You're here for the way it REALLY went down aren't you. Well, the tale of SteemCampUK is one I can only tell from the perspective of a blue haired American gal in the second largest city in England... Yes you're in for a wild ride let me tell you- let's begin!

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"Hello I’m Phil and its nice to know you."— is what @teamhumble has written testing out my little foldable Bluetooth keyboard. We’re on the train heading to SteemcampUK and to be honest, I’m not quite sure what to expect. But I’m excited.

photo cred @teamhumble // If you're interested in mobile blogging gear- click here

Happy to be having one last trip with my dood, happy to be enjoying transition travel momentum, and happy that the train pulled up to the platform just as the first drops of rain started to come down...

We’re armed with snacks, leftover sushi for lunch and crazy old timey ginger drink. I’m a bit sleepy as we were up at 7 but here we are ready for whatever the day has for us.

We have plans to podcast once, (maybe twice), so be on the lookout for a special steemcmpuk episode of Positively Negative, but other than that i have no agend other than enjoying the time and having a few mind melds with interesting folks.

For everyone in transit- be safe and we’ll see you soon!

FAST FORWARD! -- YES! We’ve magically time traveled through the wonders of the blockchain and trans-media communication...

// #SteemcampUK was awesome. //

First thing off the train, we popped into an M&S at the station where we grabbed 30 chocolate easter eggs for... £1. They were begging us to take more, but we were pretty stoked on just grabbing those to share...

Walking up to an event or meetup can be a bit overwhelming, even as extroverts! So many things buzzing around in your head...

Who's going to show up?
What will the energy be like?
Thank God there's going to be coffee..

Maybe I find too much comfort in trying to be predictive, maybe I just need to chill, but I think the excitement and anticipation got to me, and I indulged myself in a bit of speculation.

All of that stopped as we walked through the door, and I got to witness a CLASSIC @teamhumble & @lloyddavis bear hug. (If you've never seen one, it's the type of hug that reminds you just why it is so important for us to gather face to face.

No matter how fast the internet, and how low the latency becomes in our digital connection, nothing can replace the OG interface of face to face.

And that's just what we did- We discussed topics, laughed, bullshitted, listened, and compared "notes" as 14 folks who would have never gathered in that exact configuration for any reason other than for @Steemit.

We each took time in the very beginning, thinking about sessions and topics that were important to us. I sat on the floor with my shoes off, because it's easier for me to access my creative brain when I feel like I'm in a grounded, relaxed state.

I mentioned to @teamhumble that part of me wished I had a yoga mat! It was THAT kind of open bright space.

The chairs were in a circle, but they didn't stay that way for long. They took on the shapes they need to, their configuration was as varied as our topics of conversation. This flexability was largely due to the fact that @lloyddavis mindfully and intentionally set the tone for a relaxed, respectful and open conversation, the rules of the day were...

Whoever Comes Is The Right People
Whenever It Starts Is The Right Time
When It's Over, It's Over
Wherever It Happens Is The Right Place
Whatever Happens Is The Only Thing That Could Have Happened

Sounds like the perfect recipe for folks to show up, and get and give exactly what they needed to. And so it was!

// My Takeaways //

In terms of the general good feels, of meeting and hugging and laughing and sharing with beautiful new friends, there are probably too many to list but here are a few thoughts in the name of brevity...

1. "No Way!- ME TOO!!"You're probably not the only one who's confused or overwhelmed starting as a blogger on Steemit

This rule applies to just about anything, in terms of not being alone, and there being "no dumb questions", but really really! If you're new to Steemit, and you're stuck on something, just ask! As a starting point, I know I speak for @teamhumble and myself when I say we'd be happy to help- it's a crazy ocean out there!*

2. Sometimes You Need To Talk Your Ideas OUT!

Out loud, outside your normal space, out there where your ideas can be seen by others, and they can help you sort out what's in your head! That is SO valuable. Look at this beautiful board of ideas for crying out loud!

photo credit @cryptofunk

3."Where two or more Steemians are gathered... There is a meetup!"

If you're reading this, and couldn't make it because of locational barriers, consider hosting your own meetup!- Even if it's small, even if you've never done it before, the more we meet, the stronger our community becomes. If you're not the "meetup type" and are on the fence about events like this, give @steemcampUK a shot, You don't need to be a crypto genius, or a coder, or an expert blogger. You don't NEED anything, except a steemit account and desire to meet and discussed with few other folks with a steemit account. Simples right!?

At the end of the day we wrapped up and a few of us decided to keep the conversation going at a local pub- that's how you know it was a great time, when you don't want it to end!

Special thanks to @steevc for being an unintentional steemit fashion model for these shots

Thank you to @lloyddavis for all your hard work and hospitality, thank you to impact hub for having us and providing liquid caffeinated, idea juice...

And thank you to @davedev @article61; @teamhumble
@redrica; @lloyddavis; @rimicane; @steevc; @slobberchops; @cryptofunk; @beautifulbullies; @dobsdies; @ultravioletmag & @bingbabe for being exactly the "who" that needed to be there for the very first #steemcampuk.

Until Next Time Friends!
<3

PS The rewards from this post will be going to the @SteemcampUK steemit account to hopefully help put on more meetups like this one in the future, so be generous with your upvotes!- Please & Thank you!