IBM Power Users

On 23 June we will be gathering at the Star of Kings for some Postgres and a pint. This time we'll have a talk by **Andreas Karlsson** from Percona on **Stopping Collations Going Wrong**, followed by a brief recap from **Alastair Turner** (Percona) and **Valeria Kaplan** (Data Egret) on **this year's PGConf.DEV**, where the PostgreSQL community celebrated its 30th birthday. This event is generously sponsored by [Nexteam](https://nexteam.co.uk/), a London-based consultancy specialising in PostgreSQL-based solutions, database support, and bespoke software development. We are a very informal bunch, so hoping to see you and your colleagues there! We do need to know the numbers, so please register if you are planning on coming. WHERE The Star of Kings **on 23, June from 18:30.** PROGRAMME 18:30 Welcome 19:00 **Stopping Collations Going Wrong** (Andreas Karlsson, Percona) - More below! 19:45 Food and bar snacks 20:00 **Celebrating 30 Years of Postgres at PGConf.DEV** (Alastair Turner, Percona & Valeria Kaplan, Data Egret) 20:30 It's a pub, so we'll stay and hang out a bit longer — but feel free to leave whenever you prefer! About The Talk **Stopping Collations Going Wrong** Outside of causing trouble for you when upgrading libc what are collations good for? PostgreSQL's collations have gotten a lot of bad press from the upgrade issues but they are also a powerful and important tool, especially for working with text in other languages than English. This talk will give an introduction to collations in PostgreSQL, including how to use them, what they are useful for, how they work plus some common pitfalls and misunderstandings. You will learn, among other things, about the three collation providers (libc, icu, builtin), BCP 47, case insensitive collations, CTYPEs, what new features have been introduced in recent PostgreSQL versions and get a brief look into the future of collations in PostgreSQL. About The Speaker **Andreas Karlsson** is application developer and long time minor contributor to PostgreSQL who recently has started working with PostgreSQL full time. Right now working for Percona with PostgreSQL itself and extensions, including pg_tde. \*\*\* THE OFFICIAL BITS The meet-up abides by [PostgreSQL Code of Conduct](https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/coc/). Postgres, PostgreSQL and the Slonik Logo are trademarks or [registered trademarks of the PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada](https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/trademarks/), and used with their permission.

**Tue Badminton 7-9pm @ Tower Building** **Fee £12 for 2 hours (payable in advance upon booking)** **3 courts in the Tower Building** Feather shuttlecocks will be supplied. Please bring your own racquets. **Payment details:** **\*\*\*Please pay in advance upon booking or at least 24h in advance before the session. Unpaid bookings will be removed from the list.\*\*\*** **REVOLUT BANK ACCOUNT** **Name: LM BADMINTON LTD** **Account Number: 19226405** **Sort Code: 23-01-20** **Reference: 'YOUR MEETUP NAME & DATE ie 270126'** \*No cash\* Please use your profile name and date of session as payment reference, so that it can be identified. To ensure fair access to the session, anyone who signs up but does not make payment 24h in advance will have their places cancelled and offered to other players. **Waiting List Update:** When the event is full, there will be a waiting list for players to put their names on. Once a spot becomes available, i.e. another member cancels, the first person on the waiting list will be added to RSVP automatically. As such, the person will be sent an automated email confirming so. For those who do not wish to be added automatically, please remove your name from the waiting list. Please cancel waitlist 24 hours before the event if made other plans, as meetup will push you to attending list if spot opens up. We charge on spot basis. **Late Cancellations Penalty:** If you cancel with less than 24 hours notice it is your responsibility to liaise with those on the waiting list and find a replacement. If you do then no penalty but if you don’t find a replacement you pay 50% of the session fee, raising to 100% on the second late cancelation. You MUST also inform the organisers who your replacement is. **No Show Fees:** Full fee will be added to the profile on the next visit. **Contacts:** The best way to get in touch is through meetup as your message will get picked up by the designated organiser for the chosen event. Otherwise please use WhatsApp to message us. Email: badmclub@gmail.com uni_badm1nton@yahoo.co.uk Primary: Vinh 07974 177707 Secondary: Nikita 07585 954797 **Disclaimer:** Organisers or LondonMet University can accept no liability for any loss or injury, however sustained, while taking part in club activities. If you want to cover yourself against injury to yourself or others, please make sure you have the appropriate insurance. In the interest of health and safety, proper footwear is a must in this club which means no casual footwear and no barefoot on the court.

