Writing a blog on discovery and so far I've referenced "We're going on a bear hunt" and "Let it go". I am not a serious person and yet I hold down a professional job.

Bloody hell.

Example 99 for why I didn’t use the Welsh language option of a service. A new one: m&s Shrewsbury till froze and crashed when I selected Welsh. Moved to another till, and selected English.. in case it happened again. Had a train to catch… in a rush.

This review, with honest subjective opinions by the author, reminds me of how much a lot of people like to diss pre-chopped veg like onions or carrots. Maybe it's not for you, as part of the able majority. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

At one of the hospital trusts I go to, at the blood test unit, it advises you need your hospital number to speed up the tests. Unless you know it off, you must load the app and afaik it's only in a "letter". But letters don't load there, despite being on NHS WiFi.

It's a two-blanket day for our poor whippet, Cecil. Thoughts and prayers for his shivering little soul.

Getting fed up of the cliché that discovery work isn't "progress". I'm as allergic to discoveryitis as the next person but sometimes discovery is the right thing to do.

I suppose Ireland is the only country where you can wear zogabongs, but hardly anyone does that anymore.

The incredible, indomitable, inspirational Alice Wong has left us. I'm so grateful to have known her on social media, and so grateful for all the words she shared with us and all the actions she encouraged us into making. May we live up to her example. (so you don't have to go to Instagram)

Every time I take a nebuliser my air purifier is like "ALERT ALERT POISON IN THE AIR!!!!" Yeah alright chill out mate, it's prescribed.

My communication style is always preferring to find an appropriate emoji on Slack to avoid using any words. I am noting this to put this in the next 'manual of me' I have to do: I will not use words but mere mini pictograms to convey my thoughts. I am a child of MSN. 😌

Man who, seemingly unknown to her, used Rosalind Franklin's work to underpin his career has died.

Ryanair insisting on downloading the app and refusing to accept printed boarding passes is quite a move. I hope they're prepared to give assisted digital support to their customers.

Oíche Shamhna shona 's athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh. Happy Halloween/Samhain 🎃👻🕷️🕯️🦇🧚‍♀️🐈‍⬛

Q for the public sector digital hive mind: I want to land a point about the difference between how a user experiences a problem vs how gov solves a problem (esp. showing it might be many teams across orgs...?) Any pointers on a visual for this welcome 🤗

Q for the public sector digital hive mind: I want to land a point about the difference between how a user experiences a problem vs how gov solves a problem (esp. showing it might be many teams across orgs...?) Any pointers on a visual for this welcome 🤗

Stick szn.

Here are the Top 5 Dogs of the week!

🚨 Request for help! 🚨 We want to invite people in some specific government communities to join us at Gov Camp in January. To do that we're looking for people who already have personal connections to the leaders of the specific organisations below. If that's you please get in touch! Thanks 🙏

217 people have now registered for UK Gov Camp 2026 ( #ukgc26 ) in #Birmingham on Saturday 17 January 2026. Register to attend or sponsor via UKGovCamp.com, repost this message and share with your colleagues. We welcome everyone, whether you work with the #PublicSector or not. #unconference

My latest theory is I should spend more time actively not "doing stuff". I've had lots of medical appts lately which has been an opportunity. My analysis of *stuff* has jumped on by merely sitting (on a train, in a waiting room) and thinking. Anyway, many know this already, I've just caught up.

Register is open for UKGovCamp 2026! Join us on 17 January 2026 for a free, community-led unconference where public sector people meet to share ideas, collaborate, and improve services. Spaces are limited. Secure your spot today: forms.gle/tL5q1ZBHYxAq...

We're recruiting for a Bilingual Content Designer (Welsh and English) on our team, please spread the word to anyone who might be interested! www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigit...

Got both Covid and flu vaccines done for the winter this morning. Took less than 5 minutes at the pharmacy. Please get vaccinated. I'm immunosuppressed so will have a lower response to them which means I still need to avoid exposure. Vaccines save lives - perhaps yours, but mine also.

