happily take a trip down there. You just cannot rely on the British weather.
Hive five!