I was back at work this week but it has felt pretty odd if I am honest. Having two weeks off then returning for just 14 working days over three weeks (just 10 now) has left me with a motivation deficit – not helped by the fact so many people are on leave, the ongoing heatwave and a general feeling of not great vibes caused by the restructure and the MoG.

It wasn’t without good moments though. Got a couple of things ticked off the before I leave list, had some good chats with folks as I transition into full on coach mode and Andy landed at GDS (in iAI rather than NDL in the end due to… shenanigans) and we met up in the Bristol office, had a good catch up and lovely sarnies from Mokoko.

I’m also trying to get a few gatherings on the books before I go. Particularly trying to get all the product people in the Office for the Chief Data Officer space to come together as a community and get something in the calendar moving forward. Alongside this I’m spending a couple of days in Whitechapel next week and Manchester the following week in order to see some people IRL…before Product for the People in Bristol for my last day on September 3rd. 

Oh and if you are coming to Product for the People and fancy doing a lightning talk drop me a line – I’ll be doing a call for speakers next week but get in ahead of the rush 🤞.

Still have no real idea what I am going to do next. Turned down something else this week but do have a couple of irons in the fire so I’m not worried (yet). That can wait until after I see JAY-Z in Paris. 

I do have my company set up though – Just Jukesie Limited is live! So hire me if you feel so inclined!

Wrote a blogpost about the slow demise of ‘open’ in the public service space. Got some stuff off my chest, spurred a bit of comments (and some private messages).

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Went to see ‘The End of Oak Street’ this morning. Part of the ‘Summer of Anne Hathaway’ season 😀.

Honestly it was better than I was led to believe – though maybe the low expectations helped. It is so blatantly a homage to Spielberg family sci-fi movies that it is more Spielbergian than Disclosure Day! The plot is beyond silly (though not dissimilar to the book ‘God’s Junk Drawer’ that I enjoyed earlier this year), and some of the acting is pretty grimace inducing (Mr McGregor I am looking at you!) but it definitely had me leaning forwards in my seat and jumping at times. The dinosaurs were great and it was pretty brutal at times.

I did get the impression that a lot was left on the (modern equivalent of) the cutting room floor though.