**Please note this is an offline event with limited space. RSVP only if you will be able to attend in person. If you want to watch the live streaming, please RSVP to our [Online Event](https://www.meetup.com/producttank-london/events/315231290/?utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=share-btn_savedevents_share_modal&utm_source=link&utm_version=v2&member_id=347816072)**. **Also, this event will not include catered food.** **\-\-\-\-\-\-\-** The "Product Manager" has never fit one mould, and AI is pulling the seams apart faster than ever. The consulting PM with the polished decks, the big tech PM optimising a metric three layers deep, the engineer-turned-PM still half in the codebase—these archetypes shape how we hire, coach, and judge PMs, but they were always more caricature than craft. This month we put them on the table and ask what's still true. Our speakers share their own journeys and talk candidly about how the role is shifting as AI moves from a roadmap item to a collaborator in the work itself. Expect honest stories over tidy frameworks, and a real look at how the role mutates depending on where you sit. **Our speakers:** [Kiran Virdee](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kvirdee/) \- Head of Product @ Accenture UK [Stephen Down](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-down-3b824146/) \- Senior Product Manager @ Channel 4 [Valeria Stromtsova](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lerastromtsova/) \- Product Owner @ myenergi As always we will close our meet-up with a candid discussion and Q&A. This event is sponsored by Accenture UK. **Location:** Accenture, 30 Fenchurch St, London EC3M 3BD, UK Wembley Meeting Hall, 5/F **Timings:** 6:30 - Doors open 7:00 - Talk starts / streaming starts 8:00 - Q&A 8:30 - Q&A Finish 9:00 - Close Please note that the event will also be live-streamed on our YouTube channel and images will be taken throughout the evening. To keep up-to-date with our upcoming talks, follow our [LinkedIn page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/producttanklondon) and our [YouTube channel.](https://www.youtube.com/c/MindtheProductTV) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- By attending this event, you agree to give permission for any photos taken during the event to be used for promotional purposes, give permission for your name and surname to be used for registration purposes, and agree to be contacted by email by ProductTank.

**BOOK HERE**: https://sportas.co.uk/games/45404 **Game Description:** Come and play Tuesday evenings Lower-Intermediate volleyball session in Poplar 🔥 Picturesque court with plenty of serving space and also space to stay warm on the side when your team is off waiting for the next game 🙌 **Rules** 3 teams of 6 Games to 15 points

Vibe Coding Collective is a global community helping anyone turn ideas into working software with AI. We host relaxed social coding jams in bars, cafés, and maker spaces. Whether you're a developer or have never written a line of code, you'll fit right in! ​On June 23, we're teaming up with [Momen](https://momen.app/?utm_source=luma) for a special edition about building full-stack with vibes. It is the visual backend, that seamlessly turns front-end "vibes" from tools like Cursor or Lovable into scalable databases, AI workflows, and secure, production-ready architectures. ## ​Format 🛠️ ​We team up in small groups of 3-4. ​You'll start by designing and laying out your app by hand, dragging and dropping the screens, deciding how it should look and feel. Then you go from there to vibe-coded backends, including databases, workflows, AI agents, and logins. By the end you've gone from a blank canvas to a real, working app with a brain behind it. ​The goal is to vibe, and learn from each other. ## ​New to vibe coding? ✨ ​No worries. We provide simple starter ideas and example prompts so even total beginners can dive straight in without stress. ## ​Schedule 🕒 ​19:00 — Welcome 19:05 — Intro from the Momen team 19:15 — Live workshop: Building a challenge app with Momen 19:45 — Challenge briefing & team formation 20:00 — Build time 21:00 — Optional demos (show what you made!) 21:30 — Hang out, network, make friends ## ​Who is it for? ​Anyone! Curious coders, tinkerers, designers, founders, AI-curious folks, and developers. If you've ever wanted to take an idea all the way to a real, full-stack app without writing code, you belong here. ## ​What to bring ​- Laptop 💻 \- Vibes ⚡ ## ​Location 📍 ​Brewhouse and Kitchen Highbury 2A Corsica St, N5 1JJ, London ## ​About Vibe Coding Collective ​We're an international community of 3,500+ members across 9 countries, running relaxed social coding jams where everyone leaves with something they built. ​🌟 No pressure, no gatekeeping. Just good people, fun ideas, and some fast-paced collaborative building. ​Spots are limited and our events fill up fast, so RSVP early! ​#AI #vibecoding #AItech #LondonAI #social #fun #socialdrinking

