Anyway... No more of this nonsense for I have a story to tell and it's important and awesome and it goes a little something like this. Once upon a time, many wonderful women who enjoy reading started book blogs on the internet and found each other and became friends. One day a few weeks ago, three of them made plans to meet in London, and on Friday, THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
Now. I'm constantly saying things like 'when I started a book blog, I never expected X to happen' and all of the things I say are always true, but the thing I least expected to happen (so far!) was for people from the internet to jump out of my computer and into the real world where I could look at their faces as we talked! And we could eat food together! And hug (HUGGING, guys!) And wander round London for HOURS and not even notice because we were talking and laughing and generally having an excellent time of excellence.
But all of these things happened, and they happened with Bex and Hanna on Friday. Let's see, a coherent description of events... Well, I got to South Kensington first but lost my time advantage by having to pee (TMI, I realise. That's how I roll) and then I walked back into the tube station to meet Bex (and Benjamin! He is adorable. Also her sister Clare who was all helpery with Benjamin's buggy on the train and was also very nice) and mere moments later, Hanna showed up and we were altogether and it was lovely! It was such an adjustment hearing their actual voices, (Hanna is all NORTHERN! Which I knew, of course, but somehow it didn't click that she would sound all northern! In other news, I am stupid) because I guess I pretty much read their blogs and tweets in my own brain voice, but I got over that soon enough, and after a while I didn't even think about it anymore.
And so we got burgers and then cake (Hanna took on the biggest slice of red velvet cake I think we'd all ever seen, and so nearly won!) and then walked around London looking for a bookshop but there was NOT ONE TO BE FOUND (rich people apparently don't read) and then walked through Hyde Park to meet two more of Bex's sisters (I believe there is one more. But I could be wrong!) and there was talking of books and movies and certain people's dislike of Tom Hanks (WHO doesn't like Tom Hanks?! Madness!) and general jolliness and awesomosity.
And the weirdest part of the whole thing is how non-weird it felt. Like, you know when you meet new people and it's a bit awkward and you feel like 'GAH!' and it's sliiightly a relief when you leave because you can relax a bit? (Ok, this might just be me. I'm really bad at meeting new people!) Anyway, that's not what this was like AT ALL. This was basically like seeing your friends, and that's because that's exactly what it was. We've gotten to know each other so well over the magic of the interwebs that seeing each other face-to-face just felt... Normal. Not that this should make it sound like it was underwhelming in any way, but just that it felt good and right and I would do the same again with any one of you! (In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to Leeds sometime soon!)
Here would be the perfect place to put a picture of Bex, Hanna and I (and probably Benjamin too, let's face it!) but... We kind of forgot to take one. In that Bex said to me 'we should take a photo before we leave!' and I was like 'definitely!' and then it never happened so frankly I could just be making this whole thing up, but my smileyness since then tells a different story. Seriously, I can't recommend meeting people from the internet enough! Best idea ever.
Tiny little story to end things: I was watching Julie and Julia yesterday, as one does on a Saturday afternoon, and it got to the bit where Julia Child goes to meet Avis De Soto and it transpires that she's never actually met her and until this point they've just been penpals. And, I shit you not, when it got to the bit where Avis walks into the train station and Julia sees her and they greet each other all excitedly, I actually teared up. Which is LAME, but I know how that feels now and it's LOVELY and ah. Yes. Everything is just awesome.
I so know what you mean with the being able to relax after you meet people. I didn't feel that at all with you guys, it was great! :-D There is another sister, you are not wrong, and I'm sorry for the amount of them present, but they just tend to be around :-p
ReplyDeleteWe seriously must go to Leeds. This is a thing which has to happen, because of the food and the book buying and the getting to see you and Hanna again and MEETING ELLIE! So yes. I need to go and have tea now so I can remember to breathe :-p And I need to post about this awesomeness as well.
Also have I mentioned, IT WAS AWESOME!
DeleteWasn't it?! It was like I've known you for aaaaages, because I have! :) Ok, so there are 5 girls and 2 boys in your family? You must have heard this before, but ARE YOU THE VON TRAPP FAMILY?! (yes.)
