Week Notes (23 June - 29 June)
Small wins and summer days
It’s been a funny week. I haven’t kept a note of what’s been happening as I’ve gone along, so I suspect a lot has been lost to the abyss of my memory. I partially blame the sunny weather and the definite end of term feeling to life at the moment.
One thing I have kept track of is how exciting it feels to be working on my current project. It’s moving forward apace, with plenty to do, but it’s genuinely thrilling to reconnect with the work in such a hands-on way. Being back in a theatre for the first time in a few months has been wonderful. I can’t wait for the next few weeks and to be able to share more when the time is right. It’s a challenge to get to grips with a new organisation and its idiosyncrasies, but it’s also fascinating to see how different people and teams approach things.
In the meantime, I’ve officially moved onto the second phase of the project. I’m planning to share a short case study about phase one soon, so keep an eye out for that.
This week also brought a small milestone, I secured my second client. It’s a short piece of work supporting them to think strategically about their digital journey. They already have an instinct for what they’d like to do, but I’ll be helping them map out the options and potentially develop a feasibility study and business case. It feels exciting to see my small corner of the world growing and taking shape bit by bit.
I was really pleased this week to feature in King’s In Touch, the alumni magazine for King’s College London. The piece looks at “leading the digital revolution in theatre” and although I may not feel like I’m leading a revolution, I genuinely believe there is opportunity to connect with audiences digitally and that it’s paramount that theatres, and other arts organisations find ways to reach and grow new audiences so they remain relevant in an ever changing world. A big shout out to Nathan Clarke for making the shoot so fun and relaxed on what turned out to be an unexpectedly warm day. And a massive thank you to the team at King’s for inviting to be part of this edition.
Beyond work, Tuesday was sports day at school. It was brilliantly organised, the weather was beautiful, and the children had so much fun. It was fantastic to see their determination, camaraderie, and team spirit. Well done to them all.
On Wednesday, I gave blood. Worth it for the mini-cheddars and KitKat (fun fact, there are more than 300 flavours of KitKat in Japan alone!). Thursday was a whirlwind of meetings, catching up with old colleagues and new people I hope I’ll work with in the future. Friday was a bit more restful with a quick haircut and new blinds in the living room, which have definitely helped keep some of the heat out during the heatwave.
The weekend was all about family time, my daughter had her first tennis coaching session and loved it. I remember watching Wimbledon with my Nana as a child, so it feels special to share that with her. We watched a BBQ demonstration at a local garden centre. The chef was so engaging and my daughter managed to eat her body weight in BBQ food, including brownies and pastries.
Watching / Listening / Reading
Really loved this visual from Deena Priest on LinkedIn
📺 Grenfell: Uncovered on Netflix. A difficult but important watch. Mind boggling that all these years later there have been no criminal proceedings, and the guidance for fires remains unchanged.
📺 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix. Finished this and by the end, I did feel the leaders came across as more human, but it’s a difficult environment that puts people under so much pressure. As a lovely colleague would say, “they’re not running a hospital, no one’s going to die”. It feels like a little perspective might be missing at times.
📺 Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. I didn’t enjoy this series as much as others. It felt like they were trying to cover too many places in each episode. There wasn’t the same human connection or humour I’ve enjoyed in the past.
I hope you’re managing to stay cool in the heat and I’ll be back again next week.