What happened this week? A week churning through a growing to-do list, trying to focus on one thing at a time and ticking-off multiple admin tasks. Often the tasks you think will be simple open up a range of further questions and the list expands again. This work
Another shorter week as we headed off for a wedding in Marple, south of Manchester. Lots of stone cottages and rolling hills. This is minus the boy who returned from the Boardmasters festival in Cornwall (via a 14-hour coach journey). Despite saying he isn't really "a
A strange week with a big focus on exam results. The boy did amazingly well, managing to pull off the perfect ratio of hard work and outcomes for each subject. There's now a bit less pressure on his final year. I was less delighted getting up at 2.
What happened this week? A day of leave on Monday was spent on a furniture hunt with the girl. We were the first people in Ikea which was fun (for a while). We left with some spoons, a pack of storage tubs and a feeling of nothing being quite right
A much shorter note from a condensed three-day week. Things are a little quieter at the Library through the Summer (although the noise outside the office is ramping up with the swarm of tourists and street performers). I'm trying harder take some holiday while there's
A first week spent with friends* in the sunny Cairngorms. Lots of forests, cycling, woods, river swimming, trees, good food, football and games. It felt good to be in a different space and slow down. A week wasn't quite long enough, but it was helpful to step back
A final week before a long-awaited Summer break, including my wedding anniversary (19 years!) and my brother turning 50 (!!). I also marked three years in my role at the Library and the half way point of writing weeknotes in 2026. (I noted in John Fitzgerald's 100th weeknote
I’m writing this on the day’s fourth slow-moving train, heading back from a university open day at Durham with the boy. It’s been a very full week with little time for reflection, so I should perhaps be grateful for the change of pace. With the school
I'm attempting to write this at the tail end of a very full on week involving team away days, a museum visit, board meetings, and an exhibition opening. Fun, challenging but also exhausting. It's becoming easier to bash out these notes, but I probably need to
A very full-on week involving recruitment, a couple of exploratory workshops and thinking about long-term strategy and funding. With the boy away in Kenya, we've taken the opportunity to redecorate his room and tick off some dull tasks like painting outdoor funiture and servicing the central
The house felt very empty this week as my daughter headed off a school trip to the Netherlands. Friday then saw my son head off on another trip. We managed about 30 minutes of child-free waiting at the airport between one departure and another arrival. What happened this week?
Edinburgh's annual week of Summer arrived in time for the marathon festival and the end of exams. Sighs of relief all round and it felt good to spend time outside. What happened this week? The final stage of our CRM tender completed this week with in-person demos
Weeknotes
A slow start to the week as I recovered from the Hackney Half. Not my finest race. After my brother sailed into the distance I settled into a steady pace and tried to enjoy the good vibes. What happened this week? Monday kicked off with the Audit Committee providing positive
Weeknotes
More of a mini-note this time around, ironically due to a very busy schedule. I'm writing this at the end of Friday, trying to leave things in a reasonable state before heading off to London for the Hackney Half. What happened this week? Lots of chasing suppliers
Weeknotes
Last weekend, Cambridge United secured promotion in the most Cambridge way possible, scrambling a 0-0 draw and relying on other teams failing to win. Work felt a bit like this, trying to keep projects spinning with a lot resting on decisions outside our control. There was also a lot
Weeknotes
A couple of shorter working weeks were squeezed around the boy's Higher exams and a long weekend on the Isle of Mull. Ridiculous levels of sunshine helped to tick off an impressive list of wildlife including: Sea Eagles, Cuckoos, Yellowhammers, and hundreds of Puffins on Lunga (see the
Weeknotes
A two-week edition following a short break with university friends, recreating a pre-graduation trip to Rhodes. Less sun, swimming, and dancing. More walking, whiskey, and reminiscing about our forgotten youth. What's been happening? There were definite first lock-down vibes over these last two weeks: both
Weeknotes
A slightly shorter week with Monday and Friday as annual leave. Lots of sunshine and blue skies but, walking across the Meadows to work, frost remained in the long-shadows of the trees. I'm sure there's a useful metephor in there somewhere... What happened this week?
Weeknotes
A week of interesting chats, admin churn and unexpected tribulations. What happened this week? Monday began with a useful chat with one of our Board members about a large-scale AI roll-out across a multi-national organisation. Initial scepticism has been replaced by seeing dedicated agents delivering huge time
Weeknotes
A slightly delayed note after a week where everything seemed to be happening everywhere all at once. What happened this week? An energising Monday morning discussion on the Library's Moving Image Archive. We know that the current online experience is not up to scratch, but once you start
Weeknotes
A week mostly spent out of the office on training, committee meetings and conferences. Lots to ponder and then lots of emails waiting on my return. What happened this week? Monday was spent in a full day of online training about personal impact. I've previously undertaken Myers-Briggs
Weeknotes
I always struggle with this opening line, so maybe it's not needed? What happened this week? After catching up with folk returning from annual leave, the week was deliberately focussed on the end of the financial year and setting new budgets - a process that can often feel like
Weeknotes
After a relaxing half-term break in Fife, this week was all about catching up, planning for the worst and responding to unexpected changes. What happened this week? * The week started by reporting into the Library's Audit Committee on our cyber security plans. Recognition of progress was balanced
Weeknotes
A condensed week after being floored by a cold on Monday and Tuesday - although I was grateful to avoid the "daggers in the throat" version some of my team picked up. What happened this week? Following up from our cyber security exercise last week with some improvements to