Checkout meetup.com and find local tech meetups, there's also the Manchester Linux User Group. A lot of these events are either pure socializing or talks follow

Checkout meetup.com and find local tech meetups, there's also the Manchester Linux User Group. A lot of these events are either pure socializing or talks followed by pubbage, so there's not really much to worry about when it comes to being "good" enough to go. Twitter is also a good place to meet people.