Like the venerable Ms Swift I think of my professional life in terms of eras.

Seriously – stick with me. 

Some of the more notable ones for me are the ‘Polar Bear’ period, the ‘Here Comes Everybody’ time and the, actually most successful, ‘National Embarrassment’ days.

This current period though I have come to think of as my Nostalgia Act era.

As I fast approach what could be considered a quarter of a century of working in the internet of public service (I started as Web Manager at the Economic and Social Research Council 24 years ago last week) and a decade on from the ‘hit’ on which my career since rests upon (the aforementioned ‘National Embarrassment’ / ONS work which launched in late February 2016 but it was the run up to that where I suspect I had the highest profile due to the open working of that period) I increasingly feel like a bit of one of those 80s/90s pop stars doing the rounds. 

Playing the old hits to a core of loyal fans and the occasional newcomers who stumbled in by mistake or were brought along by an older colleague. Hopefully more Rick Astley (a man with a surprisingly strong catalogue for a ‘one-hit wonder’) than Chesney Hawkes (who doesn’t) but nonetheless a man out of time, harking back to bygone days with tales of a mythical, golden age and a few bangers that still hot the spot.

Don’t get me wrong I can still perform and the audience go home happy but they don’t expect, nor do they really want, any new material. They want me to roll out the hits, share some anecdotes and open up the Rolodex (just that reference alone is nostalgia!) to bring in some guest appearances from acts whose stars haven’t faded quite as much. 

You know the ones who wrote the books, landed in the ‘super groups’ or became ‘the Man’ with Director or Chief in their job titles. My erstwhile peers who I now rely on for bookings.

Now truth be told I cannot say I am unhappy with how this has turned out.

I enjoy the coaching and advising and providing context on how we got to this point in digital government…even if some of my references get blank stares that even the distance between remote workers on Teams cannot hide.

…but bloody hell sometimes I feel old.