randy smith north allerton meet upHey Everyone

So that’s me back from lil trip down to Randy Smith’s Northallerton meet up.

I took some photos like I promised and if you wanna see them here is the link:

Northallerton Marketing Meetup Fanpage

I made Randy a quick fanpage for his meetups because he kindly let myself and Dawn stay in his house for free :)

The drive down to Northallerton was lovely…

Took me about 3.5hrs from Glasgow and my sat nav only tried to make me drive into a field once!

On arrival at Randy’s flat, I got a nice lovely welcome from Randy (hug and a kiss – I hug and kiss EVERYONE lol).

Rachel, Terry Dollard and John Thornhill were sitting on the couch too.

I was quite embarrassed to see John, because last time I seen him I was very drunk (oops)

You can read about that time here: Fancy a Room Full Of Gurus

Rachel (Randy’s better half) was also there, as was the Plugin Prince – Terry Dollard.

Was really cool to meet Terry in person as we are working on a super cool plugin right now and Essential WordPress Plugins should love it!

After some chit chat… Dawn Kay finally arrived at Randy’s flat :)

I was super duper excited to meet Dawn in person!

We email/text everyday and she has became one of my best buddies online.

So we dumped our bags and headed round to the pub for the meetup.

It was a very popular meetup this month, packed to the brim.

I was really surprised how organized Randy was (but I suspect Rachel should get some credit for that)

Once the meeting began we each had to do an introduction of what we do online

Oh – Oh…

Cue the butterflies in my stomach, the sweaty palms and the blank mind…

I HATE doing things like that, I never know what to say???

So I did what I always do, I relied on humor…

John Thornhill was sitting beside me, so I seized the chance to pick on him…

Once I did my quick intro, it was my turn to ask a question, so I asked:

Will John Thornhill promote my blog hopping queen product once it’s finished (I was of course joking)

The question was a hit, and everyone laughed, including John.

(Dawn Kay whispered to me… OMG I can’t believe you asked that)

As each question was asked, it was written by Randy onto a large poster type board, and then all questions were answered at the end.

Lots of valuable and helpful information was shared, everyone attending got something from it.

Anyway…

I was wondering what John would say when my question came up.

Of course, he had to say yes right, I mean I had 14 or so witnesses right? lol.

John said “yep he would promo it, if it was a good product” (Randy assured John I would do a great product – Cheers Randy!)

Randy was actually the perfect host (shock, horror) he was witty, charming and knowledgeable as always.

He was like a peacock strutting his stuff, you could tell he was really enjoying himself.

And Randy and Rachel are a great double act, bouncing off each other, it was a very friendly atmosphere and I really enjoyed it, we all did.

We also got some chip butties (which you know was the only reason I went ha ha)

Then we all went back to the bar for some drinks, and I bought Randy a 66% vodka shot, his face was a picture after he drank it!

I finally staggered home at 3am with Dawn…

She stole the bed and I got the couch!

The cheek of it don’t you think!!!

However…

I had a ball and intend to go to another one in the very near future.

Here is a list of the people who attended (the ones who’s names I remember)

Randy Smith

Strutted his stuff like a prize peacock – bought me a ton of drinks!

Terry Dollard

Very friendly, like a cuddly teddy bear – also bought me a ton of drinks!

Dawn Kay

My new drinking partner, has the coolest accent everrrr!

Zahid Yakoob

Very quiet and friendly, sweet guy, wasn’t feeling too well, 1…2…3…awwwwww.

Mandy Allen

Loved her honesty and will be seeing her in London this weekend, lovely to meet in person.

Craig Dawber

Lovely guy, very friendly and knowledgeable, arrived late TUT! lol.

John Reed

Lovable, took lots of notes, his famous big beard didn’t attend.

Keith Purkiss

Lovely to finally meet Keith, quieter than I expected, super friendly.

Lee Scott

Awwwww his first event, kinda shy but chatted away once he was there a while.

Steve King

Very witty and funny, made me laugh lots – bought me drinks too (always gotta like that lol)

John Thornhill

Very witty, cracked some jokes and shared lots of tips, was on the soft drinks for once.

I have to say, everyone was lovely and I have made some new friends for LIFE.

If you ever get a chance to attend one of the meetups, please do, you will love it.

This weekend…

I am heading to Alex Jeffreys and Dean Hollands event in London…

So better get my packing done…

Catch ya later, Sally :)

Filed under: Networking

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