Blogging Groups London

Rock the Docs: Applying music theory and band dynamics to technical writing

The discotheque gets disco-technical, as Marco Spinello, technical writer at [Booking.com](Booking.com) shows us how music theory can be applied to documentation, using examples from both his professional and creative life. This light-hearted look at technical writing will cover: * Why Git is like a metronome * Why managing stakeholders is not unlike managing band members * Why recording an album is not unlike delivering an MVP **Rock the Docs** tells the story of a disco band that shrank from eight members to a power trio. Not unlike a company reorganisation with a built-in product pivot. Music and technical writing have more in common than meets the eye; music theory maps the territory like information architecture, a metronome enforces discipline like git, and song dynamics prevent the "wall of text" effect of very long, very dense docs. Guitar tone becomes tone of voice, equalization adjusts it per content type, and effects act as admonitions that highlight key sections. The band recording is their MVP, scoped and time-boxed, just like any good documentation deliverable. More details TBC! Please note that the agenda is approximate and subject to change. This event is kindly hosted by [Wise](https://wise.com/). **📅Agenda** **When:** Thursday, 18 June, from 6:30pm **Where:** Wise, 65 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4JE. **What:** 18:30 - 19:00 Arrival 19:00 - 19:15 Welcome & Housekeeping 19:30 - 20:00 Marco Spinello Rocks the Docs 20:00 - 20:30 Networking **📍**How to find us: Please head to Wise, 65 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4JE, from 6:30pm onwards -- one of the friendly Write The Docs London team will be checking guests in. 🌎 Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/r6zdmeDKhyAbLbaf7 📜 What3Words: ///lift.send.curiosity 📷 **Photos:** Please note that the organizers may take some photos for the WTD group.

Practise Public Speaking at Bloomsbury Speakers London (Toastmasters)

This is our regular club meeting with prepared speeches, speech evaluations and "Table Topics" - a chance to practice impromptu speaking. Please arrive from 6:35pm for a prompt 6:45pm start. **Guests are always welcome and it's completely free**, but we do request that you buy drinks at the bar on arrival and during the break to support the venue. ABOUT BLOOMSBURY SPEAKERS Hello! Bloomsbury Speakers is a fun and friendly Toastmasters club near Farringdon in central London. We meet twice a month to improve our communication and public speaking skills by practising in a safe and supportive environment. New guests are always welcome and it's completely free. No need to book in advance (other than to receive a helpful reminder) - just show up on the evening! TYPICAL MEETING AGENDA A typical meeting agenda is as follows: 6:35 Doors open - meet and greet 6:45 Welcome from Club President 6:50 Introductions from Toastmaster and other meeting roles 7:00 Prepared Speeches (from club members) 7:40 Guest Introductions (a quick hello from the guests) Short break for refreshments 8:00 Speech Evaluations (of earlier speeches) 8:15 Table Topics (impromptu speeches of 1-2 minutes each) 8:35 Table Topics Evaluations 8:40 Reports and General Evaluation (of the meeting) 8:55 Awards (best speech, best evaluator, etc.) and announcements 9:00 Meeting close - retire to the bar! COME ALONG TO FIND OUT MORE! Visit our website for more information: https://www.bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk Toastmasters has helped thousands of people overcome nerves and improve their speaking confidence. Come along and find out how! Find your voice at #BloombsurySpeakers!

WRITE CLUB: one hour of silent writing (or reading) in the company of others

The first rule of WRITE CLUB is that you do not talk ***during*** WRITE CLUB. This very simple meetup is based on the premise that public and peer accountability enables more productive writing than sitting at home and getting distracted by the fridge. We will write/read for an hour in silence. (I will be writing thought experiments for my other meetup group: [THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS IN PUBS](https://www.meetup.com/thought-experiments-in-pubs)) If you'd like to hang out afterwards, or if you prefer just to hang out, I have another event immediately afterwards in the same place :-) You can find that here: [HANGING OUT AT THE SOUTHBANK](https://www.meetup.com/experimentsin/events/314649073) And if you'd like to finish the evening with a dance, there is a free social salsa meetup just outside The Southbank Centre just afterwards. More info [here](https://www.instagram.com/salserosfriends/). **This event will take place in the foyer of The Southbank Centre.** You can find us by looking out for: * A tote bag with WRITE CLUB sewn onto it * My T-Shirt, which will have HANGING OUT embroidered on the back of it * A big red flag with THE SUNRISE CLUB emblazoned on it (though this clearly isn't THE SUNRISE CLUB! If you want to find out about that, you can do so [here](https://www.meetup.com/the-sunrise-club/).) * Other writers - who may be spread out across the centre. They will have white pieces of paper with the WRITE CLUB stamp at the top of the page. There are plenty of places to buy refreshments, but you can also bring your own if you prefer. [WHATSAPP GROUP](https://chat.whatsapp.com/BpMwnRev0H237KMx4uPnek) [INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/experimentsingroupwisdom) [SUBSTACK](https://experimentsingroupwisdom.substack.com/) Looking forward to meeting and writing with you :-) Bonny

