I think the last time I was at anything like this in London we were still using Steem. I actually wondered if I would get there as a combination of snow and rail strikes was making it look as if I might be taking risks in travelling at all. I checked the trains and there seemed to be on at least that could get me into town. Walking there was an adventure as the footpaths were largely sheet ice. I ended up walking in the road to avoid some of it. The train was just a few minutes late.
I was actually in London last week for a party, but I have not been in to the centre in a long while. I caught a packed Tube to Leicester Square and walked up Charing Cross Road to Denmark Street, home of many music shops.
I have been here many times, but a few of the old shops have gone. There are loads of guitars on display, but I was not really looking at those. I wanted to check out some drums, but there was not so much on show. I did buy a drumming book in one of those shops. The whole area has changed since my last visit after a long period of building work around Tottenham Court Road station.
This was just off Denmark Street and had screens down the walls displaying photos. I did not see what it was really for. I popped into Foyles, which must be one of the largest book shops in the country. I checked out the graphic novels where they had loads of Manga. I also went in the music section. I was amused to see a score for this piece. You may know that it is a piece where the pianist does not actually play anything. A bargain at £10.
I still hoped to find more drums and Google maps informed be that there was a Yamaha shop nearby in Wardour Street. I had not been there before. I did play on a couple of electronic kits there (with headphones). That was interesting, but I really need to try some others.
The Yamaha shop is very impressive with lots of pianos and orchestral instruments as well as all the electronic stuff. Lots of guitars too. They have Ampeg and Line 6 gear too.
My final music shop was Hobgoblin Music. They cater for all sorts of folk music and so have some interesting instruments you would not see elsewhere. The percussion section looked fun.
From there I took the brand new Elizabeth Line to Whitechapel and walked up to Brick Lane where the meetup was happening. This was at Cafe 1001, which is just up the road from the first Steem meetup I went to some years ago.
I saw @adetorrent sitting with a coffee by the window. We have met a few times before, but not in a while. Upstairs we found @heruvim1978 and Pablo who runs the music label @tdctunes (Tim) uses. He was over from Helsinki and is not yet on Hive. Tim and @mcsamm turned up soon afterwards, as did my old friend @basilmarples. We were joined later by @monivis and her other half whose name I did not get. A pretty good turnout considering a few people had said they would not risk the trip. I did not take many photos and this one was not great. I know they others will have more.
As always at such events we just talked non-stop. It was good to catch up with people I know, but also to meet new people. People had come in from various places, including @heruvim1978 from my home town of Bedford. He is really into Splinterlands. The Hive community is very diverse and not everyone is obsessed with crypto. @mcsamm moved to the UK from Ghana where he was part of the project to build a number of boreholes to get clean water to villages. It sounds like Hive is being well promoted there. Thanks to @guiltyparties for connecting us.
Much coffee was drunk and some of us had pizzas from the place next door. I always find that others know about aspects of Hive that I am not into. There is too much going on for any of us to keep track of.
We had to leave before the actual gig, but we did get to hear the soundcheck. Tim had some impressive gear there. I hope it went well. I had a good journey home without having to wait around too long.
I hope there will be other opportunities to meet up next year. As I always say, it just needs someone to name a time and place. We are a decentralised community and you do not need permission. I may set up a walk in my area when the weather is suitable. We can take some photos and talk as we walk, perhaps ending at a pub. I could get some of my local Hive friends to come to that.
Hive five!