I am now on the train on the way to my first ever conference …. @media 2005. Most of the topics being discussed are to do with web standards and accessibility, something which interests me hugely. I had originally booked my ticket to go months ago paid my many hours of blood sweat and tears (maybe just tears then — bastard mac ie). But Karova has generously offered to pay for my trip and accommodation (glamour). I had my accommodation sorted as well, I will be staying in a single room in the city of London YHA, a bargain at £36 a night for non-members. That my friends is a fraction of what it costs to stay in any of the Hotels that are anywhere near the conference venue.

Andy is one of the speakers, giving a talk on the web standards on high profile sites. His talk and all the others look very interesting and I plan to catch them all, especially the accessibility talks. I have so often heard the word “accessibility” thrown around just as all the other web buzz words, but after having read a couple of books on the subject and going to these talks I reckon I’ll start to understand exactly what all the fuss is all about (besides the obvious steps).

As I’m going down on my own (as Andy will be off with all the speakers), I hope to meet plenty of interesting people and get a few contacts too in the process. The evening events (beer) should help with this. I’ll try and take a few notes on the various speeches and post a brief summary. If I don’t , it’s because I’m having too much fun. If you see me about be sure to say hello.