Blood on the Clocktower @The Winchester

🩸 Blood on the Clocktower is a game of murder and mystery, packed with bold lies, sharp logic, and just enough chaos to keep everyone guessing. **Walk-ins are welcome.** **Please note that the event is NOT limited to 10 attendees.** We’ll be playing a Carousel Script: **The Midnight Oasis.** For anyone new to the group, a quick note: being on the **waiting list** does not mean you can’t attend on the day. The event is currently capped at 10 people because the Meetup app limits attendance numbers on the free subscription plan. As always, our events are completely free, we don’t ask for donations or charge for attendance, but unfortunately the app restrictions mean we have to keep the listed capacity limited. 🧠 Beginner-friendly, queer-friendly, and neurodivergent-friendly. Want to know how it works? 🎥 Watch this intro video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aZP47Nm9g&t=58s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aZP47Nm9g&t=58s) Want to see the chaos in action? 👀 Watch real games here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xhk7UmR9Qs&list=PLQBGXhGots83LIf1qY4Zg0Mp9qU1Kr2Hv](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xhk7UmR9Qs&list=PLQBGXhGots83LIf1qY4Zg0Mp9qU1Kr2Hv) Come for the mystery. Stay for the lies. Trust no one. 😈🕰️

CRAP Talks #33 - Mayday Mayday

We're back with our third event of the year and we couldn't be more excited. We'll stick to our usual format of 2 speakers and a fireside chat (with a twist this time). If you've not been to one of our events before then here is what you can expect. CRAP (Conversion Rate Optimisation, Analytics, Product) Talks is a cross-discipline event. We don't work in silos so why network and learn in silos. In the past we've had speakers from Data, Analytics, CRO, Product, Marketing, Data Science, Design and Research and so many more. If you work in tech, chances are you work cross-functionally, so come along and meet people doing amazing things in tech. **Hosts:** RVU - https://www.rvu.co.uk/ **Venue:** RVU The Cooperage, 5 Copper Row, London SE1 2LH **Date:** 09/06/2026 6pm doors open Talks kick off at 630 Wrap up approximately 9:00pm. **Speakers:** * **[Aya Gaballa](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aya-gab/)** \- "Building Products for Different Cultures" * Co-Founder & Product Lead, Kham Lab * **[Mark Palfreeman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-palfreeman-662044160/)** \- "Gambling with Success: The Complexities Around Measurement in an Industry with Stellar Growth"\. * Senior Business Intelligence Manager, Flutter UKI **Fireside Chat:** * **[Alex Homan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-homan-3aab2a141/)** \- "Analytics in the age of AI" * Lead Data Analyst, Huel

Blockchain Meetup - Social Good On Chain

Our monthly Causevest Meetup. ( This is just a chilled out afterwork spot where we eat drink and talk crypto) Learn about all cryptocurrencies investing, security , wallet setup, ask me anything. Guest speakers and obtain a new insight into the possibility of blockchain technology with our development team. To be updated - Join us on telegram https://t.me/joinchat/FuQGSRJkhCx3gEdlupYL9g

Feedback session in New Cross (message GRAIG for location.)

*Please ensure that you have READ THE SUBMISSIONS before attending the session. Contact Graig in advance for the submissions document and the exact location in NEW CROSS.* This session will focus on FEEDBACK for members' writing. We ask that people attend two meetings before submitting their own work. Read, read, read- and be ready to give thoughtful and detailed feedback at our meeting! We aim to finish at 10 each session, but several of us will often continue to socialise with a drink or two.

The Art of Journaling

You can journal your thoughts, emotions, experiences… You can write a sentence, a paragraph, a page… But journaling doesn’t have to be a chore, it can be enjoyable and enlightening. It can deepen your self-awareness, help you gain clarity and add a sense of calm. Whether you’ve never tried it or you’ve done a spot of journaling in the past and fallen out of practice, join us to: * explore the why, the how and the art of journaling * get inspired to pick up your pen and start journaling **This is a free in-person 60-minute seminar.** **If you would like to make a voluntary donation, please click** [here.](https://www.innerspace.org.uk/donations/ "https://www.innerspace.org.uk/donations/") \* I consent to my submitted data being collected and stored. We will process your personal data in line with the GDPR requirements and always store it securely and use it only for the purpose for which it has been collected. We will not pass on your details to any third parties without your consent.

