As I mentioned in my last post, BritMums Live is a conference for bloggers which has taken place in London annually for the past few years.
I've been lucky enough to attend five of these events now, and I've enjoyed every time for different reasons. This year it was all about the people for me. I've no idea why I took so many selfies when I don't even like seeing photos of myself.... I think it's just a BritMums thing I do!
One of the good things about having been around for a while (I've been blogging for over seven years, can hardly believe it) is that I do recognise quite a few faces. More than that, I actually know quite a lot of these lovely ladies well enough to have a chat with - and even the odd man, although I think the BritMums name has put some men off over the years.
I don't always like to interrupt the flow of conversation to take a photo though, so I hope that all the other fab bloggers I spoke to aren't disappointed to not appear on my wall of fame... I'll get you next time! There were also some I'd hoped to catch up with but who I just didn't see... again, next time.
One of the definite highlights for me this year was getting to meet Rex, the totally adorable baby of my friend who has blogged her way through the difficult times of trying to conceive at Verily Victoria Vocalises. It was so good to be able to have a little cuddle with him, and I was very impressed with Victoria's courage in 'bringing baby to BritMums' - there should be a medal for that.
So apart from all the hugs and chatting, we were there to learn a little more about how to improve our blogs. The format of the conference had changed quite considerably this year, and there seemed to be more of a focus on learning. I attended sessions on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation, for the uninitiated amongst you), influencing (watch out for a follow up post on this), Instagram, Pinterest and Google Analytics. I chose wisely at half time and found myself in a Spanish wine tasting session, followed closely by a Costa Barcelona session where we were given a demonstration on how easy it is to make Gazpacho, followed by some nut and cured meats sampling, and more wine tasting.
The end of BritMums has always been about some bloggers reading out a post of their own which has touched others to all the attendees, and this year was no exception. Note to self: take extra tissues next year.
Many brilliant bloggers were given awards for their writing efforts but my favourite moment of the night was hearing that the amazing Becky who writes at Diary of a Fat Bottomed Girl had won the Inspire award. Well deserved; her attitude to life is most certainly inspirational and you should pop over and read her blog, show her some support if you can. Cancer affects far too many people and I really wish she didn't have this reason to write.
Huge thank to the lovely BritMums ladies; it's no mean feat organising such an event for a very diverse group of bloggers. Their focus has always been on nurturing and celebrating the amazing talents within the blogging community and they should be applauded for that.