had my last Italian lesson before my teacher goes and has a baby and takes a bit of time off. unprompted, she told me that I am her best student. well maybe tied with someone else but they do loads of homework. obviously I was delighted, and then I suddenly worried that I should be doing way more Italian homework than I am. story of my life.
when the news broke about Spurs firing Poch and recruiting Mourinho, my godson posted an Instagram story about Spurs being a ‘terrible club’. we’ve not spent loads of time together in the past five years (geography innit) but I like to think me taking him to Arsenal once or twice a season has directly contributed to this mindset and frankly I am proud that I’ve helped him become the upstanding young man he is today.
met some Danes this week. they were thoughtful and interested and they all laughed at my jokes. what if we all moved to Denmark, huh?
after a bit of a rough day on Tuesday / let’s be honest maybe a rough few weeks, I messaged Ste, our head of design, to see if he was around for a pint 'soon’, because I felt like a chat with him might help me feel a bit better. his reply: “sure, what about now? see you downstairs in 5 minutes?”. and that is how Stephen and I ended up in the pub at 11.30am on Tuesday. no just kidding, it was 5pm. anyway. fast response + making time at that exact moment = leaders, take note. thanks Ste <3
on Wednesday we ran a user-centred design careers evening for people who are underrepresented in technology. we pulled it together fast (well, Clara did). I did a talk at the end, which was my usual 'take a boring thing like pensions or recruitment and try to explain it in human’. people seemed to appreciate it. I’m keenly aware that this translation of complicated to simple wouldn’t be a necessary thing to do if we made it easy in the first place.
it was very, very lovely to be in the Pilcrow last Friday and see some of my Co-op Digital friends. what a familiar place. the Pilcrow might actually be the pub I’ve spent the most time in ever?! (tight competition with the EDT and the Gowlett I imagine)
the design team went to the Design of the Year exhibition this morning. while I was looking at one of the entries, a man came along with a drill and an orange tag saying 'overall winner’, and proceeded to drill it onto the label.
the Design Museum lockers are £1, coins only, non-refundable. who left their ticket in their coat pocket and had to pay two pounds for the privilege of using a cloakroom? yes, me. first I had to go to west London, then I had to pay an extra quid for the privilege. there’s a reason I try not to go west of Vauxhall, and I’d do well to remember it.
just went to check just how far west Vauxhall is compared to north of the river, and have now created ideal boundaries for myself on Google Maps. no further west than Vauxhall Bridge Road / Park Lane, in an ideal world. I’m more lenient in other parts of the city. what can I say man, north London’s home.