Weeknote 17/2025

Unlike most of the rest of the country, this week has been the second of the Easter holidays for our two teenagers. My son has been working as a lifeguard, gaming, and doing some A Level revision; my daughter has been away in Norwich with Sunderland ETC for much of the week.

It’s been another shorter working week given Easter Monday, and I’ve been continuing to work on the BBC AI Literacy and Amnesty International community projects. In addition, I’ve done some business development, spent some time in the garden, and attended both a Newcastle Eagles basketball game with my son, and an event at the Lit & Phil in Newcastle with my mother.

I published the requisite 10 posts over at Thought Shrapnel, read the latest issue of New Philosopher magazine (excellent as ever), and carried out various forms of exercise. I definitely have less stamina than I used to due to this still-undiagnosed heart condition, but at least I’m able to lift weights at the gym and run 5k… slowly.

Next week, I’m co-hosting an event entitled Feeling the Flux: finding the positives and protecting our wellbeing in times of change on Tuesday, continuing with existing projects, and watching a couple of games that helps decide my daughter’s team season. There’s a league title decider on Wednesday night, and then the first of two cup finals on Saturday.

Although I always enjoy watching our two teenagers play sport, it’s quite nice at the moment to have Sundays as unstructured time. I’ve bought a couple of acers for the garden, helped my wife dig out a bed for a planned double egg chair, and finally managed to coax some birds to eat the food outside my new home office window.

Photo: taken during a walk through Bluebell Wood, Morpeth