In person meetup to critique work submitted by members.

This is a live session at The Mitre in Greenwich. The purpose of this meeting is to provide and receive critique on submitted extracts of members' creative writing, whether they're working on a novel, screenplay, poetry, a memoir or short story, etc. We share our extracts via email ahead of the meeting to give us all a chance to read the work in our own time and reflect upon it so as to be able to provide useful critique. If you want to submit an extract mail me at gpatrick66@hotmail.com to book a slot. If you are new to the group we ask that you participate in at least two of the Wednesday critiquing sessions before you submit work for review so that you get to know us and have a good understanding of how we operate. This will help you to get the most from a critique of your own work. Extracts should be approx 3,000 words and the full document (extract plus blurbs, questions etc) should not exceed 3,500 words in total. Extracts must be mailed to me (gpatrick66@hotmail.com) at the latest by 9pm on the Saturday before the session so that I can share your work with the rest of the group. We have a limit of 4 extracts per session to give adequate time to review work properly. Feel free to give guidance on any specific areas on which you would like feedback. E.g. Plot, pacing, structure or character development etc. (If you have not received the extracts by the Sunday before the session, mail me.) The group is friendly and relaxed, so please don't feel nervous about sharing your work! We will normally review extracts according to the order in which they are sent to me but if you need a particular slot let me know when you submit your extract and we will try to accommodate that. Please note that all phones MUST be switched to silent mode for the duration of the meeting.

Visiting the Vijaya Krishna Restaurant.

Hello and welcome, to a new event listed on the The Tooting Curry Club! We all know that the group has been quiet here for a while, with the testing times we've had recently. Now's the time to start the process of getting the group up and running again, and what a better way than to start afresh with a Curry house which is in touching distance of Tooting Station. This restaurant has been serving food for a number of years now, and this will be a perfect opportunity to join together and eat some authentic curry dishes. So I look forward to inviting you to this new event, for a flavoursome time out.

A Sci Fi/Fantasy Feedback Session

Join us at Craft Beer Co. Brixton for our structured Sci-Fi & Fantasy Feedback Session. A supportive, focused space where writers can share their work and receive constructive, thoughtful critique. These sessions are designed not only to help authors refine their writing but also to strengthen our community. Giving feedback is as valuable as receiving it: by learning to critique effectively, we sharpen our own editorial instincts and deepen our understanding of craft. Whether you’re submitting work or attending as a reader, this is a collaborative, growth-focused environment. **FOR THOSE SUBMITTING WORK** **We allow up to 4 people to submit their work** **for feedback. In order to submit please RSVP and send your submission to** **scififantasyauthors@gmail.com no later than the Sunday prior to the session** to give organisers time to review submissions and arrange critique groups in advance. *Priority for submission slots is given to those who have attended a previous session.* To ensure quality and fairness, submission guidelines are as follows: * **A short introduction (2–3 paragraphs max.) explaining:** * The context and status of the piece (early draft? polished?) * What kind of feedback you’re looking for * **An excerpt (chapter or short story) of up to 3,000 words** * +10% flexibility allowed * Strict cut-off beyond that **FOR THOSE PROVIDING FEEDBACK** * Please RSVP and read the “How to Give Feedback” document that will be shared prior to attending. * Bring a device suitable for reading the submitted piece * There is no expectation to read anything in advance. All reading takes place during the session itself. We begin with dedicated silent reading time, ensuring that everyone engages with the piece equally and no one feels pressure to prepare outside the session. Just show up ready to read, think, and contribute. **SCHEDULE** Attendees will be placed into small critique groups of 5–6 people, each with an experienced facilitator to guide discussion and manage time. **6:30–6:45pm** – Arrival, drinks & group seating **6:45–7:30pm** – Silent reading & note-taking **7:30–8:00pm** – Structured feedback delivery **8:00–8:30pm** – Open roundtable discussion & author questions Each participant will have up to 5 minutes to share feedback during the structured critique section. Authors listen without interruption, with space for clarifying questions later in the roundtable. Whether you’re looking to polish a chapter, test an opening, or strengthen your editorial instincts, these sessions are an opportunity to grow together. RSVP early, as places are limited to ensure productive group sizes. If you can no longer attend, please update your RSVP.

Monthly Self-Guided Journaling Club