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

Hi Architects, Welcome to our Fifth AWS London Well-Architected User Group Meetup!!! 🥳🥳🥳 Dragon Hall Trust, 17 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LT The AWS London Well-Architected Meetup is the latest chapter in the most popular AWS Meetup group globally. At each meetup we cover off various pillars of AWS best-practice in detail including insights from industry leaders that specialise in the Well-Architected Framework. We’ll be updating throughout the month with more speakers and our speakers so far this month include: * **Terraforming the Well-Architected Way: IaC Reviews That Actually Catch Risks** \| Alam Ahmed \[Managed Services Support Analyst\] from Boxxe * **Work Smarter: Tooling Strategies for a More Effective Well-Architected Review** \| James Harding \[Technical Customer Success Manager\] from AWS Partner Green Custard So come join us at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start, including drinks, snacks and friendly networking after our talks :-) Tired of Linkedin’s "thought leadership”, spam and advertising? Join https://well-architected.me/ , the AWS community built for architects, developers and cloud professionals. * Connect with experienced AWS practitioners * Preview upcoming AWS Meetups and relive past content * Create and review beautiful AWS case studies in minutes * Prepare for AWS certifications with curated quizzes * Show your manager and reports you’re well-architected (Please note that by registering to attend you agree to your details being shared as and where required with Amazon Web Services and AWS Well-Architected User Group partners)

**We are excited to invite you to our summer edition of DSL!** 💫 DSL #16 will happen on 25 June, organised by YLD and sponsored by NewDay. Our Eventbrite tickets are now sold out, but you can join our waitlist [here](https://dsl16.eventbrite.co.uk/). More information coming soon. Thank you to [YLD](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-systems-london-16-tickets-1989211510175?aff=oddtdtcreator) for organising and [NewDay](https://www.newday.co.uk/ "https://www.newday.co.uk/") for sponsoring this event. **Who are NewDay** At NewDay, their business is focused on a single, clear and defining purpose: to help people move forward with credit. NewDay provides nearly 5 million customers with responsible access to credit, underpinned by best-in-class customer service and exceptional user experience. Their in-house, highly scalable digital platform alongside their proprietary credit decisioning capability unlocks the competitive advantage. Their broad credit product offering enables instalment finance, BNPL, 0% finance and carded and digital revolving credit. NewDay operates multiple direct-to-consumer products and a range of credit solutions with some of the UK’s most loved brands. Their underwriting capability and experience allow them to responsibly say yes to more UK customers making them a merchant partner of choice. NewDay partners to harness the power of data to drive commerce across the UK, creating value at scale. **Who are YLD?** YLD turns digital investments into results by building what matters, delivering with impact, and making sure it lasts. Their product design, tech, and change experts work as one, applying AI where it shortens the path to value. With design at the heart, YLD brings clarity, puts users first, and shapes solutions that succeed from the start. YLD is hiring - check out the [job page](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-systems-london-16-tickets-1989211510175?aff=oddtdtcreator) Join the conversation on [LinkedIn](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-systems-london-16-tickets-1989211510175?aff=oddtdtcreator)

**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 **8:10pm: 🗣️** **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. **8:40pm:** Raffle Winners! **9:00pm:** Pub! ==== 🎉 **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

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.

**!! 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)**

**Please register on [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ljc-meetup-at-capital-one-tickets-1990857451229) to join this event.** LJC Meet-ups is a series of events, aimed at giving all Community members an opportunity to present at an LJC event. Join us on 25th June 2026 for a London Java Community meetup hosted at Capital One. **Speakers:** **Melinda Seckington** \- Leadership & Speaker Coach **Topic:** *See It, Say It, Sort It: How To Be More Proactive* It's really easy to fall into a reactive rhythm as an engineer. A ticket comes in. You pick it up. Someone else makes a decision. You adjust. Before you know it, you've spent weeks doing good work… but not necessarily shaping what that work is. The engineers who have the biggest impact aren't the ones who simply deliver. They're the ones who pay attention, spot opportunities early, and take action without waiting to be asked. Proactiveness is a skill, a mindset, and a practice. And it can be learned. In this talk, we'll look at a framework for proactiveness: Awareness + Intent + Action. We'll explore how you can increase your awareness of what's happening around you, clarify the impact you want to have, and recognise the blockers that stop you from taking the next step. **Speaker bio:** Melinda is a trainer and coach, working with engineering teams and leaders to improve their communication, management and collaboration skills. She previously was an engineering manager at companies such as the Wikimedia Foundation and FutureLearn, where she focused on creating great internal engineering cultures. She’s an international conference speaker and has spoken at over 50 conferences, covering topics from good management practices to becoming a better speaker. **Stephen Galbraith** \- Staff Engineer at Capital One **Topic:** From Fleeticide To Recovery: When Your Auto-Scaling Policy Becomes Your Worst Enemy Horizontal scaling sounds simple in a README, but the reality of a Spring Boot fleet on ECS can quickly turn into "Fleeticide.” We've all seen it: connection pools saturate, health checks flap, and suddenly your auto-scaling policy becomes an auto-failing policy. In this session, we go behind the scenes of a real-world challenge caused by lack of scaling. We'll dissect our initial assumptions and dive into the technical shifts that dramatically reduced downtime. We will move beyond "CPU/Memory 101" to look at: The Observability Gap: Tracking the "hidden" metrics (Thread pools, DB connections) that reveals how much headroom a service has. AWS Patterns for the Real World: Moving beyond basic CloudWatch alarms to custom metrics and predictive scaling that respects Spring Boot's startup overhead. Architecting for Elasticity: How to bake scaling-awareness into the developer workflow to prevent connection storms and cascading failures. **Speaker Bio:** Stephen Galbraith, Staff Engineer at CapitalOne. Steve has been at Capital One for 11 years and has used Java since the Java 1 days. He has worked on software for Computation Fluid Dynamics, Space Mission Analysis Software and Foreign Exchange Trading before moving into his current role at Capital One. Currently, Steve focuses on Site Reliability Engineering, specifically analysing software failures and developing preemptive solutions to increase service availability for Capital One's customers, aiming for the magical triple nine target. Huge thanks to our friends at **Capital One** for sponsoring this event and supporting our Community.

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.

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.