We, like most of the UK it seems, recently moved house. We only had one sofa in our old flat, a pre-child purchase… in midnight blue velvet. Needless to say, it is covered in milk, yogurt and general baby/toddler related mess, so we’ve decided to treat ourselves to a...
I went out for dinner in London the other night… inside a restaurant. The novelty of the occasion made my fellow diners and me slightly giddy with delight. Given how absolutely abysmal the weather has been since the government allowed...
The road to reopening continues to proceed as expected in the UK. I went into the office a couple of times in April after a year out (with the exception of picking up my bike last summer). On one day my floor was so quiet that the lights, which are triggered by motion...
The UK continues to track along the government’s road map to opening up. All the statistics are moving in the right direction and the vaccination effort has been exceptional. The government has promised a review of their guidance to work from home before stage four...
I had a catch-up call with a few colleagues the other day. One of my colleagues made an excellent point about how stilted virtual group meetings are. There is almost no spontaneity, as it just leads to interruptions and a period of ‘you speak’, ‘no you speak’ …...
It is a new year but unfortunately there is no watershed moment. 2020 humbled my way of thinking a few times. I’ve accepted the pandemic has changed some aspects of life for the long term. This is not inherently a bad thing; I will not miss commuting five times a...
As I write, it is Christmas Eve. The end of the year is an opportune time to reflect but there is still rather a lot to pack into the remaining eight days so I’ll defer that till January. I am optimistic about 2021. The first quarter will be extremely difficult and...
November is one of my least favourite months. The weather gets notably cold, it is dark and there are at least four more months till things brighten up a bit. This November has been so busy I’ve not had much time to dwell on my loathing. We’ve had the US election, a...
I went out for dinner with my wife this weekend. It was the first time we’ve been out for a few months and probably the last meal out before our second child arrives …and, therefore, the last meal out for some time! I must...
At the start of September we moved out of our flat. It is unbelievable how much clutter we have accumulated in three years. We wouldn’t consider ourselves hoarders, but the process of packing up does force some introspection. A rule of thumb I’ve heard is, if you...