Robin Hood and a Game for Pale Young Boys

November has been a mad dash. After an incredibly busy October, how else to calm things down but to present at SharePoint Saturday Richmond (VA), followed by 3 SharePoint user groups in 3 nights (Tri-State PA, Princeton NJ, and DC/Reston VA), and then hop on a plane for SharePoint Saturday Nottingham and then south to London for a couple days in the office? Sounds like a great way to spend a couple weeks. I do have to admit that the SPUG events are always fun – any time you get to spend quality time with end users, answering (and asking) questions about their experiences on the platform, is always time well spent. Thanks again to Virgil, who traveled and presented with me at each SPUG, and of course to the user group leaders for inviting us out. We had a blast, and hopefully shared some valuable content.

While I have visited London numerous times, its always the same: fly into Heathrow, train and taxi to hotel, back and forth to the office or convention hall, taxi and train back to the airport, home. This was the second time I was able to escape London, grabbing a train north to Nottingham and SharePoint Saturday UK. Nottingham is, of course, the home of Robin Hood, and while under the rule of the Saxons, was known as Snotingaham (after the Saxon chieftain named Snot, of course). I much prefer Nottingham. Much more marketable.

From a company standpoint, it was a huge success, with dozens on new leads, and some great interactions with existing customers. Axceler had a full team on site, and kept quite bust throughout the event with demos and deals. My session (The Connection Between Metadata, Social, and Personal Productivity) had a full room, and the feedback was very positive. I published the slides online the next day, available here:

Following the event and a well-attended SharePint, I made my way back down into London to spend a couple days in the office with the full team. Always a pleasure to meet with the energetic Axceler London team, and share stories from across the pond. To round out my visit, a couple of the guys were nice enough to take me along to a football game at Wembley, where England beat Sweden 1-0, and we froze our butts off. Thanks again to Adam and Kristian for braving the crowds and the cold in an effort to convince me that soccer is for more than 6 year-olds. (While still a basketball guy, I did have fun). I’ll have to try it again when things warm up a bit more.