I sent this out a couple of days ago, but it seems it might not have got to the list. Apologies if you get this multiple times: This Thursday is Manchester BSD UG night, as ever (the first Thursday of the month). There is also something going on that night on the telly some of us are likely to want to watch called "Election Night Special". I can''t believe the PM didn''t check the NWDC calendar before scheduling it to make sure there wasn''t a clash. Ah well, c''est la vie.... Such an evening obviously requires lubrication but as it is likely many of us will be disappearing around 9pm in order to get back to our dens to watch the all-night humiliation of parliamentary democracy, I suggest that we aim to meet a little earlier than normal: about 6pm-6.30pm. A rapid dispersal at 9pm will mean those of us wishing to watch the nonsense from the comfort of our own homes will be back just as the BBC and ITN exit polls call it a hung parliament or too close to call (bet you 10p they do), and might even allow those of you who forgot to vote beforehand to get to the polls before they close at 10pm. The venue is back to the Briton''s Protection (what an apt name for a meeting place on election night, as all the little rag-a-muffins in Whitehall insist that is what they themselves are), and I expect we''ll be seeing at least a few regular faces. We will be doing the usual geeky chat, probably dominated by political discussions and I will be interleaving discussions about Open Data I expect and my planned adventures returning to BSD over the coming months. :-) P.S. In Manchester Gorton, a friend of and occasional attendee to BSD UG is actually standing for the Pirate Party, so it''ll be interesting to see how Tim Dobson gets on: you can bet on him or any of the other minor parties of independents getting a win at 54/1 on Betfair at the moment, which sounds long odds but it is definitely in play with Gerald Kaufman vs Liberals being even money... Don''t forget: vote early, vote often.