Its been creeping up on us for a while but now PHPNW is almost upon us! PHP people will be arriving from all sorts of places and coming together to attend this event. The schedule is full of excellent talks by a selection of speakers – and we’ll round the day off with a lively panel discussion about the PHP community itself.

We’ve got socials happening right over the weekend – with a pre-conference social on Friday night for people to meet up, catch up, and generally hang out (and drink), the weekend will get off to a good start. Saturday is the main conference event, ticket price includes full access to the event, a year’s subscription to php|architect magazine (in print as well as digital format), lunch, and access to the evening party with yet more food (hotpot, since we’re in the north!), and of course a selection of drinks.

For those coming from further afield, there is plenty to do in Manchester over the weekend. The conference itself is very central, so you have easy access to the entertainments of the city centre. The shopping is excellent in the city centre and for those who prefer a geekier pastime, entry to the Museum of Science and Industry is free and it is open 7 days a week.

I know there are plenty of people going and I’m really looking forward to it – to catching up with old friends (and colleagues, I don’t see them very often!), to making new ones, to hearing the talks that will be going on, and of course to a few drinks and a good time. Hope to see you there :)