Secluded Blogfest 2013: Introducing Lynn Hill of The Clandestine Cake Club

The Secluded Blogfest is coming... And oh my giddy aunt, are we excited! 

In the build up to my next event over the coming weeks, I thought I would have some fun getting to know what my guest speakers have planned to talk to our lovely guests about on Saturday 11th May at our secret bloggers hide out.

Next up, I am THRILLED to introduce Lynn Hill of The Clandestine Cake Club. 

I would like to explain Lynn's huge success and my love of her passions from the very beginning. You may not know that she has a blog titled "The Secret Tea Room", of where she started her love of her baking with her own secret tea room in early 2010, even helping me at the very start of "The Secluded Tea Party" days thanks to her extreme kindness and knowledge, her passions were a huge support and have helped us to remain friends to this day. 

Due to the Clandestine Cake Club really taking off and keeping this lovely lady so busy, she doesn't host pop up afternoon tea events any more, as they are so time consuming, however, she does still blog about her fun and games, sharing her exciting new adventures as she goes. 

Lynn's most recent posts have been titled "Just Do it" as a series of things she's always wanted to do and has decided to go ahead and do them, including various baking classes at Betty's of Harrogate... I simply love living one of my dream cookery schools through her posts, I must get up there one day soon to learn from the very best of the best - it looks fab! 

When I first met Lynn in person at a London-based event in February 2010, we got chatting about our own events and ideas and she ran this crazy sounding idea, or so she thought, to run a free cake swapping club... not a competition, no money changing hands, no judging, simply for people in Leeds who loved cake & tea as much as she did and to meet up with her over a cuppa to make & eat cake, talk about cake & take cake home afterwards.... it was all about the cake. At that time in 2010, everybody was cupcake crazy... even I had tinkered with a similar idea, but with cupcakes not only 6 months earlier... so I knew it would work and I offered to run a Cambridge meet if she decided to franchise and roll out the idea....

And boy did that idea spread, like wild fire in fact, with over 150 Clandestine Cake Clubs world wide (and now rising rapidly!), Lynn has made quite the name for herself and I'm so proud of her and being just a small part of it myself, it's boosted my own social life ten fold co-hosting the Cambridge CCC and I never get tired of seeing the wealth of baking talent and geekery out there, it's just fantastic! I'm even helping to judge a local "Bake Off" competition as a result of my own cakey exploits, so you never know where it might take you!

And with the success of the CCC, not only has Lynn received a superb book deal and recently launched her first cookbook with tried & tested recipes added by Clandestine Cake members (see Page 210 for my own recipe ahem ; ) , but she has recently secured an amazing sponsorship for the club with Yorkshire Tea - she was even lucky enough to nab herself two seats on a very special Orient Express Afternoon Tea Train event last week, of which I had been invited to join her, but could not make it - to say I was gutted is an understatement, however her lovely hubby got to go in my place and I couldn't think of a cake-widower more suitable for it, he is a star and so supportive of Lynn's endeavors, what a lovely man he is too! 

Lynn will be sharing her exciting stories, as well as blogging & social media advice on all aspects of networking and media, as well as talking about her journey from blogging to writing a book with The Clandestine Cake Club and she has agreed to share just some of the topics she will be sharing with you here as a teaser:

# Clandestine Cake Club Journey 

# How it all started 

# The impact that social media has on the success of the club

# Some Do's & Don'ts when it comes to media attention

# Stop giving all your valuable knowledge away for free 

# The importance of networking 

And that's just for starters...  Lynn is a lady you will want to listen to for days I can assure you, so do use the networking time throughout this event to talk to her and ask any burning questions within the Q&A session as part of her session. 

Move over Mary Berry, Lynn is the queen of cakes, so we have an exciting proposition for our afternoon tea stop throughout the day at the Secluded Blogfest... we will actually be having our very own Clandestine Cake Club at the end of our set of talks on the day! 

So if you are a keen baker and are booked to come along, please do bake a cake (bring along a tin to take some home!) and we will provide the tea & coffee to go with it!... We plan to show you how the CCC works and you will also have a chance to get your cake sampled by the lovely Lynn herself - very exciting! 

For more info on how the Clandestine Cake Club actually works, pop the kettle on & enjoy a brew whilst you watch this fantastic video on how it all works, it's great fun! 

Miss Sue Flay

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To read more about this event, including info on all speakers, please click here. 

To book your ticket for The Secluded Blogfest 2013, please click here.

For more info on Lynn Hill at The Clandestine Cake Club, please click here. 

Secluded Blogfest 2013: Introducing Deepa aka Lazy Giraffe

The Secluded Blogfest is coming... And oh my giddy aunt, are we excited! 

In the build up to my next event over the coming weeks, I thought I would have some fun getting to know what my guest speakers have planned to talk to our lovely guests about on Saturday 11th May at our secret bloggers hide out.

In fact, until Sunday 28th April, if you book one ticket, you can bring a friend completely free of charge, so book fast - offer is this week only! (See here for further details)

Second up, I want to introduce you to the lovely Deepa Mistry of Lazy Giraffe Jewellery. 

Not only is Deepa one of the most talented Jewellery makers I know, she's also one of my most favourite & most entertaining bloggers to boot. She's honest in her blogging, she stays true to her word and beliefs, but most importantly, she gets you salivating over her food adventures and you want to wear all of her jewellery everytime she promotes it through social media... I own a fair bit thanks to her pesky Facebook page hehe ; ) 

She's one busy lady, as she balances a full time career on top of everything...she also co-hosts the Cambridge Clandestine Cake Club with me in her spare time... she's an inspiration for you all to listen to at this upcoming event, as well as being a whizz on social media, she's also very hot on Etsy and Folksy through her Jewellery business...a fountain of knowledge! 