**Kindly note that this is a paid event and the average number of attendees for our events is 60-70 people. You can register on [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-connector-exclusive-business-networking-at-homehousestudio-tickets-1989395668999?aff=meetup]( https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-connector-exclusive-business-networking-at-homehousestudio-tickets-1989395668999?aff=meetup)** London Connector® brings entrepreneurs, investors & founders together for premium hosted business networking at HomeHouseStudio, London **What is London Connector® at HomeHouseStudio?** London Connector® at HomeHouseStudio is a premium, fully hosted business networking event held at one of London's most exclusive private members clubs. It brings together entrepreneurs, investors, founders, and professionals for high-quality networking, curated introductions, and meaningful business conversations. **Who should attend this London networking event?** This event is ideal for: * Entrepreneurs and startup founders seeking investment or collaboration * Investors looking to connect with emerging businesses * Business professionals expanding their professional network in London * Anyone exploring partnerships, business opportunities, or professional growth **What can attendees expect?** Attendees experience a curated, results-driven networking environment inside HomeHouseStudio private members club. The fully hosted format removes the awkwardness of traditional networking, replacing it with structured introductions and organic, high-value conversations — all in a premium London setting. **What makes London Connector® different from other London networking events?** London Connector® goes beyond the event itself. A few days before each event, an exclusive WhatsApp group is created for confirmed attendees, allowing entrepreneurs, founders, and investors to introduce themselves, arrange meetings, and begin building relationships before they arrive — so attendees feel part of the community from day one. **Key Details at a Glance:** * **Format:** Fully hosted, curated networking * **Venue:** HomeHouseStudio, London (private members club) * **Attendees:** Entrepreneurs, investors, founders, business professionals * **Pre-event access:** Exclusive WhatsApp networking group * **Availability:** Limited tickets — advance booking required * **Media notice:** Photos and videos may be captured for social and promotional use **Why book a ticket to London Connector®?** London Connector® is consistently ranked among the most engaging business networking events in London for professionals who want connections that convert into real opportunities — from partnerships and investment to clients and collaborations. 🎟️ **Tickets are limited. Book now to secure your place.** **📸 Event Disclaimer** Photos and videos may be taken during the event for use across our social media channels and promotional materials. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 🎟️ **Limited tickets available – book now to secure your place at this exclusive London business networking event.** * [United Kingdom Events](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom/events) * [Greater London Events](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom--greater-london/events) * [Things to do in London](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/ttd/united-kingdom--london) * [London parties](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom--london/party) * [London Business parties](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom--london/business--party)

**Join us on June 23rd for the Stripe London developer meetup. This is an in-person event for anyone building with Stripe. An evening focused on Stripe user experiences, product insights, best practices, and community.** 🍕🍺 **Perks** Food, drink provided! **🎫 Tickets** There is a hard limit for RSVP :) Wait list will be operating on Meetup. **📍Location** The event is hosted at Stripe's London offices near Liverpool St station. **🕚 Rough timings** * 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm: Doors open with refreshments * 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm: Talks and Q&A * 7:45 pm - 8:00 pm: Drinks, food, and networking **📣 Talks** 1. **Enabling Crypto in Stripe - from pay-ins to pay-outs,** Ana Andres del Valle 2. **What developers need to know about payments** \- Allison Farris\, Developer Advocate at Stripe Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the Stripe community. **You must bring a government issued photo ID.** [Stripe developer code of conduct.](https://stripe.com/legal/developer-code-of-conduct)g

Sunday rehearsal with Castellers of London. Meet us at the OBC Community Centre to help build human towers! This get together is a great opportunity for you to meet new friends, socialise and have a go and explore your abilities as a human tower builder a.k.a Casteller! For newcomers we have a team of trained Castellers who will introduce you to the group, guide you through the activity and help you safely take part in this unique Catalan tradition. When you arrive just approach us as we are really friendly! If in doubt ask for Cuss! Please let us know if you are bringing guests. After the rehearsal we go to a nearby pub for social drinks where everyone is welcome :) What do you need? 1. Ideally a cotton shirt: to protect your neck and shoulders, the more durable the shirt/top the better. We do not recommend any thin items of clothing! 2. Jeans: allowing you to move freely without breaking. 3. Mask: We still require the use of a mask as you will be very close to your fellow Castellers - basically you will be hugging people! The rest of the equipment is on us! We take health and safety very seriously, both in relation to COVID-19 and also the activity- please be assured that the safety of all participants is of the utmost importance to us and we take all necessary precautions to minimize the risk, ensuring we all have a great time! Our regular members won't be filling in the Meet Up to say they are going 🙂 So don't be put off if you see only a handful have said they are going. A minimum of 25 on the day is normal. What the Meet Up may show is how many new people like yourself are going.

