A few fun outings in the last couple of weeks.
Firstly, to Charlton Athletic Football Club for my first football game in 26 years, singing for Charlton vs Homophobia, where I had to rapidly learn and then lead a crowd of about 18,000 into the club song, Valley Floyd Road.
The event was quite surreal, and we received a surprisingly warm and friendly response. For me, football is entwined with feelings of being bullied and my brain doesn’t want to engage with it at all. On a personal level, Saturday’s experience restored my faith a fair bit.
Also made a visit to the Irish Embassy for a really fascinating look at the relationship between Britain and Ireland in 2020 given the topsy-turvy changes in the societal and political landscapes. The set of essays is high on my list to peruse.
Universal Credit inside the welfare state should be required viewing for anyone developing policy or services for actual humans. No easy answers but the results of austerity are laid bare for all to see here.
Work continues in a busy but slightly less intense fashion: back to a healthy work/life balance for the foreseeable. Long may that continue. Good catch ups with former colleagues and new people have been giving me energy too.