From an ad for a water flosser on a week-known online marketplace. I clicked on the product because the images were full of spelling errors and I was rewarded with this. Dental plaque in the shape of the Republic of Ireland. The internet is broken and it's time to turn it off and on again.

Today is my 12th liver transplant anniversary. I don't have much to say except what a joy it is to be alive. There is nothing like the quiet feeling of gratitude for nothing more than the simple act of living; to be here indebted to the generosity of a stranger. It is amazing and I am so grateful.

Bluesky help: I'm pulling together a reading list around digital transformation. I've got all the usual recommendations: Lou Downe, Kate Tarling, Giles, Richard Pope, the PD book and other publications etc etc. What else is essential reading? Books, reports, blog posts etc

If anybody is free Monday afternoon at 3pm I'm going to do my final preview of my #CampDigital talk to work out the final kinks and timings - I might be talking to myself but it would be nice to have a little audience so I don't feel insane! lu.ma/x0oh5wm8

Help we are drowning in french beans.

A tasty lunch ahead with all this from the garden. Such a different growing year from last year – only one bean plant survived the slug onslaught last year whereas this year we will have a glut!

And with that... Winter is coming.

Superb day at #ProductForThePeople. My top 3 from today: 1. Learning about the concept "trust battery". 2. Great tried and tested ideas to navigate working with people with fixed mindsets 3. Can't not mention the pastry from Medicine bakery and the afternoon ice cream.

Really enjoyed this post which echoes Scott Colfer's very insightful presentation to our product community this week: product managers in the public sector need well-developed social skills to lead and succeed in a complex social system. It's not just the digital tech skills.

I have just had to put a blanket over my slightly chilly dog because I had the audacity to not allow him to bask in the 30° sunshine and get over heated. It is still 26° in our living room.

I am now playing the "guess my electrolytes" game. Drink loads of fluids? Salt levels drop, feel weak and get headaches. Take too much salt replacement? Ooh bad for my kidneys! I want to live somewhere where it's permanently April/May – the perfect months.

Caesar salad is the best salad.

I needed to confirm something for a personal matter and, of course, it was there on gov.uk, in plain language. It becomes the default way of thinking: "gov.uk will have the answer". 💜

People may not realise that the workshops they have spun up can be quite inaccessible. They might assume an attendee is quiet or is not contributing much but it might be the format Observed a G6 psychologist really struggling with the act of adding a single post-it note to a virtual whiteboard

It's very exciting to see the work on people with LTHCs/disabled peoples' experiences of services. The irony is the more disabled you are the less ability you have but the greater need for even more (disjointed) services. This is a valuable problem to solve. Looking forward to seeing more.

This is a really exciting position in the Commission, essentially overseeing the start of a major in-house digital project. Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested in applying

Well that's something, isn't it...

On Tues morning I got a text saying my local hospital had received the referral and to contact them for an appt; by Tues afternoon, I received another message with an appt on Thurs. I still haven't received the results of the tests that have triggered this referral which I had a few weeks ago.

I've added extra [free] tickets if anyone is still looking to attend Product for the People on June 20th in Birmingham..

Hard agree with everything in this

I am going to buy 2 places on @ewebber.bsky.social's fantastic new self paced learning course, for people traditionally marginalised in the #digital industry if you're interested, or know someone let me know 👍 (inspired by @deanvipond.bsky.social recent offer for UCD folks ❤️)

This post was doing numbers earlier in the week, think it got shared in a Teams channel somewhere. Re-upping in case helpful to you!

I highly recommend being a member of a local area dog WhatsApp group because every time someone new joins this prompts all existing members to send a photo of their hound to say hello and it is *marvellous* seeing all the neighbourhood snoots.

I run AI Impacts training sessions - a paid lunchtime workshop for people who want to get to grips with the social and environmental impacts of AI - and it is *very interesting* to me that only one man has ever signed up for this course. Def not objecting, but it's quite an entertaining data point.

Can't stop writing 'please' when I use copilot.

When you make data open, people do amazing things like... Build train station departure boards that you can have in your own home. They also offer **audio announcements** as part of a premium description. I need this. ukdepartureboards.co.uk