When I started this blog I set it up as a challenge, I wanted to try and improve my spelling and my social life and see what it’s like to become a blogger. I ate out a lot so I decided to become a food blogger, as I was always getting teased for constantly taking photos of my food.
October 2016 was when I really focused on my blog, as prior to that it was just a little “if I remember to do it” project. At that point, I only had 30-odd Twitter followers and just friends on my Instagram. Now January 2017, those numbers have changed a lot.
Over the past few months, I have been to a large number of restaurants and been invited to a few events. I have also made many new friends along the way, all of them really lovely, and would like to keep in touch and see them more often.
Now 2017 my goals for my blog are :
- Be more critical in all reviews
- Try more random products to add to the mix of my food reviews
- Arrange some Glasgow Blogger meet-ups.
- Vlogging
The first two points above are easy to achieve, but the last two are not so much.
I have seen and heard from people (mostly heard) that Glasgow Blogger meet-ups have been arranged in the past, but normally a large amount say yes and then only a few turn up or its called off. They also tend to be mostly food specific…why? so that’s something I wanted to change.
I used to prepare a lot of events and DJ inside the online game Secondlife for a charity, so I thought let’s use that knowledge and bring it to this.
My first task was to figure out the location and who to invite, I thought starting small was the best idea.
I won’t go into full detail, but I meet a few people at the Revolution de Cuba bloggers event and have kept in touch. I have also kept in touch with Emma Eats and Weekends with Wendy since my last meet-ups with them. I thought this would be the perfect start and messaged them.
Next was to think of a location, but this was an easy one….Chaakoo Bombay Cafe.
Our Meet Up : Friday 27th January 2017
Location : Chaakoo
As you may have seen from my Tweets or blogs, I have been to Chaakoo a lot. The food is amazing and the staff are very friendly. For my first meet up this was where I wanted it to be.
Invited : 14
Just like all events planned you never really expect to have a full house, people’s plans change, they don’t feel well, etc. Tonight we had a total of 7, for me this was a success as I was only expecting 4 or fewer mostly due to it being the first and due to the small amount invited.
The Guests :
I have to say at this point if you reading this and know me, and wondering why you never got an invite don’t worry I am not ignoring you there was a reason. The people I invited tonight all have similar personalities or I thought would mix well with everyone.
This was a key factor in arranging tonight, I didn’t want to just invite x y, and z and hope they mixed so I planned it so that there would be some form of connection etc.
The people that turned up tonight were :
- Chris : This is my best friend and he has been very supportive with my blogging.
Weekends With Wendy : A travel blogger and friend that I have met a few times since I started blogging.
Twitter : twitter.com/WendyAndrew_
Instagram : www.instagram.com/wendyandrew_/
Blog : www.weekendswithwendy.com
Amy’s Food Blog : I have now met Amy twice, she is a lovely girl and very friendly. Amy is a food blogger and journalist.
Twitter : twitter.com/_Dont_Byrne_It_
Instagram : www.instagram.com/amy_is_a_foodie/
Blog : dontbyrneit.wordpress.com
Tom Jarvis : Amy’s boyfriend, and audio blogger.
Instagram : www.instagram.com/tomjarvis317/
Blog : www.audioordeal.co.uk
Evy, evidently : Evy is a blogger and Vlogger. I have only been in contact with Evy very recently, and again she is a very nice girl to chat with, and look forward to meeting and chatting to her more.
Twitter : twitter.com/EvidentlyEvy
Instagram : www.instagram.com/evidentlyevy/
Blog : evidentlyevy.com
Youtube : www.youtube.com/user/evidentlyevy
And me 🙂
As you can see if you take a look at everyone’s blog, I didn’t just focus on food bloggers. There are a lot of really nice bloggers in Glasgow, and they don’t just focus on food so now it’s time we have a meet-up and meet everyone.
Also, my plan is to hold it at a different restaurant every time, as it’s always good to try somewhere new.
We were welcomed by the staff at Chaakoo and given a nice welcome cocktail, and a lovely set table for everyone tonight.
We all ordered what we wanted and just chatted, and took photos of the food and each other.
I won’t do a food review here as I had some of the same dishes that I have already posted about, so check my reviews out when you get a chance.
I had a fun time, and it was good to see everyone getting along.
I would like to give a BIG thanks to everyone who attended tonight, and also a BIGGER thanks to Chaakoo who gave us great service and a few freebies tonight as you helped make tonight very special for everyone and me.
If you haven’t tried Chaakoo yet take a look at their website and visit: chaakoo.co.uk
Now I plan on doing another meet-up last week in February, or the first week of March I will speak to everyone and see what is best. I discussed my idea at tonight’s meet-up, and it seemed to go down well so now I’ve just to contact the manager and arrange dates and numbers.
If you’re a Glasgow blogger and would like an invite, DM me on Twitter and let’s chat 🙂
Next meeting up there will be 20 spaces.
It’s time we bloggers meet up more!
🙂
It was such a great night! Thanks again for inviting me, looking forward to seeing everyone at the next meet up! 🙂