Last week was an interesting week, I was in London for the DT Camp 25.  An internal event run by TPX to celebrate and look to the future of all things digital transformation. It was nice to reconnect with old colleagues I haven’t spoken to since the pre-merger days – IYKYK – and meet new colleagues face to face. It’s always an interesting game guessing the height of colleagues you’ve not met in person but have had numerous virtual meetings with.📏

If you’ve travelled to London from Swansea or vice versa, you’re aware of the lengthy journey ahead. Mind you, some people had travelled from Scotland, on overnight trains, so I can’t really boast about long travel times. I quite like the early start. The trains are usually quiet; there’s plenty of time to grab breakfast, and depending on the time of year, you can catch the sunrise over the agricultural landscape on the way. Very picturesque. The event was at the Royal Institution in the “posh end” of London, which meant I spent my walk to the venue gawking at the expensive motors. Being a petrolhead, this brought me a great deal of pleasure. A personal highlight was seeing a RUF Porsche, a Lancia Delta Integrale, and Ayrton Senna’s Lotus Type 99T, which was just around the corner from the venue. It’s the first Formula 1 car I’ve seen in person for a long time (so long that I can’t remember seeing one, but my father begs to differ), and I was surprised by how big they are. Obviously, the more modern F1 cars are huge—Range Rover size—and much faster too. 🏎️

The event itself was nice; there was a brilliant talk by Richard Pope, whose book, Platformland: An Anatomy of Next-Generation Public Services, is now added to the ever-growing reading backlog. The venue? Very “boujee.” Loads of history, boasting world-famous Christmas lectures from the likes of David Attenborough and scientists such as Michael Faraday, whose discoveries helped shape the modern world. And, as I already mentioned, it was great to see so many colleagues in one place. It highlighted to me the importance of seeing the people you work with face-to-face. Those types of conversations, which you don’t get to have on a virtual call, really help to network and build relationships. I hadn’t seen anyone in almost fifteen months, so it was a little overwhelming to see so many people in person again. This is not a reflection on the event at all. I wish I had spoken to more people!

I can’t really remember much of last week; the traveling really took it out of me.

I do remember running from wherever I was in London at the time to the station because the tube was delayed, meaning it would have been just as quick to speed walk or jog.🏃I could have done without that. I could have also done without the train turning up with only five carriages instead of the usual ten. This meant that after my impromptu jog—with all my work kit in my rucksack—I was then standing between carriages while I waited for the train to empty and a seat to appear. Eventually, it did, so no dramas. In hindsight, if I hadn’t grabbed lunch or gotten guilt-tripped into buying a Paddington Bear (an actual Paddington Bear from Paddington! 🐻) for my daughter, I could have fought for a seat. Or, just gotten the slightly later train. 🚂

It was also my birthday, which, with an extra day off and all the traveling, really messed with my “what day is it again?”. 🎂

Watching 📺

I shared it on LinkedIn last week: a great Google ad titled “Switch like Sol.” Of course, I’m biased, but it’s a great piece of marketing and is worth watching if you haven’t seen it already. Following last weeks Marvel theme, we also started Ant-Man Quantumania. 🐜

Listening 📻

Nothing significant this week, but continuing last week’s theme: Linkin Park, old and new, 2000s anthems, and some more recent music.

Reading 📖

I did find time to read a recommendation from Tash Willcocks about building good habits; it’s called Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. I didn’t read the whole book, just the free ebook sent when you sign up for the newsletter—a teaser of the real thing—it’s on the backlog. Thank you, Tash; any more recommendations are welcome. I also got through a few more pages of my SAS book and have continued my Duolingo and Mimo streaks. Go me!

I really need to start doing these on the weekend and making them slightly shorter. That’s my personal goal for weeknote #3.