So yes – this week I finished my spell at the National Data Library / Office of the Chief Data Officer / Government Digital Service. It was a low-key ending – overshadowed a little by my boss finishing this week as well (which was pretty good cover all things considered). I was/am a little sad – I’ll miss the Kickstarter crew in particular and a number of the other folks I met along the way. I’ll also always appreciate how accommodating everyone was during/post my health scare. All that said, in general it has been a disappointing and short-lived adventure. The NDL I had imagined I was joining only really existed in my imagination it turned out and the overtly political (and sometimes Political) environment I found myself operating in was just not for me. 

Since the merger of the National Data Library programme into the Office for the Chief Data Officer in March I’ve found myself feeling more and more detached from the emerging direction/strategy (some of this obviously influenced by my health issues – but not all) and the subsequent restructure really was the last straw for me (sidenote though – the re-org did end up better than it initially looked so fingers crossed for the future!).

So here I am – a little sad, a little depressed, a little bit unsure about what I’ll do next. So the usual really. Feels like since Covid I find myself in a similar place every eight or nine months and at some point it gets a little “it’s not you, it’s me.”

Fingers crossed once I get back from Cologne & Paris, having spent a small fortune on JAYZ merch at the concert, I’ll work out something to keep me occupied (and keep the lights on).

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Other fun things did happen this week as well.

I started the week blogging about my first (proper) blogpost. 20 years ago I wrote about an idea I had for an academic blog network and then I (pretty much) made it happen. Something that I remain proud of to this day.

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Then Tuesday I chatted to Russell – for more than an hour – about working in the open, communities of practice, safe spaces and whether I should continue to advocate so hard for the mantra of ‘make things open’ (despite the arm ink).

There is no way I am listening to my dulcet tones for that long but you can → 

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Thursday it was the ninth edition of our Minimal Viable Meetup series – Product for the People – in Bristol.

All-in-all I think it was a success. I always get edgy when I am hosting events – even after all these years – and this was no exception…but it went pretty smoothly.

The speakers were amazing – thanks Coco, Miranda, Steve, Josh, Jess, Jono, Ian and Si. The ‘Small Goods’ doughnuts went down well. The ‘Barley Mow’ was a great post-event pub and everyone embraced the balance of Russell concept of STAIT & HOAC (Short Talks About Interesting Things and Hanging Out And Chatting) which probably ended up around 50/50 in the end.

I see my role at these things as setting a vibe and creating a space but otherwise getting out of the way as much as possible and I think we achieved that.

Someone did fall ill – which was a little stressful – but with the help of Debbie, Steve and the lovely first-aider the situation was managed and she got home safe and sound.

There were a lot of no-shows though. Not the people who emailed me or updated Luma – folks who just didn’t show and didn’t say anything. It was a lot this time. Almost 30 people…which given we had a LOT of people on the waiting list is disappointing. I even went really over the top with the reminders this time.

Oh well.

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‘The Tin Can Society’ is probably my favourite comic of the year so far. A totally unexpected story with just beautiful art. Seek it out.

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Okay. Probably going to take a break for a week or two from this (and the jobs newsletter after I send it out later) so laters alligators.