High flying aircraft over Shepherds Bush at 1618 on 21 January 2011.

Portsmouth is going to be the venue for the next gathering of WordPress publishers, designers and developers based in the United Kingdom.

The gathering will be the follow-up to WordCamp UK 2010.

The decision was taken by the WordCamp UK mailing list following the venue bidding process.

The winning bid, proposed by Rich Boakes, is for the event to be held at University of Portsmouth on the weekend of 16-17 July 2011.

The runner-up bid was by John Read for Buckinghamshire New University.

The mailing list took a survey on the bids, and only one vote seperated the result – an indication of the excellance of both proposals.

I’m happy to be once again coordinating the organisation of the event – you can find out more at the WordCamp UK wiki.

Wikipedia is ten years old.

The Netroots UK conference, held on Saturday 8 January 2011, was an interesting day, consisting of plenary and workshops sessions.

The only disappointing element was the final plenary session, which, I think, should have pulled together the various elements of the day and outlined a common way forward. Instead a rather rambling session seemed to fizzle out and merge into the post event social.

However, still looking forward to the second Netroots UK.

Saturday snow in Shepherds Bush.

Just started snowing in Shepherds Bush – and it’s sticking!

Over the next month the decision will be made on the venue for WordCamp UK 2011.

This follows a bidding process, during which submissions have been made which aim to meet or exceed the 2011 venue requirements.

The two bids are:

• High Wycombe – John Read has proposed accommodating the event at the Buckinghamshire New University.
• Portsmouth – Rich Boakes has bid to hold the event at the University of Portsmouth.

The WordCamp UK mailing list (registration required) will be considering the bids and selecting a winner by 17 January 2011.

More details are on the WordCamp UK wiki.

Please note the final name of the event, the follow-up to WordCamp UK 2010, will be subject to change.

I’ve been rewatching the updated, contemporary, witty, knowing, intricate, stylish, brilliant, modern, reinvented, exciting, fun, imaginative, enjoyable, excellent, fantastic, brilliant, intriguing, wonderful, gripping, thrilling, entertaining, engaging, clever, gripping BBC series of Sherlock.

Definitely one of the best television series of 2010.