Tuesday, August 26

A mere sprinkling of Grouchos turned up, and a small shower of e-mailed apologies rained down. Coming hard after a Bank Holiday weekend, it was unsurprising. Paul Harvey, Business Development Manager of Kent FM ("The music you want – the news you need") came and went before anyone else arrived. Stephen Fleming was offering work for his Editorial Intelligence gathering, for which I may be grateful. Matthew Kellett was in the pub anyway, prior to a few days in France. Nick Gilbert and David Merewether turned up later, by which time conversation turned to the ownership of local pubs. Jezz Tims nearly made it, and sent the following invitation for the next Meejahub meeting in Thorins Wine Bar, Tunbridge Wells:

The Groucho lot are all invited to the next MeejaHub
meeting on the 10th Sept - I know it clashes
but you could all come over if you wish.
It is free for now - we are still testing
the water on how membership should be paid
and how much etc.
We may scrap the membership fee or reduce it
to a minimal amount if we get the right sponsors.
So it is a free event for potential members to see if it is
right for them etc. However, if they could sign up on the
meejahub site and register their attendance to the event so
we can manage numbers that would be great. It only takes
2 mins to do so.

http://www.meejahub.co.uk/events/event/show?id=2133950:Event:1158

NB: Because the date clashes with the next Groucho, I have shifted our next network night back a day to Thursday, September 11.

• The general Groucho response to the debate over the Data Protection Act and the July NUJ bulletin (below) was that it was an outrageous scam to get money out of us, that the NUJ should have stood up to it, and that we should keep our heads down and not apply until we are individually called upon to do so.

Freelances and the Data Protection Act
Most people have heard of the Data Protection Act, but freelances should be aware that failing to register as a data controller is a criminal offence.
The Information Commissioner, responsible for policing the DPA, states that information processed by journalists - contact details, numbers, addresses - constitutes personal information and they must therefore register.
To register, contact the Information Commissioner's Office and pay the yearly fee of £35. For more information visit www.ico.gov.uk.