Weekstarter 42/2026
Intro
Ugh. After a great long weekend in Toronto at the Mozilla Alumni gathering, I started feeling rough on Wednesday. Really rough. I did a Covid test, which came back negative, and I've had my flu jab, so this must have been a different strain.
It's now the following Monday, and I'm still tired and with a chesty cough. My wife and son now have it, but my daughter is apparently gloriously immune. Perhaps the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine she had was somehow more effective? Or perhaps she's just a lot fitter and healthier than the rest of us...
The above photo of a tree was taken during a walk I've been taking through down and through and round Bluebell Wood from my home in Morpeth, England. I know I'm getting a bit better because I've done the same walk three days in a row and yesterday I didn't have to make use of a bench to 'admire the view' 😅
What's coming up
I'm delighted not to have any meetings today, so I can tinker around with things that I need to get done, and prepare for the rest of the week. It's my wife Hannah's birthday on Wednesday; she automatically gets the day off from work, and it's now a tradition that I also take the day off and we do something together.
This year, we're going to Kiln for a Clay and Cuppa session. Hannah had already been considering it, but when I was in a Dark Horse Espresso Bar in Toronto, I sent her this:
I wasn't sure what to call the cup(?) that my Cortado was in, but I remarked that we should get some. She replied that we should make our own, so that's exactly what we're going to do!
The rest of the week involves client work and bizdev. We've got a kick-off meeting with The Wildlife Trusts tomorrow, which is FIELD STATION's first major contract. Along with Abi Handley, Tom and I will be running a federation-wide data confidence, capability and culture
programme over the course of three years. I'm acting as programme manager and delivery lead, with Tom and Abi bringing the actual expertise.
We'll hear back from a couple of potential clients this week about potential gigs around:
- Report writing r.e. alternatives to Big Tech
- Interim product management
On the Dynamic Skillset side of things, Yalla Cooperative are kicking off their development sprint for the replacement to INASP's main website so I'll probably drop into a couple of stand-ups and keep an eye on the GitHub project board to see how things are progressing. The other site they'll be working on is Rising Scholars, and there's still some things to iron out there.
I've got a couple of follow-up meetings post-MozAlums meetup, and I've started a MozFest 2026 Signal channel for everyone I know who's going. If you'll be there, let me know and I'll add you; it's always great to make connections with like-minded people, especially in person.
I'm supposed to be meeting up with Tom on Thursday in Newcastle-upon-Tyne during with one of the things on our agenda to look at venues for the Digital Sovereignty Unconference. It's an event we're planning for early 2027, thanks to Spark Grants and lot of initial interest. There's a form to share your details if you want to be kept updated.
Sadly, we didn't get enough people by our self-imposed deadline to run the next TechFreedom cohort which was due to start later this month. We're refunding those affected, and need to have a chat about what to do next. There's definitely latent interest, but whether it's pricing, time of the year, or something different, people aren't putting their money where their mouth is.
Media consumption
It's been slow-going with The Brothers Karamazov over the last week as it's not the kind of book you want to read when you're ill. I'm listening to, and have almost finished, Seafire which has accompanied me during my walks. I've also continued listening to a bit of Flawless Consulting by Peter Block.
Sitting down to watch Coyote vs. Acme because I had nothing much else to do, I was looking forward to what was supposed to be a film as good as, and in the same vein as, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Reader, I was disappointed and haven't even finished it yet. Had the film not had the tortuous route to release that it did (which somewhat mirrors the plot) I can't see how it could have won the plaudits it has.
Other than that, the international break over, it was back to Premier League football. Which also fills up the time when you're ill.
Other updates
BOXT got in touch early last week saying that they'd had a solar installation cancellation and so could fit us in this month. The scaffolding goes up on Thursday, and next Monday we'll be having 24 solar panels and a 13.5kWh batter fitted.
According to my calculations, that will reduce our annual electricity bill by 75% and, given that we're planning to pay it off within the two year interest-free period, should make a big difference going forward. We're fully electrified with an air-source heat pump and EV, and no gas to the property.
Where to find me
- Social networks: Mastodon / Bluesky / LinkedIn
- Work: Dynamic Skillset / FIELD STATION
- Bookmarks: Are.na
Also, feel free to get in touch and/or book time to chat!