Click here if you wish to go directly to the full gallery of images from the evening.
It feels like an age since I was last at a business networking event. The combination of my portfolio career taking me to different places, the ongoing presence of Covid, and the number of networking events that take place at times that don’t work for me has meant that I’ve been limited in my ability to get out and meet people since I moved back to Leicester.
Another Leicester quirk that I’ve noticed is that a lot of events that I want to attend take place in the final week of the month. I’ve missed a number of significant events in the past few months because of a clash of dates.
This past Thursday though, at the Leicestershire Business Networking Group, I had a wonderful time for a multitude of reasons.
Firstly, there was the location:
That’s right – a beer festival. Not only that but a beer festival in a venue that was a ten-minute stumble walk from my house. It was my first time at the Leicester Lions RFC but it has a beautiful clubhouse and the staff were friendly and welcoming.
Upon arrival, guests were presented with their tickets for the festival, and tokens to exchange for either beer or food.
The event was raising money for local charity Prostaid. These fantastic selfie boards were provided and they provided plenty of entertainment later in the evening.
Speaking of entertainment, Songs by Charlotte provided the auditory backdrop, performing classics and modern-day favourites to an appreciative audience.
I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a networking event where so many people were so consistently smiling. Upon reviewing my photographs at home I don’t think I found more than one or two without most people smiling from ear-to-ear!
And of course, there were lots of laughs too.
There were numerous other reasons as to why this event was enjoyable too – not least the effectiveness of the networking. Within one five-minute period, I was invited to three other networking groups, and over the course of the night I had wonderful, authentic conversations with a range of people.
Check out the full gallery of images to get an idea of the atmosphere. I’ve made the watermarked images available for free for those that may wish to use them on social media. If you would like to purchase the full-resolution images all proceeds from these sales will be donated to Prostaid.
I had an incredibly enjoyable night and I’ll definitely be back. Huge thanks to Rob Spence from Paragon Sales Solutions for having me, and for putting on such a wonderful night!
