I’m keen to give credit where it’s due but, like an Oscars acceptance speech, (or a follow friday listing) that could get very long and very dull. There are however, some people I cannot fail to mention – simply because I would feel incredibly guilty about it! Those are Jonathan Pollinger (head organiser), all the people from Grow, and the good folks at Firehoop, who (with the exception of myself) were responsible for the live broadcast which streamed to 185 countries.

I spoke with some lovely people, drank some delightful sultana daiquiris, ate some delicious half price Nasi Goreng without the pork and generally had a good time. A quick look at the Twitter stream today suggests that all 141 of the other people who attended had similarly fun experiences.

So – what do we think – can next year’s be even better? And will a new Cheltonian take on Jonathan’s mantle?

The Twestival venue is D’Fly and there will be live music and entertainment to keep the party atmosphere going. Finer details are still being negotiated but we expect to have tickets on sale towards the end of February so look out on our blog and Twitter page for updates.

Naturally, there is also a Cheltenham Twestival website and you can email any queries you have to chelttwestival@gmail.com. If you’d like to support the Twestival with fundraising, raffle prize donation or sponsorship please get in touch – it would be great to have you on board! 

You can also find Cheltenham Twestival on Facebook and Twitter!

Finally, big thanks to Jonathanfor organising and further thanks to the rest of the Cheltenham Twestival support team Adrian, Elliott, Chris and, er, me.

First Prize – @Tapbusdev (Also known as Mike Payton)
Second Prize – Mike and Ann

So, is Mike a lucky name?  Congratulations to all our winners. Mike has won the afternoon tea for two at Pepper Crescent and Mike and Ann will receive a bottle of champagne from Firehoop.

As you can see, Mike is on Twitter so we’ll be Tweeting to let him know. Mike and Ann aren’t on Twitter so I guess I’ll have to give them a call or something. What’s that about?

Winners can claim their prize at the next café event, which we are currently planning for mid May. If you can’t make it or you simply can’t wait that long please let us know and we’ll arrange alternative delivery.

As I tweeted the other day, the funds have been sent to Concern Worldwide. It wasn’t a massive amount, but it will make a significant impact so thanks to everybody for joining in. We feel confident that the next annual Global Twestival Event will be bigger and better as we’ll know what we’re doing by then!

In the meantime, look out for our updates about the next Café event which should be in May.

We’d also like to wish @hojomo good luck with his first ever Costwold Jelly on the 9th April and @rich_copy for his next DigiTalks event on the 20th May.

It’s been a busy morning for us so far and we’re not yet in a position to reveal how much was raised for Concern or who the lucky raffle winners are! Don’t worry – it’s not forgotten – and we will let you know all the details soon.

I had a great time, and I think that between us, the whole team did a good job of working the room and getting to know our café enthusiasts. Hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves – the feedback so far has been very positive!

If anyone is struggling to remember a name or (more likely) a Twitter ID from the attendees last night please let us know and we’ll try to help.

Come again?If you have any ideas or suggestions that could benefit our next café event please get in touch! We are keen to keep them coming (but not clashing with DigiTalks!) so your input is very welcome, whether it’s a suggested date or a cake request.

You can add a comment, email us, or tweet.

You can also tweet members of the organising team individually if you have a specific query for your favourite SMC MC. We are Rachel, Chris and Karen.

Yeti vox pops and other coverage

Our big cheese Chris was interviewed last night by the lovely and helpful chaps at 10 Yetis. We’re looking forward to seeing their coverage of the event and if you follow them on Twitter you can keep your eyes peeled for it too!

If anyone else is blogging or has pictures of the event please let us know. Good or bad, the feedback is valuable as well as interesting and possibly embarrassing (for Chris).

Now then, that’s enough waffle from me. It’s time to start planning and looking forward to the next one!