In October 2023 the prestigious international conference CIKM (Conference on Information and Knowledge Management) came to Birmingham. Topics discussed at the conference included databases, search engines, and natural language processing. Over 600 delegates came, out of over 2000 people who had applied to present papers. The venues were excellent: we spent the weekend using the new Teaching and Learning Centre at the University of Birmingham, and then the weekend at the Eastside Rooms in the city centre. As well as the academic papers, we could enjoy a full social programme, with a drinks reception in the ornate Great Hall at the University, and a banquet hosted by Aston Villa Football Club.