Red Hat

Please join us for an evening of all things Umbraco - the latest news, community chat, and a talk or two! For 2026, we will be running both in-person and virtual meetups, alternating every month. For those who can't join in person, virtual attendance is available too, so you can join us no matter where you are! This month, we have **Mike Masey** giving you a sneak peak of his Umbraco Spark talk where he uses Claude Code and SPECKL to create a web accessible tool for a brand contrast colour checker, and **Justin Neville** will be giving a demo of the new Umbraco AI integrations. There will also be food, drinks and some friendly socialising. What's not to like? 😄 Whether you are an Umbraco novice or a seasoned developer, this is your chance to meet like-minded people to talk about our favourite friendly CMS! No matter what your role is there will be something to learn and your chance to meet other members of the Umbraco community from Kent and the surrounding areas. Venue The meetup will be at Dragon Coworking in Rochester (7-8 New Road Avenue, St George's Hotel, Rochester, ME4 6BB), a short walk from Chatham train station and with free on-site parking. If you wish to use the car park, please access via Gundulph Road, Rochester, ME4 4ED. You can then use the steps between buildings to access the entrance. If the car park is full there is on road parking available, but please check the parking restrictions. On arrival, please make your way to St George's Hotel reception (where you access Dragon Coworking) and one of the organisers will come and collect you. **Please note: Do not bring bananas, nuts or pineapple into the coworking space as there are members with allergies.**

We are delighted to welcome guest speaker **François Hallac**, who will give a short talk on **Spinoza’s pantheism**. The talk will provide a starting point for a broader, open discussion of pantheism during the meeting. Spinoza invites us to rethink everything by identifying God with Nature: a single infinite Substance whose attributes—thought and extension—shape all that exists. Human beings are modes of this vast unity, our minds and bodies expressions of the same divine order. To live well is to actualise our essence through understanding our desires, for joy is the fruit of clarity. Like Descartes, Spinoza seeks clear and distinct ideas, yet he rejects dualism and embraces determinism: nothing is contingent, only misunderstood. Freedom arises when reason aligns us with Nature itself. In this union, the philosopher discovers genuine happiness and a profound sense of belonging to the whole. No prior expertise is required—curiosity and a willingness to think together are enough. Early bird tickets at £3 will be available until Mon March 9 **Where:** Downstairs room, Square Pig, Holborn (private room) **NB:** The event begins at 7pm, doors open at 6:50pm. Event ends at 9pm **Format:** 10-minute intro talk → vote on questions → small-group discussion → share insights with the whole room

Wir treffen uns im **The Lady Ottoline** Pub im **Morrell Room** im 1. Stock. Adresse: 11a Northington Street, WC1N 2JF An der Bar kannst du auch nach der Deutschen Gruppe oder Graham fragen. In der WA-Gruppe (https://chat.whatsapp.com/LbnZDaVbfky4w7CVTibjHT) kannst Du andere Teilnehmer auch vor Ort erreichen.

The Data Science Speakers Club is a Toastmasters International club enabling the current and next generation of Data Scientists to improve their Public Speaking Skills. This is a HYBRID Meeting! So join us Online via ZOOM or In-Person. Joining the Data Science Speakers Club means joining a supportive environment to build your confidence in public speaking and to practice speaking in front of an audience. You will also gain the opportunity to receive feedback on your speeches in a friendly environment, including what you have done well and guidance on the areas you can improve upon. We also run a mentorship program where an experienced mentor supports you on your public speaking journey. Meeting Theme: **TBC** Tentative Schedule: 18:30 - President's welcome 18:40 - Prepared Speeches (3 prepared speeches with evaluation) 19:25 - Guest introduction 19:30 - Break 19:40 - Table Topic 20:30 - Wrap up, awards, announcements End of Meeting The theme is to do with exploring various aspects of power, including how it is distributed, challenged, and transformed in different contexts. In the first part, there will be speeches. In the second half, we will have impromptu speeches preparation in groups called Table topics where guests can participate. We meet on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Mondays of each month from 6:30 pm online. Each meeting is a mixture of prepared speeches by our members, speaking roles, and impromptu speaking challenges by members and guests. Our meetings are free to attend and you only have to speak if you want to. For in-person attendance, snacks will be provided. Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Mathematical and Logical Thinkers aiming to focus on their communication and leadership development are always welcome to attend our meetings, to increase their self-confidence, become better speakers, and become better leaders. TEAMS LINK: [https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3590758490979?p=Uhe84WWRIJm3uci7v3](https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3590758490979?p=Uhe84WWRIJm3uci7v3 "Meeting join") FACEBOOK: [https://www.facebook.com/datasciencespk/](https://www.facebook.com/datasciencespk/) LINKEDIN: [https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-science-speakers-club](https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-science-speakers-club) TWITTER: [https://twitter.com/datasciencespk](https://twitter.com/datasciencespk) INSTAGRAM: [https://www.instagram.com/datasciencespk/](https://www.instagram.com/datasciencespk/)

Mondays at Wimbledon Salsa & Bachata Club Wimbledon Salsa & Bachata Club, Drake House Dance Hall, 44 St George’s Rd, Wimbledon, London SW19 4ED 7pm – 11:00 pm Bachata classes: 7:30 pm – 8:30pm Salsa classes: 8:45pm – 9:45pm Social Dancing from 9:45pm Closed at 11pm) No prior bookings needed, just turn up and dance Absolute beginners warmly welcomed High quality lessons from Beginners to Advanced. Fun & friendly classes for dancers of all levels. Plenty of high quality social dancing to the best and latest Salsa, Bachata, Cha Cha and Latin grooves. Wear comfortable shoes and light clothes, to keep you dancing comfortably all night £15 Classes + Club 4 min walk from Wimbledon Main Line station. Parking on surrounding streets. To buy any of our awarding winning Salsa courses online, simply click on the course of your choice. The course credits can be used at any of our venues at any time in a 12 month period: New Salsa course for any level: 3 weeks SALSA BRONZE @ £42 6 weeks SALSA SILVER @ £78 9 weeks SALSA GOLD @ £99 Incognito Dance Company also teaches regularly at Earl's Court Salsa & Bachata Club, Putney Salsa & Bachata Club, Hammersmith Salsa & Bachata Club. As well as Online

This seminar is for improving your communication skills, so you can achieve greater success in life. We will especially focus on a life tool that you can easily learn and use to improve your: - \- Interviews \- Public speaking \- Communication with strangers \- Connection with co\-workers \- Comfort with various social situations\. \- Handling upsets \- Getting along with others better\. \- Meeting new people\. This seminar invites your feedback and input. You could learn some new skills and we would love for you to be able to practice this also. You will learn an amazing life tool that you can put into practice right away! We also offer free one-to-one appointments to be made after the seminar if you require a bit of extra coaching or tips. From the Scientology Life Improvement Centre

Join us on March 17th from **6:00pm** for a Data Streaming meetup hosted by **Snowflake** and supported by **Dremio** and **Streambased!** 📍**Venue:** **Snowflake** One Crown Place, London EC2A 4EF, U.K. 5th & 6th floors · London **PLEASE bring your PHOTO ID and REGISTER with your details for security purposes.** 🗓 **Agenda:** * 6:00pm – 6:30pm: Food/Drinks and Networking * 6:30pm - 7:00pm: Celeste Horgan, Developer Advocate, Snowflake * 7:00pm - 7:30pm: Tom Scott, Founder & CEO, Streambased * 7:30pm - 8:00pm: Will Martin, EMEA Evangelist, Dremio * 8:00pm: Q&A Networking 💡**Speaker One:** Celeste Horgan, Developer Advocate, Snowflake **Title of Talk:** I have no idea what I’m doing, or: building an Apache Spark to Apache Iceberg pipeline from scratch for data ingestion **Abstract:** Transitioning to Apache Iceberg requires a shift in how we think about data storage and ingestion. Enter: Apache Spark… maybe? Exactly how is an open question. In this talk we’ll go through the trial-and-error process of ingesting data into an Apache Iceberg table using Apache Spark. We’ll learn about file formats for Apache Iceberg tables, when to partition (and what the consequences are), common integration mistakes (as made by me in the learning process), and what Apache Spark does best, and when a different tool might work better. Most importantly, we’ll learn how to learn a new piece of software fast using AI to help rather than hinder. **Bio:** Celeste Horgan is a Sr. OSS Advocate at Snowflake. She got her start in open source at the Linux Foundation, where she supported the Kubernetes project on their documentation. From there, she went on to work at Aiven on open source data platforms, and now continues that work evangelizing data systems for Snowflake. Her work on inclusive language has been featured in the New York Times, and she lives in London. 💡**Speaker Two:** Tom Scott, Founder & CEO, Streambased **Title of Talk:** Turning The Database Inside Out **Abstract:** Over a decade ago, Martin Kleppmann's Turning the Database Inside Out reshaped how we think about data systems, putting the event stream at the heart of storage and computation. That vision inspired a generation of systems built atop Kafka, Flink, and event-driven materializations. But what if we never finished what Martin started? This talk takes the next leap, reimagining not just the transaction log, but the entire database through the lens of streaming. We'll keep Kafka as our canonical source of truth, but enrich it with the missing primitives: long-term storage, indexes, and projections. To achieve this, we'll move beyond Kafka's simple produce/consume model and embrace Apache Iceberg as the new foundation for durable, queryable event data. **Bio:** Long time enthusiast of Kafka and all things data integration, Tom has more than 15yrs experience in innovative and efficient ways to store, query and move data. Tom is currently CEO at Streambased a company focused on unifying operational and analytical data estates into a single, consistent and efficient data layer. 💡**Speaker Three:** Will Martin, EMEA Evangelist, Dremio **Title of Talk:** From Stream to Table: Building Kafka-to-Iceberg Pipelines **Abstract:** While Kafka excels at streaming data, the real challenge lies in making that data analytically useful without sacrificing consistency or performance. This talk explores why Apache Iceberg has emerged as the ideal streaming destination, offering ACID transactions, schema evolution, and time travel capabilities that traditional data lakes can't match. Learn about some foundational tools that enable streaming pipelines and why they all converge on this industry standard table format. **Bio:** Will Martin is the EMEA Evangelist at Dremio. Beginning with a background of statistical analysis in particle physics, his professional journey has spanned multiple industries, including banking, shipping logistics, entertainment, healthcare, defence, and customer 360. With experience as a data engineer, solutions architect, and software developer, he has spent 15+ years collaborating with companies and organisations across EMEA and APAC, including roles at CERN, Deloitte, and Tamr. \*\*\* If you are interested in hosting/speaking at a meetup, please email community@confluent.io

Join us for discussions about what’s happening in the world of XP, UX and software engineering in general. **What to expect:** Lively discussion amongst a diverse group of members within a friendly and safe space. New members welcome, the only thing we ask is that you care about software engineering and are happy to offer an opinion or two. **When and where:** Expect people to start arriving from 5.30pm UK. The meetup will officially run until \~8.30pm UK (but you won't be kicked out!) The venue will be the City Pride in Farringdon. **Agenda:** 5.30pm Soft start - everyone mingling 6.00pm 15 mins for lightning talks 6.15pm Topic Proposals 6.25pm Voting on topics 6.30pm First session - break out into groups, discussions happen 7.00pm Come back together, summarise any a-has 7.15pm Second session - break out into groups, discuss more 7.45pm Come back together again, share a-has 8.00pm Wrap up, then either farewell, or carry on talking Please do show the venue your appreciation by buying drinks & food at the bar, and leaving a nice Google / Tripadvisor / etc. review. About XTC The eXtreme Tuesday Club (XTC) is London's oldest agile meetup, and has been meeting since 1999. Initially the meetup was focused on discussing Extreme Programming (XP), but it has expanded to include anything XP, agile, lean, or the larger context in which we do software development activities. We welcome all software development newbies, practitioners, and experts to discuss topics of interest over drinks. Follow @extremetuesday (https://twitter.com/extremetuesday) on Twitter for announcements and updates, or use the hashtag #XTCLondon (https://twitter.com/hashtag/XTCLondon) to find and share insights.

***Please note: signing up to this event does not mean you are booked onto the course. For full details and booking information, please visit [Cademy.](https://datacove.cademy.io/introduction-to-r-shiny)*** **Introducing Datacove** Datacove are a Data and Analytics Consultancy Team based in Brighton, with experience in founding many well-attended R & Python events. Plus, home of the EARL Conference! We work across multiple streams - from marketing and consumer analytics, to bespoke dashboards, process automation, and training! :) **Introduction to R in Shiny** Thursday 19th March, online 10am-12pm. £99 + VAT **Understand what Shiny is and when to use it** * What Shiny does, how it fits into the R ecosystem, and common use cases (apps, dashboards, internal tools, data products) * Differences between static R outputs (plots, reports) and interactive Shiny applications **Learn the basic structure of a Shiny application** * The roles of ui and server components * How shinyApp() brings the UI and server together * File structures for a multi-file Shiny app **Build user interfaces with Shiny layouts** * Using layout functions such as fluidPage() , sidebarLayout() , sidebarPanel() , and mainPanel() * Organising content with rows, columns, tabs, and panels * Adding titles, text, and spacing for clean, readable app design **Work with Shiny input and output elements** * Common inputs (sliders, dropdowns, text inputs, buttons, checkboxes) * Displaying outputs such as plots, tables, and text * Connecting inputs to outputs through the server logic **Introduction to Shiny’s reactive programming model** * What reactivity is and why it matters in interactive apps * How Shiny automatically updates outputs when inputs change **Create a foundation of a complete, working Shiny app** * Combining UI layouts, inputs, outputs, and reactivity into a functional application * Running and testing apps locally * Leave with a foundation app, ready to learn more advanced content to build upon. **Be ready to build your first dashboard or application** * Understanding next steps, such as theming, modules, and deployment options **How to Join** Please visit [Cademy](https://datacove.cademy.io/introduction-to-r-shiny) to book your space.

