Is it worth it?

Emilie & Lizzy

Over four hours on trains. Two hours up to London, two back. Time away from the desk. The financial cost.

These are the calculations you make before any event when you're busy, and honestly I was doing them right up until we arrived. Especially after a whirlwind morning with my four year old.

But after a day at the Workspace Design Show with Lizzy? A definitive yes.

It helped that London was stunning. One of those rare days where the city reminds you why people love it. We walked through Islington in the sunshine, took in the abundance of the neighbourhood and its retail, and walked past a Good Space while we were at it.

Sometimes the event is just part of the day.

There's something you can't replicate about being in a room with people who care about the same things you do. The conversations that happen face to face, the real ones, where you can actually ask how someone's business is really doing, don't happen over email. And they're worth more than almost anything else you can do in a day.

This is the whole argument, really. People are back two or three days a week, and every one of those days has to earn the commute. Mine earned it. But it earned it because of who was in the room, not because of what was on the stands.

That's the bit buildings and organisers keep getting wrong. You can't put connection on the floorplan.
You can only make room for it.