Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Oxfordshire Twitter meeting asks “Is there is dentist in the house?”

This blog post is courtesy of a "Twitter buddy". Joy McCarthy, my first guest blogger,who I met face to face with almost 50 others last night at the first ever Oxfordshire "Tweet-up".  Now as a Newbury-based dentist in Berkshire, what was I doing at an Oxfordshire Tweet-up?  Well the cross-border arrangement was by special invitation from Anthony Lloyd of Fallowfields Country House, who had organised the event but who is also a Twitter buddy and who has been a guest of mine at the Jack O'Newbury chapter of BNI.
After the open networking most stayed on for the delicious "Tweety-pie" produced on site from Anthony's own Dexter herd.




He and I are living proof that Twitter does generate real business opportunities. Over to you Joy Mcarthy .....

Oxfordshire Twitter meeting asks “Is there is dentist in the house?”

Instead of the usual ‘is there a doctor in the house’, the call was for a dentist at the first Oxfordshire and Berks ‘Tweet-up’, held last night (Monday 18 January) at Fallowfields Hotel, Kingston Bagpuize. The event was the first large-scale business Twitter get-together to be held in the area and was attended by 50 local business people.

During supper, Newbury dentist and Twitter enthusiast Richard Charon, was called to the phone. Karen-Louise Allen, one of the local radio Jack FM team who should have attended the event, had called to say she couldn’t make it. She had accidentally swallowed a dental crown and was there a dentist in the house! Karen-Louise wasn’t registered with a dentist and Richard’s Newbury practice was too far away. However, a room full of business people skilled in networking, brought the power of Twitter to her rescue. Members were asked for referrals for an Oxford dentist who would see Karen-Louise the next day.

Richard Charon comments, “People’s reaction to Karen’s mishap is typical of the Twitter community. Everyone rallied round to help and in seconds we had the name of a possible Oxford dentist for Karen. There was a lot of laughter and good humour, but that and helping other people is what Twitter is about.”

Twitter, the online social networking phenomenon, has a strong membership in Oxfordshire and surrounding areas. The Tweet-up was the brainchild of Anthony Lloyd, owner of Fallowfields Hotel and Kevin O’Brian of Web Power . A dedicated online portal was created where Twitter members could book their places. With the viral nature of Twitter, news of the event spread quickly. The meeting was held in the Fallowfields’ marquee and, after some informal networking, the guests sat down to enjoy supper, with a choice of three ‘Twitter Pies’ on the menu.

“I’m passionate about Twitter” said Anthony Lloyd, co-organiser of the Oxfordshire Tweet-up. “This is the first Twitter get-together to be held in the county and it’s been a great success. Not everyone who attended is a Twitter member, but I don’t think it will be long before they join. It was good to see so many people who have only ever spoken on Twitter, greeting each other like old friends. It is very positive for the business community. Everyone is keen to meet up again and I think the Oxfordshire Tweet-up is set to become a regular event in the local business networking calendar.”

Note to Editors

Fallowfields is a country house hotel in Kingston Bagpuize with over 300 years of history. Once the home of the Begum Aga Khan, Fallowfields offers luxury accommodation set in 12 acres of grounds.

The hotel boasts its own kitchen garden which supplies the restaurant with pesticide-free home-grown fruit and vegetables. The hotel’s farm is home to Dexter cattle, rare-breed pigs, chickens and ducks which provide much of the meat on the restaurant’s menu.

Richard Charon is the Dental Practice Principal of Richard Charon at Newbury Smilemakers. He specialises in treating dental phobia, dental fear and dental anxiety using various Dental Sedation techniques. Richard also trains dentists in Dental Sedation in both Britain and Ireland.
For more information, please contact:
Anthony Lloyd, Fallowfields Hotel
Tel: 01865 820416
Email: anthony@fallowfields.com
Joy McCarthy, WORD-right
Tel: 01608 642845
Email joy@word-right.co.uk
and of course Richard Charon at Newbury Smilemakers

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