WEDNESDAYS at Hammersmith Salsa Club, Hammersmith, London Open Every Wednesday Hammersmith Salsa & Bachata Club, 11 Rutland Grove, Hammersmith, W6 9DH (http://www.incognitodance.com/hammersmith-salsa-club-west-london/) 7pm – 11:00 pm Bachata Classes: 7:30pm – 8:20pm (6 levels) Salsa Classes 8:30 -9:20pm (6 levels) No prior bookings are needed, just turn up and dance. Absolute beginners are warmly welcomed. Wear comfortable shoes and light clothes, to keep you dancing comfortably all night £10 Club Only £14 Two Classes + Club Usually has 200+ dancers every week Fun & friendly classes for dancers of all levels. Plenty of social dancing to the latest Latin grooves.

🤖 **Most AI writing tools keep you in a chat box. This talk is about what happens when you step outside it.** Led by **[Max Clayton Clowes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxclaytonclowes/)**, afractional product manager, we'll look at how technical writers — regardless of coding background — can use Claude Code to work in a docs-as-code environment, extend their documentation tooling, and build workflows that hold their own standards over time. We'll cover: \- Why Claude without proper context is a frustrating experience and how Skills fix that \- How Claude Code enables technical writers to work with frameworks like Docusaurus without needing to be developers \- Building and extending documentation tooling — plugins\, components\, GitHub Actions — that most teams don't have the time or skills to build from scratch \- Using Claude Code to maintain docs at scale: auditing\, keeping content in sync with a changing codebase\, and automating the checks that keep quality consistent The talk is aimed at technical writers of all levels. You don't need to be comfortable in a terminal to get value from it — we'll show a clear path from the Claude web interface through to Claude Code, and you can engage at whichever level suits you. **Want to follow along?** Pick the level that works for you and get set up before you arrive: \- Web interface: A Claude account at claude\.ai\. Free tier is fine\. \- Claude Code: Download the Claude desktop app at claude\.com/download\. Requires a paid Claude plan \(Pro or above\)\. On macOS/Linux\, run *curl \-fsSL https://claude\.ai/install\.sh \| bash* to install. Windows users can download the installer directly. No other dependencies needed. Not set up? Everything will be on screen — you can explore at your own pace afterwards. **🗒️ Agenda** **When:** Thursday 19 March, from 6.30pm **Where:** TBD **What:** **18.30 - 19.00** Arrival **19.00 - 19.10** Welcome & Housekeeping **19.10 - 19.40** Part 1 of presentation **19.40 - 20.00** Break **20.00 - 20.30** Part 2 of presentation **20.30 - 21.00** Closing and networking *All times are approximate.* **📍 How to find us:** Look for WTD signs and organisers. **📸 Photos:** Note that the organizers will take some photos for the WTD group.

**The main event: MxLDN** * **Date:** Wednesday 18th March * **Time:** 18:00 - 21:00 * **Location:** Dotdigital Offices, 9th Floor, 1 London Brg, London SE1 9BG **Drinks & games hosted by Hypernode:** * **Date:** Wednesday 18th March * **Time:** 21:00 - 23:00 * **Location:** Bermondsey Bierkeller, 2, 4 Tooley St, London SE1 2SY **Speaker 1: Hervé Tribouilloy - Why Websites Become Hard to Change — and How to Stop It** *Commerce platforms develop architectural entropy over time. Hervé will host a live demo showing how new features can be introduced outside the platform and embedded back into the storefront — enabling faster experimentation while keeping the core stable.* **About MxLDN** 18th March, Dotdigital's office, London Bridge, be there or be square! We’re relaunching as a free, bi-monthly event, open to anyone in the Magento and Adobe Commerce world – developers, merchants, marketers, agencies, you name it… We welcome speakers who dive into the detail of what's actually happening in eCommerce right now. Get in touch via hello@mxldn.co.uk if you'd like to speak at one of our future events. We host open conversation over free pizza, free beer…what more could you want? More? Here you go then, after the talks we’ll head down to Bermondsey Bierkeller for some post-event drinks and games hosted by Hypernode! There’ll be air hockey, digital darts, pool tables and shuffleboards galore! First one for 2026. Save the date. See you there! Presented by: JH, Hÿva, Hypernode & Dotdigital Reach out to us via email us at **hello@mxldn.co.uk**

Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/cbus-hug-2026/

Do you feel introverted when you are in a group setting? Are you shy? Do other people have more fun than you do? There are simple life hacks you can use to improve your connection to others and improve your social life. Talking is one thing. Truly connecting is altogether another. It's the whole experience of connecting with people and forming relationships. It includes the joy, understanding, and love formed among people. * In our meetings, you will learn: * A simple life hack to increase your liking and tolerance of other people, or even of yourself! * How to become more interested and enjoy conversations with people. * How to be comfortable in social settings. * How to be yourself * How to become more extroverted and, * How to make connections with people. Feeling lonely, isolated, or bored? This local meeting is exactly what you need! Come join us! Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to the local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Dianetics and Scientology life improvement center.

Discover Kiro, AWS’s innovative development environment that adapts to your workflow. Whether you prefer specification-driven development or a more intuitive, vibe-based approach, Kiro empowers you to build applications your way. In this session, speakers will explore Kiro’s core functionality and its evolution through re:Invent 2025, along with demonstrations of prompts used to create APIs, hooks, and steering documents. In the latter part of the session, watch as we build a complete example from scratch, showcasing Kiro’s agentic AI workflow in action for spec-driven development and vibe coding. What You'll Learn - Core Kiro concepts and development philosophy Feature evolution: pre and post re:Invent 2025 Practical examples: API creation, hooks, and steering docs Live coding demonstration with real-time problem solving Who Should Attend - Developers, solutions architects, and technical leaders interested in modern AWS development tools and AI-assisted coding workflows. **Speakers Bio:** Matthew Jorat: Matthew Jorat is a Customer Solutions Manager at AWS with nearly three decades of expertise in AI, cloud transformation, migration, modernization, IT, technology, and business. His career spans infrastructure engineer, solutions architect, security auditor, customer success director, support and services director, and operations officer. He was an early adopter of AWS services as a customer, and his current role at AWS uniquely blends his technical and business skills as he partners with executive teams to translate strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes through cloud adoption, AI implementation, and operational excellence. Matt leads end-to-end AI initiatives for enterprise customers, identifying high-impact use cases and maintaining relentless focus on measurable ROI. He holds eight AWS certifications and serves as Adjunct Professor at Franklin University teaching cloud computing and AWS architecture. His expertise encompasses GenAI, agentic AI systems, migration, modernization, and optimization strategies that drive transformation at scale. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/) Girish Bhatia: Girish Bhatia is a seasoned technology delivery leader with deep expertise in cross-domain program management. He holds multiple AWS certifications, including AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, and AWS Generative AI Practitioner, and is also an AWS Community Builder. Girish brings over two decades of experience in the information technology industry. Throughout his career, Girish has led major technology-driven business transformation from modernizing on-premises applications to driving large-scale cloud migrations. His work includes API-based integration platforms, data-center and mainframe modernization, and enterprise cloud adoption initiatives. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Girish works at a tech-forward fintech company. He is passionate about AWS serverless architectures, Generative AI and emerging cloud technologies. An avid learner and builder, he continues to explore and apply the latest innovations in AWS to help organizations accelerate their digital transformation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/[https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/) **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

Do you sometimes feel like you do well in life then something happens and you slide back, never quite getting ahead. At this Meetup you'll find out how to identify what actually causes the lows, the highs and everything in between. More importantly you’ll get the secret of how to gain control over your life so the highs are higher and the lows go away. Wouldn’t it be nice to stop the wild roller coaster ride for good? Or at least make it a fun roller coaster ride, with more ups and downs. There is a hidden factor that will be going over and you’re going to be quite surprised what it is and how much it affects your life. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to the event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is hosted at the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center.

**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 **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBA

Do you want more Self Confidence, less Self Doubt, more Happiness, less Anxiety, and more Love? This event is an introduction to how to handle irrational emotion. How often are yours or another's emotions out of control? What is that about??? I have asked these questions and after much search have found answers and am sharing. Maybe you have suffered a traumatic experience, a deep loss or been through a painful breakup? After that, you try to move on but you just can't. Possibly you have a thought or emotion that hangs around for days and you just can't shake it. What is all this stress, anxiety, depression, and self doubt? It's just crazy! It's not the real you. You can find out what is at the root of all this. This is a local event. Areas you can change with the right information: * Control of unwanted emotions * Lack of confidence * Grief * Anxiety * Anger management * Creating ideal relationships * Memory * and more... This is a local meeting that can start you on the way to a better life, more confidence and less negativity. All the happiness you have lies within you. Let's find it! Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Dianetics and Scientology life improvement center.

**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: Type Annotations with John Cassidy 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