I haven’t posted about these for a while, so here is a reminder of the geek socials I’m running in Manchester this year.
Geek Walks: Monthly walking group which takes place on Saturdays based on an availability poll. We get a train and go to somewhere within an hour’s journey of Manchester, which takes in a wide range of locations. We usually walk for 40-60 minutes on mostly level ground (sometimes longer depending on who turns up, and occasionally there are a few hills) and then finish in a pub for lunch. It’s not a serious hiking group and the walks are accessible to anyone with sensible footwear who can keep up a sedate pace. We set off mid-morning (10:30-11:00am) and return late afternoon (around 4-5pm).
Bletchley Park: Most years I organise a day trip to Bletchley Park, with people travelling either in cars or by train. We set off at around 9am, have a guided tour on arrival, lunch in the cafe, and then spend the afternoon wandering around the park and the National Museum of Computing. We have dinner in Milton Keynes before heading back to Manchester, usually returning late evening (around 9-10pm).
Currybeer: On the first Friday of each month we go for curry and beer in Rusholme. We start at the pub at 7pm and head for curry by 8pm, usually finishing around 9:30-10pm. Sometimes we also go for other cuisines in and around the city centre on the third Friday of the month, though this depends on availability.
All socials are open to anyone who considers themselves a geek (there’s no definition, you might be a sci-fi buff, a Unix beardy, a political geek or something else) and there’s no charge to attend beyond the cost of travel, food/drink and any entry fees (generally the latter only applies to Bletchley Park).
There’s a separate mailing list for each social which you can join via the relevant website. I’m the only person who can post to the lists, and you’ll generally receive 3-4 emails per month about each social (you can view the archives for any given list to see what the traffic is like). Occasionally I’ll post the announcements to other lists, particularly for Currybeer, but I don’t always remember (or sometimes it’s not appropriate) so the official lists are the only ones guaranteed to get every email.
I don’t get anything from organising the socials, other than the fun of organising (yes, I like organising) and attending them, and I’ll carry on doing so whilst I’m in Manchester and there are other people who want to attend.