#TheBloggersBash 2017 – Time to turn virtual hugs into real ones.

Firstly, it goes without saying that enormous thanks must go to the team who have spent what little spare time they have, money and a great deal of effort in getting this event off the ground three years ago and organising it again this year.  These wonderful people can be found at these links and I do recommend that you follow to enjoy their entertaining, interesting, nostalgic, legendary and always superb posts.

Sacha Black – http://sachablack.co.uk/about/

Geoff Le Pard – https://geofflepard.com/about/

Ali Isaac – https://aliisaacstoryteller.com/about/

Hugh Roberts – https://hughsviewsandnews.com/

Geoff began the day with a magenta beard (courtesy of the lovely Sacha) but unfortunately by the time I moved in for my first real hug with him it had faded to a very fetching pink.  However I thought this photo showed off his unique fashion sense.

Virtual vs. Real Hugs.

For me the highlight of the day was exchanging real hugs with those that I have only met online before. Some have been with me on this blog and on social media since the beginning in 2013 and it was as if I was meeting old friends and immediately picking up where we left off online the day before.

Here are a few photos that I took on the day along with some profile photos of those that I did not manage to take. Some photos have been taken from the #BloggersBash Facebook page.

Thanks to the two speakers on the day who talked about various aspects of improving our blogging experience including earning a living, working with Pinterest and other sites to bring more traffic to our blogs and presenting a more professional and easy to navigate face to the world.

Suzanne Elliott and Suzie Speaks

Geoff Le Pard, Ali Isaac and Mary Smith.

Julie Lawford and Marjorie Mallon

Sacha Black, Sheila Robinson and Jessica Norrie

Noelle Granger

Marjorie Mallon, Sherri Matthews and Mary Smith

Allie Potts

Willow Willers

Our MC for the day – Geoff in full flow

Ritu Bhathal (great baker) Sacha Black and Lucy Mitchell.

Shelley Wilson

And here is a photo that Marjorie Mallon took of Sherri, me and Mary and you can read her post on the day here: https://mjmallon.com/2017/06/12/thebloggersbash-2017-my-3rd-time/

Here is a list of those that I managed to chat and hug on Saturday with apologies to those that I may have missed.

Christoph Fischer – https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/
Ritu – https://butismileanyway.com/about/
Shelley Wilson – https://shelleywilsonauthor.com/about-2/
Willow – https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/about/
Graeme Cumming https://graemecumming.net/about/
Marjorie Mallon https://mjmallon.com/about/
Noelle Granger – https://saylingaway.wordpress.com/about/
Sherri Matthews – https://sherrimatthewsblog.com/about/
Alli Potts https://alliepottswrites.com/about/
Helen Jones – https://journeytoambeth.com/about/
Mary Smith – https://marysmith57.wordpress.com/about/
Eloise de Sousa – https://eloiseds.com/
Julie Lawford – https://julielawford.com/about/
Ellen Best – https://ellenbest24.wordpress.com/about-2/
Lance Greenfield- https://lancegreenfield.wordpress.com/about/
Lucia Gray- https://lucciagray.com/about/
Sue Vincent – https://scvincent.com/about/
Suzie Speaks – https://suzie81speaks.com/about/
Lucy Mitchell – https://blondewritemore.com/about-blondeusk/
Sacha Black – http://sachablack.co.uk/about/
Geoff Le Pard – https://geofflepard.com/about/
Ali Isaac – https://aliisaacstoryteller.com/about/
Hugh Roberts – https://hughsviewsandnews.com/
Steve Tanham- https://stevetanham.wordpress.com/about/

And last and of course not least is the awards and congratulations to all the winners that can be found on Sacha’s blog. http://sachablack.co.uk/2017/06/10/winners-of-the-2017-annual-bloggers-bash-awards-bloggersbash-bloggersbash/

I was very honoured to have been runner up in the Most Informative Blog category and thank you so much to all those who voted for me.

Congratulations to the winner and the second place blogs- The Book Trail and Novel Gossip as well as the honourable mention for Icy Sedgewick. Head over and find out all about them.

First place – http://www.thebooktrail.com/blog/

Second place – https://novelgossip.com/about/

Honourable Mention – http://www.icysedgwick.com/about-icy-sedgwick/

A wonderful day and next year’s bash is on June 9th 2018… so put in your diary. Keep up with the news via Sacha’s blog http://sachablack.co.uk and as importantly if you can spare some time to be part of the organisational team, they are looking for volunteers.