Follow-up from the Ending extraction in the UK care system report. Online seminars, invitations to other people’s events. Learning that its so much worse than it seems. Making connections, plotting for the new year. 2026 will need energy and collaboration.
Finishing a the report for the survey of partners. Spending a very happy day in Canva editing and formatting. I really needed a day without thinking to end the year.
Catching up with the new lead for the organisational policy work. Making a plan for my time. Feeling like it’s all more doable.
Doing the classic “let’s discuss this in the new year”.
Prepping for and launch of the Ending extraction in the UK care system report. An amazing collaboration. Now to follow up with all the folks interested in doing something about it!
Presenting the findings of the survey work back to a team on the launch day of the other report and being so tired I really wasn’t at my best. Need more rest time and less plates.
Facilitating conversations about where to focus next year. Now to write a pithy summary!
Joining the board of a CIC that uses food as a conduit for supporting families. Excited to support from afar.
Struggling to find time for all the deep focused work I need to do on organisational policies. Feeling very stretched but also making peace with what I have done and the capacity people have to review the work (low!)
Vittles on Gails. An intersection of extraction, migration, skills and bad management.
10 October 2025
Things I have been working on
Coming back rested from a break, straight into a period of travel for face to face workshops in Newcastle, London and Birmingham. Great to be with people in person. And after nearly 20 years I have finally cracked my routine for not burning out when travelling (it’s doing absolutely nothing other than the thing in person… don’t even try to work on trains)
Managing to have deep, trusting, generative conversations in short periods with folk. Years of relationship building paying off!
Interviews to go deeper into responses to a survey. Great to chat with brilliant people and hear their perspectives. Although now I have a lot of hand written scribbles to work through.
Writing progressive organisational policies. How to be generous, yet practical. Clear yet comprehensive. A challenge and the person I was working with got a job so I am going at it alone. Less fun!
Planning and running online workshops about a range of topics.
