We recently concluded our first Drupal Yorkshire meetup at the Brewery Tap Leeds on Tuesday January 8th, and it was a fantastic turnout considering we only organised it a week before! So we’d just like to say a big thank you for everyone who attended, and in so doing helped to support the humble beginnings of something good.
We covered a lot of different topics, here is the general breakdown:
- Quick self-introductions were made round the table;
- The format of other Drupal and technically-oriented groups was discussed. Out of this it transpired that most monthly meetups have a speaker organised beforehand, and this isn’t always someone in person, although someone being there in person is seen to be beneficial;
- A Drupal group is probably less technical than a developer-oriented group such as LeedsPHP or JavaScript Leeds, which means that we should aim for less technical presentations and topics of discussion;
- Discussion around an “Ask the group” section on the Drupal Yorkshire website (which you are on right now), so that it is not as over-powering as asking on Drupal.org - and also so that local individuals can receive answers in person, at a group meetup;
- Venues discussed for future meetups, with a remit of being within 10 minutes from the train station, free to use (or very cheap), free wifi (that actually works!), beer very close by, and available every month without fail:
- Brewery Tap was OK but not necessarily ideal for our purposes. However, it is 1 minute from the station, and therefore a potential regular drop-in place;
- Curve offered their office as a good place for presentations and close to the station, with several pubs nearby. 9 mins walk from the station;
- The Adelphi also seems like a viable place. 7 mins walk from the station.
- Talk about arranging a trip over to the Manchester meetup as a group;
- Rough dates were discussed for a Drupal8Camp in Leeds in November 2013 or January 2014;
- Some interest was expressed in working on Drupal coding (and design) Sprints, and offering training for local third sector organisations. Oblong resource centre, Leeds was mentioned as a place that we could speak to about this;
- We talked about collating resources from speakers, and also collating material related to answers that we have provided through “Ask the group”. These resources can be a place to refer new group members, beginners, and students;
- We talked about organising a set up a series of talks and workshops similar to Drupal Ladder, which would serve as an introduction to the most basic aspects of setting up a Drupal site, theming, LAMP stack, Version control etc;
- Our Drupal Yorkshire steering group was nominated and they are Peter McClory @pmcclory, Paul Driver @MrPaulDriver and Andrew MacPherson @MartianWebDev.
Our Drupal Yorkshire meetups are on the second Tuesday of every month. You can book on to the February Drupal Yorkshire on Eventbrite.