**Hello There! And welcome to our June Gophers @ Meta event!** It's immensely exciting that we'll be visiting Meta for our June event, but with great big office comes great responsibility, so it is **CRITICAL THAT YOU HEED THESE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS!** * You MUST bring Government Issued Photo ID with you, matching the name with which you sign up to this event * You MUST complete the NDA that will be emailed to you in advance of the event, before arrival * You MUST be over 18 years old * You MUST NOT record when inside the venue * You MUST wear the lanyard provided to you on the night at all times And needless to say, if you satisfy all of those criteria and manage to make it through security without being tackled, you MUST have a lovely time otherwise you know I'll be giving you a hard stare. A massive thank you to Meta for hosting! See you all there! ==== 📓 **Agenda**📓 ===== (Certain timings and orders may be subject to change) **5:30pm onwards:** Sign-In, Food & Refreshments **6:55pm:** Introduction **7:00pm:** 🗣️ **Jon Bodner: Testing Go: From the Basics to synctest** Testing is fundamental to software engineering and as a language focused on software engineering, Go includes a wide variety of tools to ensure your code is working as expected. I’ll walk through the basics of testing in Go, and then cover some of the more advanced tools: benchmarking, fuzzing, and the new synctest package. **7:40pm:** Raffle and Break **8:00pm: 🗣️** **Oleg Obleukhov: Time @ Meta** Discover how Meta uses Go to build PTP and NTP - open-source, highly efficient time synchronization systems that achieve nanoseconds precision. **8:30pm:** Break **8:40pm: 🗣️** **Simon Emms: Failure Happens. Your Code Shouldn't Care** As Gophers, we expect our code to be retried, restarted and run more than once. The challenge is making that safe and maintainable without layers of defensive plumbing. Temporal lets us write reliable workflows in Go that automatically recover from crashes and restarts, while still looking and feeling like normal Go code. In this talk, I’ll explain how it works and prove it with a live demo that treats failure as just another code path. **9:10pm:** Raffle Winners! **9:30pm:** Pub / Socialize ==== 🎉 **Prizes & Discounts!** 🎉 ===== **JetBrains Raffle!** \- We have 3 free JetBrains Product licenses to give away to some of our lucky attendees\! **Ardan Labs Raffle!** \- We're giving away one course license for Ardan Labs' Ultimate Go Bundle\! **Manning Publications Raffle!** \- We're giving away 4 free Go e\-books\! **45% Manning Publications Discount** \- a massive discount provided by the fine people at Manning\! You can also support London Gophers Events by purchasing via our affiliate link [HERE](https://mng.bz/oKqM) \- Use Code "**LGMeetup45**" for 45% off! **GopherConUK Raffle!** \- We're giving away one free ticket\!\!\! **10% GopherConUK Discount** \- The lovely people over at GopherConUK have provided a discount code for [GopherConUK 2026](https://www.gophercon.co.uk/tickets)! At checkout, use code "**GCUK26LGM"** for 10% off! ==== 💡 **Priority Queue** 💡 ===== We reserve 20% of the attendee spots at our events for those who are underrepresented in tech. If they join the waitlist and there is a reserved spot open they will be bumped into going! These spots are reserved until the last Sunday before the event. How do we define underrepresented? We use public surveys done by the tech community such as the ones linked below. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#section-demographics https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/devecosystem-2022/#gender-and-development ==== [📢](https://emojipedia.org/loudspeaker/) **Become a Speaker!** [📢](https://emojipedia.org/loudspeaker/) ===== Have something to say? We want to listen! We are always looking for new speakers who want to share their adventures with Go and have mentors who can help. You can sign up to be a speaker here: https://gophers.london/apply ==== 🧳**Looking For a New Adventure?** 🧳 ===== On the Gophers Slack (https://gophers.slack.com) there is a **#london-jobs** channel where company and recruiters can post job opportunities. ==== [📞](https://emojipedia.org/telephone-receiver/) **How To Reach Us** [📞](https://emojipedia.org/telephone-receiver/) ===== **Email:** contact@gophers.london **Linkedin:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-gophers/ **Twitter / X:** https://x.com/LondonGophers **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/c/LondonGophers 📜 **All London Gophers events operate under the Go Community Code of Conduct** \- https://golang\.org/conduct * **Treat everyone with respect and kindness.** * **Be thoughtful in how you communicate.** * **Don’t be destructive or inflammatory.** **Please do not message members without their consent** If you encounter an issue, please mail contact@gophers.london or conduct@golang.org

