The month in numbers
20 days worked
04 in Manchester office
04 in London (Whitechapel) office
01 in Bristol office
02 team nights out
01 in Birmingham for Govcamp
01 sinus infection
16 team one-to-ones [with 08 team members]
02 new laptops
02 new emails (DSIT and Cabinet Office)
10 mandatory e-learning courses
01 org re-structure
02 new stickers designed/printed
∞ MS Teams ‘chats’
03 MS Teams ‘channels’
01 2ew Slack (eventually)
08 unexpected reunions
So it has been quite the month. As it draws to a close I am unwell (sinus infection) and knackered (first time I’ve done a full month of five day weeks in an age) but generally feeling positive about things. This has been a journey though.
It was a bumpy start. Tech issues, admin problems and generally things being a slightly unexpected shape meant week one was particularly a little angsty. This combined with the stealthiness of everything and the seeming proximity to Ministerial interest left me feeling a bit off balance – as did the lack of access to wider GDS channels like Slack initially.
I’m not going to pretend I’ve resolved all my twitchiness after four weeks but thankfully week one was an outlier and things have been increasingly comfortable since then.
It has helped that on Monday we finally said some things in public about what I am working on which released a bit of a mental pressure valve for me. It even popped up in the Guardian. Some folks were unimpressed, it has to be said but I am just glad I can start working in the open a bit more. I’m leading the team delivering the five (for now – more to come) data investigations mentioned in the update and article. It is an interesting mix – with teams looking at climate, social care, health, income and legal data around various problem statements.
There is a lot still up for grabs when it comes to ways of working and outcomes. I’m already chatting to people like the Test/Learn/Grow gang and GDS Local amongst others to see how other activities that look a bit similar if you stand back and squint are operating and what we can learn from (and share with) them.
The recent update on the Blueprint for Digital Government very much endorsed an open working approach so once I get a bit more settled you can expect more of that from my little corner of the internet of public service.
Anyway I’m feeling good about things – just wish I felt a bit healthier!
Govcamp in Birmingham was lovely. I went up and down on the day – bumping into Priya on the platform at Bristol Parkway, then Darwin in my carriage on the train and then I basically spent an entire day #corridorcamping in pretty much the same spot – doing a combo of answers and dodging questions about the new job! My back was killing me from standing all day 😆
I really liked the location and the venue – it seemed to attract a nice mix of new faces amongst the veterans. I definitely endorse the experiment with leaving London.
The passing of Mark Longair earlier in the month really knacked the stuffing out of me. I didn’t know Mark well really but we worked together at mySociety for a year and continued to bump into each other after that at the usual geeky events. He was one of the nicest, kindest, most genuinely caring colleagues I’ve ever encountered – as well as a top tier technologist.
I have a lovely memory of he and I having a few drinks at a hotel rooftop bar in the Lower East Side of New York putting the world to rights after a particularly weird few days working with Facebook on a project after everyone else had departed for earlier flights.
Sym at DemoClub (who also cameo’d that weird week in NYC) and Myf from mySociety wrote lovely tributes.
Really enjoyed Pagans by James Alistair Henry – a really fun mix of alt-history and hard-boiled procedural. I loved the world building and the characters are really compelling – it was a total page turner.
I’m enjoying Star Trek: Starfleet Academy more than most I think. Though a lot of that is how much I am loving Holly Hunter in it.
Similarly I really liked The Lowdown but 90% was Ethan Hawke’s performance at the self style ‘truthsorian’ Lee Raybon.
Peace out for now.
Digital by Default 