In March 2009, four fledgling twitterers met at Cafe Nero in Tunbridge Wells…

Roll on three years… and that initial meeting has became the Twuttle we know and love today. We’ve never actually counted the number of different people who have attended Twuttle, but estimates vary between 300 and 400!  And that doesn’t count the meetings that have followed in the Twuttle style – our very own ‘sister’ event Twuddle, and the meet-ups in the wider local area – Crowborough’s Cruddle, Sevenoaks’ Oakuddle and Skuttle, plus similar events in Tonbridge, Lewes and Edenbridge.

The place may have changed (we quickly outgrew Café Nero) but Twuttle still takes place every Wednesday morning at 10am until noon. The Trinity Theatre is the current home and we must say thanks to them for hosting the event – but we must also say a big thank you to past venues, which have included The Royal Wells, Pigwideon & Pye and Bean.

Three years on, and Twuttle is still the same ‘unstructured’ meet-up where people can simply chat and exchange thoughts & ideas. From these informal meetings many friendships and relationships (both business and personal) have been formed. It’s working as well now as it did at the very beginning, and for many, it is the cornerstone of their week.

If you’ve never attended, this could be the ideal opportunity! To celebrate our third anniversary, we are holding what we hope will be a record breaking meeting – let’s get more people to attend a single Twuttle than ever before! The THIRD ANNIVERSARY TWUTTLE will be held at the Trinity on the 7th March. It is your chance to not only to mingle with the Tunbridge Wells Twitterati but to become one yourself!

And did we mention there will be cake?!

(The hashtag for the event is #twuttle3 – please mention this in your tweets!).

The problem was that we didn’t get quite enough interest to make it a viable event for all parties.

Hopefully we can resurrect this in the new year.

On the 26th of October we will be holding a wine-tasting event at our new venue,  Pigwidgeon & Pye in Tunbridge Wells. Details:

• Date: 26 October 2011
• Venue: Pigwidgeon & Pye
• Time: 7.00 – 9.00 pm
• Cost: £5 per head

Our partners in this event are WineSimplicity.com, a new online wine retailer, whose offices are based in Tunbridge Wells and who are providing free wine tastings (there will be a number of wines to try).

The unique proposition of WineSimplicity.com is that they will only sell wines that have been endorsed by their Consumer Wine Tasting Panels. The wines you will be trying have already passed the approval stage and therefore will be featured on their website – www.winesimplicity.com (which is launching on 1^st November!). They are promising customers a ’100% double taste guarantee or your money back’. If you like any of the wines on the night you will be able to place orders with the team from WineSimplicity.com. Incidentally, none of their wines are available in supermarkets!

The food buffet will consist of a variety of eclectic dishes and will be supplied by our hosts, Pigwidgeon & Pye.

There is a small charge to cover the the cost of food preparation & venue staffing and as tickets are limited we need to know who is interested and, if possible, payment of the £5 as soon as possible. Please register below.

So, if you haven’t been to twuttle for a while, this is a perfect opportunity to come and see some old friends and check out the new venue.

This coming Tuesday (21st June) at 5.16pm (if Wikipedia is to be believed) it is the Summer Solstice – the moment in the year when the sun is at it’s highest point in the sky. To celebrate, we are having an impromptu Twuddle picnic!

Bring your own food and drink!

We’ll be there from 5pm (meet near the café), in time to catch the Solstice. Hopefully we’ll get to see the sun (mostly conspicuously absent this week). Feel free to bring games ~ frisbies, footballs ~ whatever you wish! Kids welcome…

At about 9pm, we’ll head to the pub (Royal Oak) for some liquid refreshment.

Obviously, all this is weather dependant (Royal Oak aside). Please use the twitter hashtag #twsolstice for updates or to post suggestions.

Who’s gonna be there?

PS. Also… if you play an instrument, feel free to bring that along too. What better way to herald the Summer (it is the Summer isn’t it?) with some music. Even ukelele owners are welcome! But banjos by special appointment only

This post is aimed at gathering as many views as possible on the matter. Are you in favour or against such a move?

You can also use this post to let us know what you think about Twuddle ~ your preferred evening, frequency, venue, etc.

Please remember, if you don’t leave a comment, then your opinion will go unnoticed. It is really important that everyone has their say, even if it is just a simple yes or no to the proposal.

Thank you!

What would you like to see happen over the next few months, here are some  suggestions. Which ones would you like to attend, what else would you like to see happen and, perhaps more importantly, which ones can you help with. These events only happen because someone makes it so!! Most events just need a champion, get a date and venue fixed, garner interest, make it happen! This list is far from exhaustive so if you have an idea, float it here and see who bites.

Arts & Crafts
The 4th Photowalk is almost certain to happen over the summer but details have yet to be sorted.

Food and Drink
BBQ – Alastair (taywell_online) has offered to host this but it needs to be organised.
Picnic – a casual (sunday afternoon?) meetup in Dunorlan Park (?) or perhaps on Royal Wedding day!
The Big Heat – A curry night run along the lines of The Big Slurp.
Twuddle Pub Crawl

Sport
Petanque was very successful last year and we would like to do this again.
Inter-group competition (twuddle, twuttle, cruttle, etc).

