Saturday

09.48
I should have, by now, recorded this week’s podcast and put it up on the website, thereby distributing it to the approximately 82,000 listeners who seem to have developed an appetite for excellent music and rubbish wittering-on.

But I haven’t – although I have polished the running order, turned things around slightly and found a last-minute inclusion of the humerous variety. The podcast sits there, notes typed up, tracks ready, waiting for me to sit in the chair, twiddle mixing controls and push buttons. And unveil excellent music and just… talk.

But no.

Instead I’ve backed up the server database, copied all of the website files to another location and, ahem, drunk tea. And watched Soph do a belly dance.

She’s now sitting at the table doing homework for her MSc, I’m on the couch contemplating breakfast.

The reason the podcast has made no headway is because we’re going to start twiddling with the site design shortly, and I couldn’t see any benefit in risking the RSS feeds getting upset. And the RSS feeds are, after all, what pushes the thing out to the listeners.

So instead, our normal routine is disrupted; the contents of Classic FM’s chart strokes Soph’s ears (she quickly rejected the more thumping offerings from Radio 1) while she reads, writes and tuts her way through her latest piece of coursework whilst puzzling out the meta-meta perspective of something.

My own FE studies are on hold. The move down to Oxfordshire coupled with a  massive increase in workload put an immediate brake on things. For example, last week was the first full week back after the Christmas/New Year break. I only worked 72 hours – a big reduction!

Things at work are interesting. They’ve given me a third project to deliver alongside the two pieces of work I was taken on for. The new project is cutting-edge technical, high-end operational, very time critical and has a massively political fall-out factor if anything goes wrong. So no pressure there then.

Project No 1 goes in to delivery next week after completing Sys and UA testing. Training for over a hundred members of staff begins immediately.

Project No 2 goes in to extended UAT next week after passing Sys testing last week.

I don’t want to think about Project No 3 – the new piece of work – yet, we’re still sorting out project board, finances and governance/oversight; but the business case is logically compelling.

It’s nice, especially in these uncertain times, to be asked to stick around and take on additional pieces of work.

But there are more important things on my mind right now.

Shreddies? Or Oatso Simple? For breakfast, I mean. Not anything to do with my work. Which one?

Oh yes, and I got an email yesterday asking if I’d like to write a two-piece feature for an internationally-read  glossy mag; standard rates apply.

I’ll go and see Vin this afternoon. Perhaps we’ll nip out for a hack over the Oxfordshire countryside? Hmmm… Thinking about that, if everything is still very icy, taking a shod horse over icy roads… Not good! So maybe we’ll school then; at least we have the choice of the indoor or outdoor arenas.

Right, I’m back. You didn’t even know I’d been away, did you?

I’ve made breakfast (Shreddies, but it was a tough decision) and a mug of tea each.

And, because we’re a very diverse pair, I’ve had a discussion with Soph about Wagner’s Ring Cycle, highlighted a couple of Wagnerian themes (Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Die Walküre) and related them to the best ever Bugs Bunny cartoon – What’s Opera Doc – which is 6m 11s of Wagnerian/Chuck Jones/Merrie Melodies comedy gold.

It’s now 10.37. I guess I should get dressed. But first…

This: