Inspiring, Inclusive Blogfest

"Why am I doing this?" I thought to myself as I stood cold and alone on an empty station platform in the pitch 6.30am darkness waiting for my train to take me forward 4 hours to Blogfest.

I reminded myself that today was going to be a day of learning, my brain primed like a sponge to absorb writing tips from the finest in the game.  It was also about sharing some thoughts on inclusion and diversity in blogging at a round table at the Mumsnet Blogfest event in London.

Hayley, Soraya and Swazi discuss inclusion at the Blogfest round table.

"The next train to arrive at platform two is the 6.47 to Plymouth."

I felt uneasy, vulnerable, watching out for any sign of railway staff. A shiver of cold ran down my spine, made worse by my damp hair and the urgent need for the first hot drink of the day. 
I sheltered on the bridge, watching the heavy rain fall in vertical cords and flowing like urgent waterfalls from blocked gutters.

A Blogfest for Inclusion

I'm honoured to have been asked to join a group of leading writers and speakers at Mumsnet's #Blogfest2015, a huge one day event that promises to be a 'glittering celebration of great writing and sharp ideas'.

I've watched the You Tube clips from last year and they aren't exaggerating!

I'll be joining Swazi Rodgers of Chocolate is Not the Only Fruit and Soraya Cotwal of I Happy Now 2 talk at a round table about creating diversity and inclusion in the predominantly white, middle class, non-disabled world corner of the internet that is the blog world. Blogging holds such power to create change when we work together, that it's important to harness that for all.