**A fresh take on dating for straight and LGBTQIA+ singles in their 30s, 40s and 50s, brought to you by LoMAZ. We visit a museum on the last Friday of each month, before heading to the pub.** This month, join us for a relaxed evening of conversation and connections at the **British Museum**. It's just like a usual LoMAZ event except for one thing: everyone there will be single. Come for friendship, come for dates, come along! **HOW DOES IT WORK?** **6.00 - 6.40pm: MEET AND GREET IN GAIA FOOD & DRINKS (OPPOSITE THE MAIN MUSEUM ENTRANCE).** Gaia Food & Drinks, 62 Great Russell St, WC1B 3BG. [Map.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/n1TuSPALDCXZthuP7) We will then go to the museum \*Look out for LoMAZ hosts wearing a 'host' sticker in a yellow frame and they will welcome you. * You can choose to wear a LoMAZ logo sticker (indicating you are straight) or a LoMAZ rainbow sticker (indicating you are LGBTQIA+), or you can wear both stickers. Wearing stickers means everyone can see who is part of the group and helps you find us as we move around the museum. If you see someone with a LoMAZ sticker, feel free to chat to each other. **6.45-7.40: EXPLORE THE MUSEUM** \*We will explore the museum together. We will be visiting room 1 which is the Enlightenment Gallery. There is a pop-up board game lounge with Japanese board and card games you might like to try. Hosts will always be there to chat to, and there will be an optional activity. **7.45: MEET TO WALK TO THE PUB**\- We will meet under the canopy outside\, to the right of the main exit at the top of the stairs \(Great Russell Street entrance\) **8pm - late:** **PUB SOCIAL: Penderel's Oak pub** * We'll carry on the evening in the Penderel's Oak pub (High Holborn), 283-288 High Holborn, London WC1V 7HP [Map.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/t8D5FK6AfSTX2GZx8) \*As this is a free event, we can't afford to book a private space. The pub we are going to does not accept table bookings after 5pm, therefore we do not have a reserved area. So please expect some standing and mingling. We will probably be on the ground floor. [https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/late-opening-on-fridays](https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/late-opening-on-fridays) **TICKETS:** We have booked tickets for the group: if you wish to use one of our tickets, you will need to enter the museum with a LoMAZ host **CONTACT ON THE NIGHT:** * **We'll update where the group is throughout the evening in the event comments.** \*You can also message a host via Meetup if you have questions or any difficulties finding us. * Lates for Dates events do *not* have a WhatsApp group. **PLEASE NOTE:** \*LoMAZ events are hosted by volunteers. Please change your RSVP if you can no longer attend. * This is a mixed orientation event. Let’s keep it friendly and respectful—please report any concerns to the hosts or Meetup. \*All attendees at this meetup are coming as individuals and are responsible for their own security, and health and safety. Please check the Meetup Help section and British Museum for their policies. **Thank you for your interest in the LoMAZ and our Museum Lates for Dates event.** Image credit: Eric Pouhier, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