DeleteI really really really want to go to Leeds now. And by now, I mean that I would go TOMORROW. Can we can we please please?! (Ok, maybe not tomorrow. But sooooooon!)
ALSO I just checked the train times and prices and things, and the 10.03 to Leeds is REALLY CHEAP for some reason! So thats good to know :)
DeleteWhat time does the 10:03 get in? Cos I got the 10:03 from Chesterfield, arrived at 11am, and seriously, it still wasn't long enough. Also, I just thought, if your train stops at Chesterfield we could totally be on the same one! (Cos all trains travelling from Down There to Up Here clearly have to stop at the same random market town, right?) THESE POSSIBILITIES MUST BE EXPLORED.
DeleteIt takes like an hour and a little bit, so like 12.15? I'm kind of resigned to the fact that ANY amount of time spent together isn't going to be enough, Ellie! Neverrrrr! But ooooh, we could totally be on the same one! Although I'd imagine that getting from London to Leeds in 2 and a bit hours means not very much stopping... Yeah, no, it has three stops- Peterborough, Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate (wherever that is!)
DeleteIt's the one right before Leeds, like, ten minutes away. I know because on the way BACK from Leeds that's where about three people got off and the folks crammed into the vestibule like sardines got a breath of fresh air for a minute before the forty-minute jaunt to Sheffield. :(
DeleteIt's fun when people jump out of the internet and suddenly have faces and voices and hugs. It's like, forever more that person is a PERSON and not a blog voice and a header and a little icon and maybe the odd picture, y'know? NUMBERED COMMENT TIME:
ReplyDelete1) Yeah, even to me Hanna's accent sounds Northern. I don't even know if I HAVE an accent - we'll just have to meet up and you can tell me what I sound like. I don't mind if you say "Derbyshire farmer's wife", I swear. :)
2) Isn't it weird yet awesome how fast everybody relaxes because we've all been friends for years really? Like, when I met Charlotte Mum was like "Are you going to be all nervous?" and I was like, "Ummm... no, I don't think I am!" And literally within, what, two minutes of leaving the station all was relaxed and good. By lunchtime it was like, "I've known you two forever, right?"
3) I am quite jealous that Hanna got to meet Bex, FairyBookBaby AND my blog wife before me. But that's okay. I just need to know when Leeds will happen and the tickets are booked - I've done it once, I can do it again! AND NOW I KNOW THE WORKS AND HMV IN LEEDS ARE AWESOME FOR BOOKS. Which also helps.
4) We forgot to take pictures too. I got home and took my camera out of my bag and was just like, "Ah, crap." Such a great day, yet NO pictures. Next time...
5) No books?! Duuuuude, come up here instead! We had THE BEST TIME throwing books at each other. Literally half the books in each place we were like, *holds book up and yells across the shop* "SOMEONE READ THIS! WHO READ THIS?!" "I think it was Laura!" "Oh yeah, Laura!.... Did she like it?" "YEAH!" "Okay!" Or sometimes, "Hmmm, I don't think I'm bothered about this one..." *someone else pipes up* "BUT IT'S ONE OF MY FAVOURITES YOU HAVE TO BUY IT IT'S ONLY £2!" End result: Also "Okay!" THIS is why we all came home with about ten books. :D
6) I've forgotten what I was going to say, because I'll be honest, it's Sunday and raining and there are people in the shop who can't find "Fiction: A-D" by themselves even though it's THE FIRST SHELF THROUGH THE DOOR, and I would REALLY like to be in bed right now... but oh well. You have a nice day dreaming of Leeds and London and red velvet cake and accents and book shopping, k? *smushes Laura*
It is fun and also SO WEIRD! For like 5 minutes and then it's just like 'oh cool, there's Hanna's face again. And oh look, Bex!' etc. :)
Delete1) OMG you definitely have an accent. I'm sure. Although my manager person is from Derby and he doesn't have THAT much of an accent, he just says shit like 'bath' wrong. ;) But yeah, I'll tell ya!