And of course there are loads of opportunities to just get together in an informal way! If you’re going to something like the Mela 2011 or a Pantiles Jazz evening then shout out and you might be able to create an impromptu twuddle.

So what would you like to do, how can you help? Let us know…

Many of you will know that, after two years, Rob O’Callaghan has had to step away from Twuttle so he can work on a new venture. This has been on the cards for some time so we’re lucky to have kept him for so long! But life goes on, as does Twuttle.

I would like to add my personal thanks to Rob because without his vision and tenacity, Twuttle – and maybe even it’s spin-off Twuddle – probably wouldn’t exist. They certainly wouldn’t be so successful. My own Tunbridge Wells Events probably wouldn’t exist either! It is largely down to Rob that Twuttle and Twuddle are taken seriously in the town; the Borough Council, the police, even our MP are all keen to talk to us.

It may look as if Twuttle and Twuddle run themsleves – but over the last two years Rob and Mike Goode have worked tirelessly (with the help of a few others)  arranging our many successful events, smoothing the way with our venues, running the various web activities such as this site, encouraging people to come to our bigger meetings and a whole lot more.

But, as I said, life goes on and there is a new King in town. And that King is YOU! Twuttle has created it’s own identity as a result of the people who have attended over the years, some have come and gone, some are still involved – but everyone has left their mark. Twuddle, while involving many of the same people also has a different identity. And I am sure the Crowborough (Cruddle) and Sevenoaks (both Skuttle and Oakuddle) meet-ups will be different again. All of these events and meet-ups are shaped by those who attend them.

So what is Twuttle? It’s perhaps not quite what was originally envisaged – which was ‘a space where like minded individuals could gather, share ideas and work together on their social media projects’ (Rob may correct me on this.) Although thinking about it, we are not far off this original aim. It’s much easier to say what we’re not – ie we are not a traditional business networking group. Because we are so successful we do attract some ‘old school’ networkers who are looking for quick business. But from what I have seen, these people receive fairly short shift and usually don’t come back. There are far better business networking groups for such people. On the other hand, those who appreciate an eclectic mix of social, community, technical (and occasionally business!) related chat will find Twuttle just their cup of tea – or coffee! Both of which are expertly served by our hosts, Paul and Viv, who run the Divinity Café at the Trinity Theatre. Thanks must go to them, and indeed the Trinity Theatre, for their continued support.

So Twuttle goes on. Without doubt it’s character will continue to change, influenced by the people who attend. Rob will certainly be missed, not only for what he has done, but also for his cheery and enthusiastic demeanour. But I am equally sure that come next Wednesday there will be 30 or more people at the Trinity café indulging in what Twuttle does best. – whatever that is!

Several people have volunteered to assist in running the group and I will be talking to them over the next week or so to see what help each person can offer. If you have any views on what works well, or what could be done differently, please use this post to let us know. Or alternatively, just grab me next Wednesday morning.

So it’s same time, same place… Twuttle lives on!

Dave Barnett

October 31st 2010 – 7.45 – The Pantiles

Gather at the Duke of York for a tour of the haunted corners of the Pantiles.

The tour takes about an hour and I am advised that it is not suitable for young children! I haven’t asked but I am sure dogs will be welcome,it will be interesting to see if they are more attuned to ghosts that the humans!

Fancy dress if you like and a visit to one of the haunted pubs afterwards.

There is a charge of £5 per person for the tour  payable on the night.

Can you please confirm you will be going,  so I have an idea of numbers. There may be  a limit on numbers (although I understand it is reasonably flexible) so first come, first servered!!

p.s. search for ‘ghosts on the pantiles’ on Google and what do you get.

Please note the venue for this event. It’s NOT Trinity. It’s upstairs at the Cafe Divine, in Castle Street.

And don’t forget to tweet about it, we are supposed to be meeting to discuss Social Media after all!!

Date: Wednesday 23rd December 2009
Time: 10.00 am to 12.00pm
Venue: Cafe Divine, Castle Street, Tunbridge Wells

Twuttle – a space where business, technical and social issues are discussed. Held at the Royal Wells Hotel on Mount Ephraim in Tunbridge Wells every Wednesday from 10.00am. Come and go as you please. All are warmly welcomed!

Twuddle – primarily a social meeting but where technical and business issues are also discussed. Held at the Royal Wells Hotel on Mount Ephraim in Tunbridge Wells every other Tuesday evening from 19:30, it’s a twuttle with a cuddle and a beer! Name of the game at Twuddle is to meet and greet and have fun, whether business or purely social. And as with Twuttle, all are welcome, whether you’re on Twitter or not.

Twiddle – a meeting where you are the only attendee, probably because you’ve gone to the wrong place. The only thing you can do is twiddle your thumbs!

Tweetabix – an early morning breakfast meeting, usually with a purpose.

Twouble – what you get when you attend too many twitter based meetings!