**Join us for a visit to London Museum Docklands**, **which tells the fascinating story of London's docks and their profound impact on the city.** The museum is set in a refurbished 200-year-old sugar warehouse and reveals the long history of the capital as a port through stories of trade, migration and commerce, from Roman settlement to Docklands' regeneration. Themed state-of-the-art galleries such as ‘London, Sugar & Slavery’ and ‘Warehouse of the World’ take you on a chronological tour of the port. London's transformation into a global trading hub, the impact of immigration on its cultural tapestry, and the crucial role the docks played in wartime resilience are all highlighted in the galleries spread over three floors. Explore the dark alleyways of London’s Sailortown, an immersive display which recreates the atmosphere of the ramshackle London district, close to the docks, in the mid 19th century. Discover the recent history of the thriving area we now know as the Docklands and how, just over half a century ago, it was a derelict wasteland after the closure of London’s upriver docks. **Read more here:** **[link to website](https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/docklands/free-galleries/)** **MEET DETAILS:** **FROM 1:30pm: LONDON MUSEUM DOCKLANDS CAFE (optional)** **Address:** Ground floor cafe, London Museum Docklands, No. 1 Warehouse, Hertsmere Road, London, E15 4AL **2:15pm: ENTER THE MUSEUM** **Address:** London Museum Docklands, No. 1 Warehouse, Hertsmere Road, London, E15 4AL **4.00pm: PUB (optional)** We'll head to **[The Ledger Building pub](https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/the-ledger-building-docklands)** for a social chit-chat. **Address:** 4 Hertsmere Road, West India Quay, London, E14 4AL *We're not able to book tables at this pub, but it has a lot of indoor and outdoor space, so we hope to find tables together.* **TICKETS:** General admission is **free,** with no need to book in advance. **GETTING THERE:** **[https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/docklands/](https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/docklands/)** **EVENT WHATSAPP GROUP:** Please join the event WhatsApp group to help you find the group on the day. The link will be posted in the Event Comments 48 hours before the event, for those on the confirmed Attendees list. *NB* *Joining this WhatsApp group will make your phone number visible to other members in the group.* **PLEASE READ:** LoMAZ events are run by volunteers. This event has an attendee limit as we prefer a smaller, friendlier group. If you RSVP but can no longer attend, please change your RSVP as soon as possible, **otherwise you will be marked as a 'no show'.** We remove members from the group who: * repeatedly sign up for events then 'no show'. * repeatedly change their RSVP to 'No'. * are on the event waitlist or have not RSVPd but turn up anyway. Please see the **[About Us section](https://www.meetup.com/london-museums-a-z-for-30s-40s/)** for more information about the group and how it works. **Thank you for your interest in the group & being part of LoMAZ.** 📸 Follow LoMAZ on **[Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/londonmuseumsatoz/)** Image credit: Museum of London Docklands by Chris Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

**!! Please make sure you get a ticket via Luma as spots are very limited!!** If you want to go from “playing with AI” to shipping real agentic workflows in one evening? Join the London Agentic AI Hack Night on 25 June 2026. Build voice agents, workflow automations & multi-agent systems * Free BimpeAI platform credits + infra * 90 minutes of focused building * Lightning demos judged by pros from Google, Meta, BimpeAI & Byteplus Networking + food in a vibrant Old Street venueOpen to developers, engineers, founders, designers & creative technologists (beginners welcome if you’re ready to build). **[https://luma.com/dnoe595m](https://luma.com/dnoe595m)**

