Week 21 of 2020 brings running Dom, mental health awareness, beardy chats with Dan & Sush, large portion of sides, Blue Nation, Friday beers, Kukd and bank holi-DIY.

Let’s try the bullet points format again, this time in chronological order, tagging with suitable hashtags. This mode might be easier to build up over a week too.

  • Monday, I was inspired to see Dom’s announcement to do 26 half marathons every Friday morning, building up to The Dopey in Florida, all for Martins House Hospice. Watch the launch video with his daughter for some delightful insights #sides
  • Tuesday, I got some family news at lunch that completely threw my mental health out for the rest of the day. I struggled to concentrate and focus but decided to battle on regardless, inform the boss at the end of the day and even make it public. Some might see it as showing vulnerability but, with it being mental health awareness month, it felt right to get it out there. The responses from Twitter were wonderful too and proved it’s worth voicing your challenges. #work
  • Wednesday, I caught up with Dan Davies and Sush Kelly for an impromptu chat that we planned to record for Make Life Work. The three way conversation actually worked quite well but, unfortunately, we forgot to record Skype and one local device so that ended that idea. #sides #tech
  • Thursday, I noticed a few new registrations in our On The Side Slack community. It reminded me Tom May asked a few weeks back about it so, after a quick search, I noticed we were featured on Creative Bloq. It’s wonderful to see a steady stream of new faces joining, especially from around the globe. #sides
  • At lunch, I caught up with Dom after the launch of his fundraising campaign to find out how he’s doing and record something for Make Life Work. I’d already set expectations on Twitter there wouldn’t be an episode this week so it was a great backup plan. We used Squadcast this time which worked really well but I did notice I had to pay extra for recording time. #sides #makelifework
  • In the evening, we noticed one of our favourite bands Blue Nation were doing a live stream on Facebook to raise money for Birmingham hospitals. I’m loving all the good deeds coming out of our circle of friends at the moment. Gives me some hope in society amongst the crazy government guidance and idiotic behaviours of a select few.
  • Friday morning, we watched Dom run his first half marathon live on Twitch. The man pushed hard and made it look relatively easy but we all know it was no mean feat. A wonderful start to the day – even Princess was absorbed in his effort for the final hour. I then published our conversation on the podcast.
  • At the end of the day, we had a team social with a few beers – all part of the “fun budget” we have to spend every month. Whilst it was great to wind down and not talk shop, jumping on another Zoom call doesn’t lend that well to social norms. Awkward silences and virtual backgrounds certainly don’t help. #work #tech
  • We did discover another online takeaway provider called Kukd this weekend which, unlike Deliveroo and Just Eat, actually deliver Indian and pizzas to our locality. The food was actually quite good and punctual as well so definitely recommended. #tech
  • Over the bank holiday weekend, I managed to tackle more DIY around the house including relaying kitchen floor tiles, regrouting some areas and sealing around the worktops. Thankfully, our local recycling centre had opened its doors too so I managed to clear the garden waste out with a few trips.
  • Exercise didn’t happen much this week – no real excuses but I only managed one morning run. Need to get back on it after all the bank holiday indulgence.