Apple Store: enter with Charles - leave with Charlie

Home from London 0030hrs. After posting that last message standing in the Apple Store I’d noticed someone standing next to me was looking at a Drupal site. We’d exchanged a few Q&As, like how to open the web browser and using the built-in camera on the iMac monitor. Me being me - I asked her about Drupal and how the h2cm site needs an update using a content or learning management system. It works out she was on the way to a Drupal meeting at the BTR internet café near Goodge St tube station. OK...!

Please believe me I don’t usually leave stores with women other than my wife (and daughter) I explained this to Charlie, whose work is on cause-based medicine; exchanging interests, names, jobs and activities we found the cafe.

I introduced myself to the organiser Robert, plus Ian, Peter and others as people arrived. Groups like this really help, just listening to what people were doing, the problems they were wrestling with and their successes proved a real inspiration. Some good advice too - what is the h2cm site about, what's it for?

Listening to Robert explain about CSS in Drupal and the Firebug plug-in for Firefox I noticed two other guys had arrived. Crikey, one was Roger who I met in October in Bath at the Ideas Factory. Four of us have kept in touch, and now Roger and I hope to meet up soon while I am working over at Leeds. In Bath there was a research proposal around bereaved relatives that needs more work, Roger as a Drupal developer is creating a site. Wish I could have stayed longer, but the last train was 2046. I've come away with some links to check up on and will definitely have a look at Drupal.

The final twist is that I only ended up in the Apple Store having gone along with Charles a colleague from the meeting. Plus my son Daniel has been talking about Apple kit. Thanks Charles, Charlie, Robert and the London Drupalers: the interconnectedness of all things…