This weekend I had a proper grown up weekend away doing and learning things for me.  Saturday was spent at Cybermummy a conference for mummy bloggers and Sunday at The Festival of Education.

I have been watching fellow mummy bloggers counting down with excitement and anticipation in the lead up to Cybermummy.  There has been talk about what to wear, what to pack, creating business cards, haircuts and manicures – you would think we were a bunch of mums who never get out!  This was to be my first Cybermummy experience and as I hadn’t met any fellow bloggers before I was going alone.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect but hoped as a relatively new blogger to get some useful tips and meet new people.

The day began in a crowded room packed with fellow bloggers, iPads, cameras and notebooks in hand and many already heavily laden with goodies.  There was a buzz in the air as the more experienced bloggers chatted with familiar friends but even for the newcomers like myself everyone was very friendly and interested to learn about new blogs.  The keynote by Sarah Brown was an excellent start to the day, she was an engaging and entertaining speaker.  Her recommendation to use your voice and collectively make a difference resonated with me.

Following the opening session we headed for coffee, cake and the stands at Cybermummy Central, but not any ordinary cake

(Trust me, the only photograph that I took at Cybermummy was of cake!)

I don’t think that I had ever seen so many freebies in one place, each stand giving away big bags of goodies and loads of competitions to boot.  I wasn’t quite sure how I would get it all back on the train. The P&G Recharge Room looked amazing.  I really wanted to get my hair, make-up and massage but as a newcomer really didn’t want to miss any sessions.  Next year I will definitely be making time for a pamper.

The sessions left me with much food for thought, from ideas for using my blog as a vehicle for other things to connecting with the academic world and bringing academic research to the masses.  I loved the crowd sourced keynote with its blend of comical and heart wrenching posts and thought the little book produced by Johnson’s containing the blog posts was a lovely touch.

The highlight for me however were the wonderful people that I met, they were fun, warm and interesting just like their blogs and I ended up pouring my heart out to a few over a curry.  My roommate for the night Kirsty from Imperfect Pages introduced me to many friendly bloggers but I’d hit the wine by then so can’t quite remember who everyone was.

The Netmums Bellini Reception followed by a curry was a great opportunity to meet familiar bloggers in the flesh of including Kate Gunn, Superamazing mum and Penny  at Alexander Residence

So as a Cybermummy virgin did it live up to the hype?  Absolutely and I can’t wait until next year.