I write this on the day that the USA goes to the polls, after 4 years of having an openly, unapologetically terrible man as the President. I don’t think that the country had been perfect before he took office, but I think removing a leader who gives validation to the very things that hold back…

So the summer holidays are over, things have calmed down a little, and the kids went back to school this past week. It’s almost like everything is ok now. Or is it?

Summer is almost over, the weather is turning towards autumn a little bit. I’m sitting at home in my garage, looking at the back garden recovering now from the unusually sustained heatwave we had a few weeks ago. Where there were bare patches and scorched grass and moss, new blades are sprouting up from the…

I just returned from holiday, seeing family in Finland. Initially I was really nervous and unsure if going away was a good idea, but it turned out to be a lifesaver.

I haven’t left my hometown in 4 months. So it was really strange to find myself getting ready to get in a cab, go to the airport and fly abroad to Finland.

Restrictions are relaxing, and from the 4th of July this weekend more shops and bars are going to be allowed to open. Whether this will be a good thing will depend on how diligent people are in acting sensibly.

A strange week. George Floyd was killed on 25th May by a policeman in Minneapolis. He’s not the first, but it was caught on a smartphone by a brave girl. Since then we’ve had riots in the US and internationally, calling for racial justice. Statues of oppression, of slave owners, are being toppled in cities…

The gradual easing continues, but things aren’t much easier for a lot of folks.

Same same but different. I cannot quite believe that the country has been on lockdown, at home as much as possible, for a full 9 weeks. Incredible.

This week feels hard. Going for runs and doing body weight exercises keeps me sane. At the weekend I weeded and cleaned the back patio: arduous work that feels good because you don’t think too much.