Coco

And now they’ve given him a microphone for a post-show q&a… This is absolutely surreal 😂😂

View up at a stage. There’s a rock and roll band playing on a stage, and man crouched stage right taking photographs. That man is my Dad

Not every day you witness your Dad performing on stage in the curtain call of a show in which he is one of the characters 😅

The Wilko rock and roll play is in Cheltenham for one week only 🤘🏻

I’m trying out Memrise to practice my French 🇫🇷

So far I like it better than the owl app!

Why?
* greater emphasis on listening over reading
* audio from multiple real people, to get used to different accents/cadence
* ability to select word packs/situations, to learn phrases I’ll actually use

Don’t forget the public v private land condition

(I worked on the reporting service for our council about 7-8 years ago, so I totally nerd out on this stuff)

Had a little confidence-bruising argument this afternoon (music, not work).

Sorry universe, I was getting a bit obnoxiously happy with my life and needed taking down a peg 😂💛

Oooh great shout! I’m going Tues-Fri so hopefully they have a weeknight game 🤞🏻

Booked myself a solo trip to Paris in October 😌

What should I see while I’m there?

I’ve done the ‘big’ sites before, so I’m after recommendations of attractions that are perhaps a little less known, please 🙏🏻

Sourdough toast, fried egg, chorizo, homegrown purple cherry tomatoes marinated in olive oil and basil

Yum

Six black cherry tomatoes in a plastic tub. I’ve picked them before they’re fully ripe so they can ripen on the window sill

Already sixtupled my harvest from last year 🍅

Me standing with three delegates around a drum kit

View from the audience at the final concert. There are approximately 60 in the band wearing matching burgundy tops, and at the front is one of the tutors playing a solo

View from the audience at the tutors concert. We’re stood for the final applause. There are three cornet tutors, one flugel, one tenor horn, one euphonium, one baritone, two trombones, two basses, and three percussion

Just landed home from a fantastic week tutoring at the Elgar International Brass Band Summer School.

After the 12 hour days this week, I’ll be heading back to the day job on Monday more tired than I started 🤣 but with a tremendous sense of satisfaction of seeing the progress our delegates made 🌟

Alesis Debut Electronic Drum Kit - Complete Beginner Setup with Mesh H The Alesis Debut Electronic Drum Kit offers everything a budding drummer needs in one comprehensive package. This all-in-one kit includes mesh-head drum pads for a quiet and responsive playing experie...

I bought this one recently. It’s nice and compact for small spaces, a decent range of sounds. Get yourself a better pair of sticks than what it comes with though ev-entz.co.uk/products/ale...

Thank you! I’m looking forward to writing them 😄

Apprenticeship diary – week 1 This week I started studying for my Senior Leader degree apprenticeship at the University of Exeter.

Apprenticeship diary - week 1 🚀

#weeknotes @weeknotes-bot.bsky.social

crmzchan.medium.com/apprenticesh...

Thank youuu 🙏🏻

I’m putting together some events and conferences info for our team.

Does anyone know if Govcamp North and/or OneTeamGov breakfasts are still going, please? 👀

Just us and the staff left for the winner. And wasn’t it was worth sticking around for!! 🤩

The interior of an empty pub. The England v Italy women’s euros game is on the TV

Came to the pub in hope we’d learn something about football from actual football fans. Urrr… 😅

YouTube video by Hugh Thomas Cardboard Boat Race. Bristol Harbour Festival

TIL Bristol holds an annual cardboard boat race, and it’s as brilliantly bonkers as you’d expect: youtu.be/3mRu-kYtNmU?...

I’m doing the senior leader apprenticeship at university of Exeter 😊 if all goes well I can work towards an MBA in just over 2 years

Thank you! Don’t get to use it often these days, but something about pen and paper helps things stick in my brain

A notebook with ‘induction - 22nd July’ written in pink ink handwriting. Behind is a laptop with a ‘think out loud’ sticker

New stationery acquired ✅
Slack and other work messages off ✅

Uni induction underway 🤩

[Make things open] Reading list Not being quite the narcissist I am sometimes accused of I try to recommend other peoples thoughts on working in the open whenever possible. These are my most shared links on the topic; Blogging an…

Fabulous list of open-working pieces pulled together by @jukes.ie : digitalbydefault.com/2025/07/14/m...

Turns out I’d missed my hay fever tablets for a couple of days. Back on loratadine and the brain fog has lifted 😌

Lol I did chuck in an entry for the knitting equivalent, and didn’t make it through the first sift.

If I had got through, it would need me to take up to 2 months off work for filming 😅

Having a majorly low energy/low motivation week. It happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

You can be committed to your job, working on an important cause, generally motivated by your work, surrounded by a good team… and still have weeks when you feel a bit down/lethargic.

You’d think being a Masterchef presenter would be easy. You just need to eat something and say ‘mmm, that’s nice’ or ‘ew, I don’t like that’ without taking your trousers off or saying something racist.

I hope it means no mullets 🙏🏻

‘Move fast and bake things’, my colleague said, which is a way better line, of course.

If I ever write a memoir I’ll have to include a chapter on extreme gig temperatures.

🔥

France, Jun 23 - 34C + no air con + stage lights

Symphony Hall, Sept 23 - 32C + broken air con + stage lights

Gloucester recording studio, Jun 25 - 30C + no air con

Cheltenham, today - 28C + stage lights

🔥

Unwavering, ruthless focus. Nothing unsportsmanlike about it.

Heartbreaking for Asinimova, but takes nothing away from Swiatek.

Hopefully a closer final tomorrow though. #Wimbledon 🍓