Join us for our 150th #WPLDN event! It's a milestone we're quietly proud of: 150 free, community-driven WordPress-focused events, and we'd love to share this one with you. This month, we're looking at WordPress from two very different but complementary angles. First, Raquel Manriquez asks the question most of us avoid: Who are you really, and why does owning that answer make you a steadier, sharper business owner? Then Paul Halfpenny digs into what WordPress 7.0 and its new Abilities API mean for how we build, and why this quiet change might matter more than the headlines suggest. 📅 **Date:** Thursday, 25 June 2026 ⏰ **Time:** 6:00 PM BST 🎟️ **Cost:** Free (Registration Required) \-\-\- **Session 1: Owning Your Why: The Only Constant in a World of Change** 🤝 **Speaker:** Raquel Manriquez ([PressConf](https://pressconf.events)) The only constant in your business isn't the strategy, the stack, or the team; it's the why underneath them. In this candid session, Raquel moves from the question most of us avoid (who am I, actually?) to the business case for answering it: the boundaries that hold because you know what you're protecting, the decisions that come quickly because you're not weighing other people's opinions of you, and the steadiness of being someone, not just doing things. Raquel is the founder of WonderlandCurious, a tech event consultancy focused on people-first experiences, and previously founded and led the WooCommerce agency Mode Effect for a decade before exiting in 2020. Today, she channels that community experience into PressConf, a conference built around candid, unrecorded conversations among the leaders shaping the WordPress economy. \-\-\- **Session 2: Abilities, not chatbots: how WordPress 7.0 changes everything** 🤝 **Speaker:** Paul Halfpenny ([Filter](https://filter.agency)) WordPress 7.0 shipped on 20 May with the Abilities API in core. Quieter than the real-time collaboration headlines that got pulled, but more consequential. Abilities turn plugin capabilities into something AI assistants and automation tools can discover and invoke, with permissions intact. Paul walks through what changed, what it means for how we build plugins, and what's already running in production across Filter AI, Filter Abilities, and PersonalizeWP, plus a quick aside into whether AI assistants can find your site at all, and how to find out. Paul is the CTO and co-founder of Filter, a UK digital agency. He builds products including PersonalizeWP and Filter AI, leads technology transformation for a major UK brand, and speaks on practical AI, personalisation, tech strategy, and running an agency. \-\-\- **Schedule:** 🔹 **6:00 PM** – Doors Open & Networking 🔹 **6:30 PM** – Welcome & Session 1: Raquel Manriquez 🔹 **7:30 PM** – Short Break & Networking 🔹 **7:45 PM** – Session 2: Paul Halfpenny 🔹 **8:30 PM** – Social & Wrap-Up \-\-\- **📢 RSVP Now!** Don't miss this one. Whether you come for the honest conversation about why you do what you do, or for a clear-eyed look at where WordPress and AI are heading, there's plenty here to take away. Bring your questions for the Q&A, and stick around for the post-event social to raise a glass to 150 events. Secure your free spot today, and we'll see you there! \-\-\- **Venue Information** **The Bridge** is a charity supporting women to make positive choices and encouraging improvements to fitness, health, and wellbeing. The venue features a plant-based café (supplied by Girls Who Grind Coffee) and is just a 5-minute walk from London Bridge Station. \-\-\- **Massive thanks to our sponsors who make these free events possible:** [Filter](https://filter.agency/), [Kinsta](https://kinsta.com/), [Mollie](https://www.mollie.com/gb/integrations/woocommerce), and [PodcasterPlus](https://www.podcasterplus.com/?utm_source=wpldn&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=partnership). \-\-\- If you're interested in being a featured speaker at an upcoming event, we'd love to hear from you at [https://wpldn.uk/speak](https://wpldn.uk/speak). **🎥 - Media Release Terms** By attending, you understand and accept that portions of the event may have audio/photo/video-recorded and/or live-streamed and may be used by the organisers. You agree that the organisers have the right and permission to use and publish such media for any purpose in any format, including online and offline, now and ever after, without further compensation, permission, or notification. You understand that all official recordings from the event are the exclusive property of the organisers, available under the Creative Commons Attribution­ShareAlike license for general use, and you do not ask for nor expect compensation or notification of the use of official recordings or photographs in which you appear or speak. Please inform an organisational team member at the event's start if you do not wish to appear in photos or videos.

AI agents are getting better at writing software. That doesn’t mean the software is getting better. As AI systems become more autonomous, engineering teams face a different set of problems: unreliable outputs, untestable workflows, evaluation bottlenecks, and legacy systems that weren’t designed for any of this. At this Future Form session, we’re looking at what happens when agentic systems collide with production engineering reality. **Speakers:** **Ning Lu, VP, Aladdin Financial Engineering, BlackRock** Ning explores the evolving landscape of LLM evaluation. From static benchmarks to LLM-as-judge systems and agent trajectory review, he’ll break down how engineering teams can evaluate systems that don’t behave deterministically. **Katie Roberts, Technical Director & AI Native Specialist, Nearform** Katie will show how AI-native engineering can be applied inside mature brownfield systems. Using patterns like the Strangler Fig approach, she’ll explore how to isolate risk, generate tests for undocumented code, and evolve legacy architectures without full rewrites. If you’re working with AI agents, legacy systems, or production engineering workflows, this session is for you. Pizza, drinks, and practical AI insights included.

Come chat about Atlassian tools and best practices at the Reynoldsburg Sunny Street Cafe and Breakfast is on Atlassian! Let's get the day started off with breakfast with your ACE Leaders! We're always excited to talk about Atlassian Products, share our knowledge and hand out swag! Come chat with us about new product news and anything you are working on within the Atlassian product stack. This is a great opportunity to come see what we are all about, hear new business news and share with other Atlassian users your questions and experiences. We'd love to see new and old friends come out to chat and learn about Atlassian! Agenda --- Moderators Kimberly Deal - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Greg Sprowls - Columbus Atlassian Community Leader Hosted By Kimberly Deal, Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley, Chief Everything Greg Sprowls, Agility Lead --- Global Partner Atlassian (http://atlassian.com) Millions of users globally rely on Atlassian products every day for improving software development, project management, collaboration, and code quality. Partner Atlassian --- For over a decade, Atlassian customers have come together to network, share ideas, solve problems, and find new ways to use Atlassian products. Today, more than 15,000 people take part in Atlassian community events in more than 30 countries. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://ace.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-columbus-presents-rise-and-shine-with-atlassian-reynoldsburg-5/.

