Weeknotes
Big Autumn vibes this week with bright, crisp mornings and a significant drop in temperature (apart from one day where it was 20 degrees which felt a bit weird). A deep breathe was needed after a very busy couple of weeks. I'm seeing the next fortnight as a
Weeknotes
A shorter note from a week in which the back-to-school germs hit hard. I was mostly moving at half speed, avoiding the school run and doing very little in the evenings. What happened this week? Monday was a day of catching up and scrubbing items off the to-
Weeknotes
A bit of an epic note from a week which included: a trip to see my parents on the Essex coast, a few days in London, and catch ups with lots of fab people. Most of this was written in the between spaces of cafes and trains. What happened this
Weeknotes
What happened this week? A slightly shorter note this time as I emerge from a recruitment-heavy week. We interviewed for a couple of roles linked to a UKRI-funded project and I then sat on the panel for a Director position, alongside Amina Shah and Dr Jess Gardner from
Weeknotes
Busy, busy. Feeling the pinch of back-to-school organisation with new timetables, devices, and parent briefings. The kids are coping better than we are. The weather is also dipping into Autumn with most of the city being hugged closely by low hanging cloud. In brighter news, we're
Weeknotes
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.
Weeknotes
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
Weeknotes
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
Weeknotes
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
Weeknotes
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
Weeknotes
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
Weeknotes
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