Well , that was an experience. 

It was my first time arranging anything like that and it seemed to me that everything came together in the end ok.  Things didn't quite go according to plan when I was delayed setting up by the filming of a Jack the Ripper drama in the pub, additionally Neil Hambley (blog|twitter) was running late and had had hard disk corruption resulting in a change on presentation. 

Thankfully, my major worries of A) A complete absence of attendees and B) AV Equipment Failure were unfounded as we had a 25+ turnout and my trusty home projector was pushing out a bright and clear image.

With Neil delayed and the agenda already in taters, Allan Mitchell (blog|twitter) stepped up to the mark and got going with his presentation on StreamInsight. 

If ,like me, some of this left you mentally floundering, then check out Allan’s cuppa corner items for a refresh at http://www.sqlserverfaq.com/.  Thankfully, Allan, famous for overrunning, was delighted to know that the food had also been a victim of Jack the Ripper (Not known for his dislike of a vol-au-vent normally) and had been set back a bit too.

The food and drinks were provided by our sponsor for the evening Influential software.  Big big thanks to them for helping me to ‘keep it local’ and being supportive through this whole process. 

After a bit of socialising, always good to meet tweeps and catch-up with old friends and colleagues, Neil presented his plan B option of computed columns & indexed views.  Having used both of these features ‘in the wild’, he is very versed in the pro and cons of both and was able to give helpful advice on the how, whys and whens. 

So, would I do this again , you bet I will.  I need to recover a little bit first and then ill be getting straight onto it.   For this event I have a SQL Source Control licence to give away courtesy of RedGate.  So if you fancy this, simply download a free trial copy, post a review of the product on your blog, send me a link and the best will receive the license. Even if you dont win I have 10 runners up RedGate TShirts.  This should be a warts-n-all review , if you disliked the product then that counts to.  The only caveat is that you will have to of registered for the inaugural or attend the next meeting.  Good luck and see you at the next meetup.