I've known Deepa for 3 years now, she came to my very first Secluded Tea Party back when I was a bag of nerves, unsure that my idea was ever going to come to life and stick to something successful... how wrong I was! 

And she's been there as an ever growing friend and fellow food lover throughout my entire journey as Miss Sue Flay... she's the perfect speaker to inspire you and although this is her very first appearance as a public speaker, I know she is going to knock your socks off with her advice and experience, you will LOVE her! 

Deepa and I often try out new food places together in Cambridge, we even swap notes on places to visit further afield and trust each others' judgement on hotels & B&Bs, restaurants, tea rooms, recipes & more... and she's simply my go to girl for blog geekdom. 

I would also say that I love to personally escape into a little travel and more unusual cuisine through Deepa's blog, as not only does she review her favourite hotspots as she finds them but she has recently fallen back in love with her Indian cookery and she will have you drooling just at the photos of the treats she cooks up for her gorgeous husband and their friends... she's a fabulous cook and has exciting plans for the future, so she's one lady to watch very closely, trust me. 

This lovely lady will be discussing her blogging journey, talking about how to find your niche and stick with it, with hints, tips and advice on all aspects of blogging as she natters with us. She has even agreed to share just some of the topics she may be sharing with you here as a teaser:

# Her blogging journey

# What worked... and what didn't 

# How to blog about what you love the most    

# Finding your niche   

# How to make your blog look great   

# Promoting your blog    

# Some do's and don't of blogging 

And that's just to skim the surface!... she could have you chatting over a pot of tea for days, so do use the networking time throughout this event to bend her ear, as well as the Q&A session with her as part of her talk. 

I truly hope that you will enjoy this session with Deepa

...We can't wait to have you joining us! 

Miss Sue Flay

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To read more about this event, including info on all speakers, please click here. 

To book your ticket for The Secluded Blogfest 2013, please click here.

For more info on Deepa at Lazy Giraffe Food Blog, please click here. 

For more info on her Lazy Giraffe Jewellery Designs, please click here. 

Secluded Blogfest 2013: Bring a Friend for FREE!

The Secluded Blogfest is coming... If you hadn't heard and we are so excited! 

And we have a VERY special announcement on the tickets for this week only....

In the build up to my next event over the coming weeks, I will be introducing you to our guest speakers and letting you all get to know a little about them and what they have planned to talk to our lovely guests about on Saturday 11th May at our secret bloggers hide out.

You can read the full details and itinerary for this event here. 

Speakers will include: 

ReeRee Rockette of "Rockalily"

Deepa Mistry of "Lazy Giraffe Jewellery"

Lina & Tom of "Liquid Photo"

& 

Lynn Hill of "The Clandestine Cake Club"

Through Twitter, we are also using the hashtag:

 # SECLUDEDBLOGFEST

This event is being hosted at a sanctuary not too far from Central Cambridge and it's close enough that you can race back into town and grab a train... or a cocktail afterwards ; ) 

We like to take you out of town with the Secluded Blogfest and help to unwind ever so slightly, with great food... cake is naturally always on the menu at our events too! 

The ticket price for this inspirational blogging event is currently set at £70 per guest.

However, for this week only, if you have got a friend or colleague that you believe would benefit from coming along to this event to network with our fellow bloggers, writers & very special guest speakers, then when you book your ticket, you can bring your friend for free. 

Yes, they can join you for 100% free of charge. 

No catch... other than they need to be friendly and interested in the topics we intend to cover! 

This also means that you can share the cost of your ticket, should you wish to do so, but still get the full benefit of a superb day with the best bloggers and social media enthusiasts around... What's not to love?!

You will both also benefit from a breakfast, lunch and fuel to keep you going throughout the afternoon, as well as wifi access at our venue to get cracking or tippy tapping away whilst you are with us. 

Not only will I actually speak a little about my very own experiences through blogging (and not hide at the back so much this year ; ) we will also be covering between our panel of blogging experts, topics such as: 

# Reasons why good photography is important in blogging 

# How useful social media sites such as Pinterest, Bloglovin' & Instagram are for bloggers

# What makes a great blog post 

# Following your passions & where they might lead to

# Blog brands and re-branding

# How to let your personality shine through 

# Copyright & copyright law

# Social media, networking & marketing strategies - How to pimp your brand

# Moving a blog to a viable business 

# Permissions & licensing 

# Finding your blogging niche & setting yourself apart from all the others

# Idea generation     

# How to become a published writer 

# Creating an international franchise - thinking big

And that's just for starters!

After each session with our speakers, there will be a chance to ask any burning questions, it's going to be very informal, so it will be an open discussion and there will be many tangents and open conversations that will be had between us...

... it's yours to make it your own, so please do enjoy the conversation and networking it will create!

Once your ticket is booked, please email me at : cake@secludedteaparty.com 

with details of you and your guest. 

I will then send you both a little questionnaire to complete, which will be used to put together a bloggers' bio to help you all to nosey at your fellow guests before you attend... that way, you can all get excited about each other's plans & projects and really get to know who will be there and why... It's great fun, nothing to be too serious about ; ) 

So get booking... you have until Sunday 28th April to take advantage of this sweet deal! 

To book your ticket (to include 2 guests this week only!) for 

The Secluded Blogfest 2013, please click here.

Miss Sue Flay

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To read more about this event, including info on all speakers, please click here. 

To book your ticket for this event - please click here. 

You can read about the talk from Lina & Tom of LiquidPhoto.co.uk by clicking here. 

You can read about the talk from Deepa aka The Lazy Giraffe by clicking here. 

Info on the other talks to follow in the coming week or so... 

Please Note - This is not open to tickets already purchased, apologies.