Week 46
Gotta keep this new mojo going even if I’m technically on holiday now.
In renovation life this week:
- things are motoring along now!
- The skylight in the link is in. The doors are all framed. You really get a sense of the space and light that the link will have.
- Everything is ready to be plastered while we are away.
- It’s finally starting to feel real even there is quite a bit more work yet to do. 4 doors, a window, stairs, cupboards, the kitchenette and decorating all still go. Plus the link needs to be cladded in zinc.
- Now we need to start the remortgage process for the next phase of work. Yikes.
We’re up in Northumberland for the week. It’s our 2nd home. I think we might have moved up here if we didn’t have the strong link to Wales.
Dai and I came here for our first holiday together, before anyone knew we were dating. We stayed in Hesleyside, near Bellingham. That was 9 years ago. And bar one year during Covid, we have been back every year. It feels like a second home. We know the area, we know the places to eat and shop. Bellingham never seems to change, and I like that about it. I never understood why people would holiday in the same place year on year until we found Northumberland. Now I understand the comfort of the familiarity.
Work
I continue to bring order to chaos and stop further chaos happening. It’s been mostly successful this week and the top of the shop seems really happy with what I’m doing. Even if things look worse before they look better.
One day soon I’ll write some words about why fixed price delivery leads to so very many problems for everyone involved, client and supplier.
Everything takes longer than I’d like. I need to be patient. And we all know I’m not patient.
Planning on hiding away with a few colleagues before Christmas to start doing more forward planning and strategising on our Wales practice for 2025.
Most of this week has been trying to keep things not moving, so that I can deal with them next week and not have to hand over too much to others. Really hoping that works out!
On top of client work, I’m also co-leading another bid. And co-planning an away day for early December between Growth and Delivery Partners to continue developing how we work with each other. Hoping to get folks to not-London for a change.
Battled my way through a personality/behaviours psychometric test. I really really loathe these things, particularly as a neurodiverse person. There are better ways to get to know people and understand them than this.
Eyes
Ended up spending Friday afternoon in Hereford County’s specialist A&E Eye Unit. So lucky to have this on our doorstep.
I started having flashes and huge black floaters on Thursday. Thought it was just another new delightful symptom of a migraine. But the migraine never appeared. And the flashes/floaters didn’t go away on Friday, and if anything got worse. It’s quite a disturbing thing to have happening in your eye.
Rang the optician to get in after holiday but they said, given the fact I’m pretty shortsighted, I’d best get myself over to Hereford ASAP and get it checked out. Symptoms were not dissimilar to a detached retina.
Arrived at A&£ at 3.30 and was out by 5.30. Incredibly smooth process, they had all my details from my GP surgery in Wales. I was triaged within 5 minutes of sitting in the waiting room. Then the dilating drops were applied and the requisite waiting time was waited. Scans and photos. Saw the consultant. And out. Arrived home looking like Mr. Burns.
Thankfully it wasn’t a detached retina but a Posterior vitreous detachment. Basically another rudeness of getting old. SIGH.
No treatment, it just is. Your brain does eventually adapt. I’m Still having the floaters and flashes, it’ll take a while for it to settle down. Still rather unsettling, but at least it’s nothing serious.
Lesson: if you’ve got weird eye symptoms going on, definitely get them checked out asap.
Thing that I read
Lee Waters’s fantastic “System Reboot” paper from 2019.
I’m trying to not to let the lack of progress grind me down, but to inspire me to keep pushing for better, faster, more progress in delivering public services in Wales.
Went down a rabbit hole of Will Hayward’s excellent newsletter this morning. If you are interested in Wales, you should read it. If you’re not (yet) interested in Wales, you should read it. And you should follow him on BlueSky for his epic threads.