Weeknote 176

Edinburgh

• Tuesday I was Edinburgh-bound ahead of three days at the Service Design in Government conference. The journey north was a smooth four hours by train along the scenic East Coast route, followed by dinner with former colleagues. From there, it was a short bus ride to my hotel on the waterfront in Leith.
• Wednesday and Thursday were spent attending a range of talks across the conference's multiple tracks. I also took time out between sessions to walk in nearby Holyrood Park and prepare for my presentation later in the week.
• A good number of my colleagues also attended this year so it was nice to spend some time with them for dinner at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant.
• Friday was the day allocated for my presentation. Predictably, it was the least well attended day of the event, but nevertheless a reasonable crowd turned up for my session.
• The lectern microphone failed and I always dislike having to use a handheld microphone, particularly when there isn't a lapel mic available. It threw me off my stride a little, but I persevered and got through the presentation. Looking back, I think I could have trimmed the latter half to make it less guidance-heavy. Despite that, it was well received and clearly engaged the audience, which made it feel like a worthwhile session overall.
• I stuck around until the end of the conference and tried not to dwell on the imperfections of my presentation, which is usually where my mind goes after speaking. Instead, I focused on the positive feedback and reminded myself that it had been well received.
• Back in Leith, I enjoyed a relaxing evening and stumbled across a converted warehouse filled with food vendors. The pizza was particularly good, and there was plenty of choice, though it was admittedly a little on the pricey side.
• My journey home on Saturday took me via Carlisle and the Tyne Valley, a route I'd never travelled before. The diversion was expected and made for a pleasant finale to my few days in Edinburgh. I travelled first class, which pushed me over my conference expenses budget, but for a journey of nearly six hours, the added comfort was money well spent.
• Disappointed in Burnham's decision to bring back the help to buy scheme for first time buyers. It will no doubt increase the dire state of the housing market here in the UK and further increase debt.
• Sunday joined Mena for a delicious paella lunch at Escocesa in Stoke Newington, surprisingly the restaurant was almost empty!