2) It's SO weird! And yet awesome. And I mean, I talk to most people I know in person on the internet too anyway, so when I see them it's like 'oh yeah, remember when we talked about that stuff online' too- it's a new frontier! But I was almost freaked out by how NOT nervous I was even travelling up there and stuff- it was just 'I'm going to see my frieeeeeends! :)' (yes, I SAID smiley face, for some reason. haha)
3) Aw, that's sweet- I'm jealous that Hanna's met you like TWICE now! I LOVE YOU! We are absolutely doing Leeds one Tuesday, I'm totally free to do it whenever so I'll leave the date up to people who have things like babies and stuff hehe
4) WHAT IS WRONG WITH US ALL?! I think it's a sign that we were having TOO MUCH fun in the moment to care about recording it. OR we're all just really forgetful. It's probably that one.
5) Well, we tried. But we went to all the wrong places and then we just didn't really even CARE about books anymore (I know) and yeah! But I am totally excited to BUY BOOKS WITH EVERYONE! It will be the excitingest ever. I can just imagine the amazing peer pressure!
6) Oh lord, people. Damn them allllllllll. ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, I say.
1) Oh jeez, are you a 'baaaarth' woman? Of course you are. Bath bath bath. UP THE NORTHERNERS! :P
Delete2) Even my inner agoraphobic was okay! I was all like 'lalala... gettin' on the train... lalala... WHY IS THIS WOMAN JUDGING ME FOR READING A PIRATES BOOK... lalala... oh look, someone waving, that must be Charlotte!... lalala... HELLO LEEDS!"
3) Twice? I think it's three, maybe even four times now! Once or twice at the shop, once when we also went out book shopping round town and then for tea and cake at the coffee shop over the road, and then again in Leeds! I should also be good most Tuesdays, unless we're actually moving house that day or something. People with jobs and/or children should fix their timings first, definitely.
4) Also, you never know if one of you's going to be all like "NOOO! NO PHOTOS!" and then you'll be the dweeb with the camera making people stand still and smile. INSTANT AWKWARD MOMENT. Or maybe that's just me. :P
5) Oh yeah. Between us there will be no hope of escaping without AT LEAST ten books apiece, I don't think. Once you've started and that dam's well and truly broken, there's no point fighting it.
6) Amen, lady, amen. Don't get me STARTED on the lady who got arsy with me because I couldn't immediately call to mind a book she couldn't remember, by an author whose first name she didn't know, which she was looking for in Fiction instead of Travel Writing. Fortunately I think the rain's keeping a few of 'em at home, so I might just survive until closing. :)
1) I love how you just write 'bath' for the way you say it like it's the right way! when clearly you're going 'bahth'! GOD SAKE!!
Delete2) That's so gooooood! It's because we are all so awesome that we don't scare you, we THRILL you! (that... was a poor choice of word. But you know what I mean, probably...)
3) Oh gawd, that is SO MANY! Move down to the South please- I promise to not even mock your accent! Also I definitely want to come to Bakewell sometime this summer maybe? But is it at all easy to get to using public transport or do I need to join a coachload of grannies or something (PLEASE NO lol)
4) No yeah, this is definitely true. PLUS I kind of hate 'NO PHOTOS' people because COME ON, get over yourselves please. And I just don't want to find that out about people!
5) :) :) :)
6) Oh good lord. Good good lord. I can't even get into that because that is the STUPIDEST EVER THING ARRRRRGH.
I have other things to say but for now,Rhys and I were planning on driving to Bakewell area at some point,you can totally stow away in the back of the car if you want. Or we could llike,know you were there and that'd be less weird...
DeleteOooh, oooh, oooh, yes pleeeeease, that would be excellent :D YOU ARE SO NICE! (I would give you petrol and money and buy you treats also :) )
DeleteJust tell me when you're coming, so I can get boring stuff like orders out the way and also make sure that it isn't one of those days where I turn up to work looking like I've recently been rescued from the mountain cave where I've been living for the last ten weeks. "Kate Bush: The Frazzled Years" isn't really the first impression I'm dying to make, to be honest. :D
DeleteI love reading about internet meetups that don't involve murder. Yay!
ReplyDeleteAre you really good with pinpointing accents from all over the world, or just in the british isles? (party tricks!)
I would *totally* cry at that film scene where Julia and Avis meet, especially (1) I've had a penal-type relationship and then met in person and it was awesome, and (2) I find that my weekly quota of tears is way down since the HP readalong is over.
I know! They have such happy endings! :)
DeleteI don't want to brag or anything but I am also good at telling a SOUTHERN American accent from a Northern one. It's a gift, obviously.
Ughhhh yes, totally not meeting the quota of tears that HP has gotten me used to! It was only a teeeeeny welling up happily moment, but yeah. It's so sweet!
I loved reading this! One day we will all be on the same continent and it will be magical.
ReplyDeleteYessssss, can you even IMAGINE getting all of the Harry Potter people together in one place?! The logistics would be INSANE but it would be the BEST THING EVER! In fact, it would be SO GOOD that I think the world would implode. IMPLODE
DeleteFantastic! This made me feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy. Sweet Moses I love bloggers and I'd love to actually MEET one in person :)
ReplyDeleteAwwwww, I'm sure you will one day! I remember I used to read posts like this and be like 'but all my blog friends live in America :(' and then I found some uk ones and everything was awesome!
DeleteAwwwwwww I'm so excited for you guys that you all met up and had such a lovely time! And also a teeeeeny bit jealous because I WANT TO MEET ALL YOUR FACES! Someday.
ReplyDeleteONE DAY SARAH!! Seriously, it will happennnnnnn! Come over here and I'll take you to Jane Austen's house and the Brontes house and also we can go to Wilkie's grave and and and I don't know, do other English things. The Globe!
DeleteAww! The jealousy! So glad you guys finally met up and nobody died. Good work not being secret murderers, you three. Apparently I need to find some more Canadian bloggers. Or I'll just move to England. Yes. That.
ReplyDeleteRemember when everyone thought everyone on the internet just wanted to lure people to their deaths though? Or... That might just be me. But yeah, no deaths means I consider the day a complete success! YOU SHOULD TOTALLY MOVE TO ENGLAND! Or I should move to Canada. OR we do one and then switch. All ways are good :)
DeleteDON'T MOVE TO CANADA WE NEED YOU HERE THANK YOU.
DeleteAlso, evidently Charlotte is also one of those people who secretly thinks that the internet is a death trap... I did point out that most people who groom women on the internet are aiming for someone significantly younger than their mid-late twenties, and also they don't usually keep a book blog for three years with photos first. :)
But what if I alternate between Canada and here? Free healthcare all the time! :)
DeleteHahaha, I was soooo amused by that part of her post because clearly we think of the internet in the same crazy-ass paranoid way! (I mean, I haven't *really* thought of it like that in a very long time, but still.) ELLIE IS NOT A MAN!
bahahaha I love the title of this and don't worry I didn't think you're the serial killer. Probably because I think this same thing the couple times I've done the "meet strangers from the internet" thing. Were there campaigns or something when the internet first got big that told us this would happen?
ReplyDeleteHEY
DeleteAND THEN YOU DIDN'T MURDER ME. So thanks for that. The second time I wasn't worried about you anymore. But really, who knows what Rayna might have been capable of.
DeleteHahahahaha, I love this comment thread. Poor Alice and her suspected murderyness. ALSO remember when we hadn't even seen Rayna's face? She TOTALLY could have been a serial killer!
DeleteI feel like when I was younger, the ONLY stories you ever heard about the internet were about people grooming teens and then meeting them and murdering them, and it's hard to shake that shady reputation, internet! So yeah, that probably did it. But now I'm pretty much just like I LOVE MY FRIENDS ON THE INTERNET and clearly suspect none of you of being murderers. OR DO I?
This is true, but that was WAY LONG AGO. My second internet meetup, I was 18 and met them, then stayed at their apartment for like three days in NYC. But we'd toootally chatted on the phone, so I was like 90% sure it was legit.
DeleteWERE THESE YOUR FIRST INTERNET MEETUPS OMG CRAZYYYYY
ReplyDelete(also congratulations on not being murdered)
They were! It IS crazy! But I have only been on the meeting-new-people part of the internet for like 2 and a half years, so it's not soooo long.
DeleteOk this post is awesome but my favorite part is the label "blog people are good people." I'm terribly affected by social awkwardness so haven't gone out of my way to meet too many internets folks but the experiences I have had typically are very positive and lovely.
ReplyDelete