Get ready for a Picnic, this is our social and member appreciation event for the year! Feel free to bring family, but be sure to reach out with the number of attendees, so we can provide food for everyone. There will of course be food, music, games and fun! Event is held rain or shine, we have a covered shelter house reserved for the event. Agenda --- Moderators Kimberly Deal - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Greg Sprowls - Columbus Atlassian Community Leader Hosted By Kimberly Deal, Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley, Chief Everything Greg Sprowls, Agility Lead --- Global Partner Atlassian (http://atlassian.com) Millions of users globally rely on Atlassian products every day for improving software development, project management, collaboration, and code quality. For over a decade, Atlassian customers have come together to network, share ideas, solve problems, and find new ways to use Atlassian products. Today, more than 15,000 people take part in Atlassian community events in more than 30 countries. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://ace.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-columbus-presents-annual-columbus-ace-summer-picnic/.

**Improving Office in Franklinton** Physical location: Improving Office 330 Rush Alley Suite #150 Columbus, OH 43215 Schedule: 6:00 p.m.: Socialize, eat, and drink. Improving will be providing pizza and beverages. 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Main meeting and presentation(s). Topic: This month Chris Pazsint will be talking about Agentic Coding. How does one use CLI Based Agents, and Agentic IDEs such as Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity? How to include agentic coding plugins for IDEs you already love such as Visual Studio Code. We meet on the last Monday of each Month. Presentations are given by members and friends of this group. If you would like to do a presentation (small or large) on a python topic, please contact Central OH Python at centralohpython@gmail.com

We meet at lunch each week and each meeting follows a fairly organized agenda. First all participants pass their business cards around. Then each member and guest is invited to give a one-minute overview of their company and what is a perfect referral for the week. We always have a 10 minute presentation from one of the members about their business in more detail. And finally we pass referrals. You're welcome to visit. Nobody is ever put on the spot. Bring plenty of cards!

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Customize the IDE: Building Extensions for Visual Studio Code* Visual Studio Code is one of the most widely used development environments today, and much of its flexibility comes from its extension ecosystem. Extensions allow developers to customize the editor with new features, integrations, and workflow improvements tailored to their needs. In this session, we’ll cover what extensions are and the different types available, including full extensions written in TypeScript or JavaScript, along with lighter-weight extensions such as color themes, language packs, language support, code snippets, and keymaps. We’ll also look at practical reasons a developer might create an extension, from automating repetitive tasks to adding custom tooling. The session includes a hands-on walkthrough of creating a new extension, testing it locally, and understanding the basic project structure. We’ll close with a brief overview of how extensions are packaged and published to the Visual Studio Marketplace and other distribution options. **YouTube Link** TBD

**Latest Dojo Location!** **Knotty Pine Brewing** 1765 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 We're going to try a new dojo location for a few weeks and see how it works Dojos are informal Python group study sessions where everyone interested in Python gathers to learn about Python, help others with Python, or just hang out. Everyone is welcome from Python beginners to experts. Bringing a laptop is encouraged (we'll have extension cords and power strips). If there's something you want to learn leave a comment on this invite so we can plan ahead. We're looking for speakers for our Monthly Meetups! Fill out the form if you are interested in presenting to the Python Community. https://forms.gle/ehSfUAC2WgR34Crq9

Most people still use AI like a search box: type one question, get one answer, repeat. But the next step is AI agents: systems that can take a goal, break it into steps, use tools, remember context, and produce useful work for a human to review. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll demystify what AI agents actually are — without hype or jargon. We’ll walk through practical examples of how agents can help with research, planning, writing, coding, operations, and personal productivity. We’ll cover: * What makes an AI “agent” instead of just a chatbot * How agents break tasks into steps * Where agents are genuinely useful today * Where they fail, hallucinate, or need human review * How to design simple AI workflows for your own work * A live demo of an AI agent-style workflow from start to finish No coding experience required. This is for anyone who wants to understand where AI tools are going and how to use them more effectively right now. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.