Journal

I’m starting 2024 as I mean to continue – by seeing and hanging out with friends more often. Yesterday Tom and I had a great day moseying around Edinburgh.

After meeting at Waverley and grabbing a quick coffee and bite, we headed to the Scottish National Gallery on The Mound. Tom was keen to see the Turner watercolours exhibition which is on every January – apparently the ideal time of year to best show off the works. I probably wouldn’t have visited this unprompted but I’m glad I did. My favourites were perhaps The Falls of Clyde and Lake Albano.

From there we made the short walk to Cockburn Street and into an old haunt, Underground Solush’n, for some record shopping. I got a few, with the pick being the album Flying Wig by Devendra Banhart.

Next stop was St Andrew’s Square for a saunter around the menswear floor in Harvey Nichols. Neither of us were in the market for anything in particular but still it was nice to browse their sale including coats by Copenhagen-based brand NN.07 as sported by Jeremy Allen White in The Bear.

We hopped on an Edinburgh tram outside (first time for both of us) headed for Port of Leith. We caught the Leith Saturday market where Tom was beguiled by a purveyor of exotic olive oil (I can't believe I'm typing this) before we stumbled upon a great wee record stall. To my surprise it wasn’t just the usual selection of records no-one wants but instead had plenty of gems. I picked up two LPs from my wishlist – Vangelis's Earth (featuring the glorious Let it happen) and Spacek’s Curvatia.

All that record shopping gives you an appetite so it was off to Teuchter’s Landing for some food and refreshments. With Burns Night just around the corner we honoured the bard by enjoying haggis, neeps and tatties and a dram (Craigellachie 13y).

Our final stop was the Shore Bar where we caught up with a couple of Edinburgh-dwelling pals, Gav and Nick.

After all that I was back on the train home by around 10 pm – mission accomplished.

My generous nieces and nephews clubbed together to give us the Christmas present of a voucher for Ox and Finch. Keen to use it, we got together with James and Grant for a lovely Sunday dinner.

It’s a “small plates” affair, so sharing is the order of the day. We had sourdough and butter (the bread in good restaurants is always amazing), whipped feta with honey, fried artichokes with garlic yoghurt, and – my two favourites – the crab tubetti and beef tartare. To drink I had a white wine – the ‘le campuget’ grenache viognier – then their px old fashioned (the px standing for pedro ximénez).

We also shared the warm ginger cake with poached pear, while James had the affogato.

It was fantastic and – thanks to that thoughful gift – didn’t cost us a penny. What a great Christmas present.

At work today I mentioned Mr Scruff’s tip for quick tea-making. My teammates laughed and said they felt like they were on an episode of Would I lie to you? I had to prove I wasn’t talking rubbish and went looking for the tip online. It has all but disappeared from the web but thanks to Wayback Machine I was able to find a cache of the page from 2007.

So here is the tea-making tip, listed in full for posteri-tea! (Sorry…)

Mr Scruff starts by saying:

Some people ask me about the teabag on a spoon technique, which I learnt from Peter Parker of Fingathing. Here is the full breakdown of the method for making black tea in a mug with a teabag.

And here are the steps:

1. Boil the kettle with fresh water… no reboiling!
2. Warm the mug… you can do this by pouring in a little warm water from the kettle while it is boiling, swishing it around & emptying it. This will help keep your brew warm for longer, essential for forgetful types like myself!
3. Pour milk into the cup. If this offends you, you can add it later.
4. Take a spoon (tablespoons are best, but a teaspoon will do)
5. Place the teabag on the spoon, and hold it horizontally over the mug.
6. When the kettle has boiled, hold it over the teabag, and pour as slowly as possible from as high as possible, without making the water splash upwards off the teabag. If you are doing this correctly, you will see little bubbles in the teabag, which is a sign of the oxygen in the boiling water doing its job.
7. When the cup is full, add the milk if you have not done so, and examine your brew. If your tea is the correct colour (mine is a kind of brick red/malty brown) then you can discard the teabag. If it is not strong enough for your taste, then delicately lower the teabag onto the top of the tea, and slip the spoon out from under it. Leave it there until the brew is strong enough, and gently remove the bag with the spoon. There is no need to stir the bag or squash it in any way..tease the flavour out!
8. Add sugar/salt/cheese/pickle to taste.
9. Sit down and enjoy your brew!
10. Repeat from stage 1.

Cheers!

PS if you don’t already know Mr Scruff I heartily recommend getting acquainted.

How was 2023 for you? For me, it was like this.

Music gigs

In welcome contrast to the Covid years I went to a variety of in-person events, including seven gigs:

• Apiento in London,
• Melting Pot at Queen’s Park Rec (where I saw Luke Una and Odyssey),
• Melting Pot vs Let’s Go Way Back at BAAD,
• Om Unit at Sleazy’s,
• Robert Henke at Tramway,
• A Certain Ratio at Stereo in November, and
• Sleaford Mods in December.

Of those, my highlights were definitely Robert Henke and A Certain Ratio.

Music buying, listening and playing

I’m still buying music on vinyl and more, albeit at a slightly reduced rate. My taste continues to shift organically and I really enjoy exploring. My highlights included Skinshape’s Craterellus Tubaeformis, A Certain Ratio’s 1982 and Jamma-Dee’s Perceptions.

I recorded three radio shows and was pretty pleased with them, on the whole.

Seeing friends

My April trip to London with Tom was a real highlight of the year. We went record and clothes shopping, caught up with friends, listened to great music in brilliant venues, and enjoyed some lovely food and drinks. If Carlsberg did weekends, they’d struggle to top that one.

There were lots of other fun get-togethers.

When I look back, I realise that I’ve done not too badly at keeping in touch with friends in 2023. Obviously there are those that I saw too rarely or not at all, and I’ll try to rectify that in the new year.

One sadder entry: in late August, my close pal Simon’s mum died. It was a beautiful ceremony for an inspirational lady.

Travel

Abroad

I travelled to six different countries, if you include England.

First stop was Amsterdam in June for work: I attended the CSS Day conference for the second year running.

Also in June. Clair and I went to Sicily for Fiona’s 40th birthday, staying in Palermo then Taormina.

In August Clair and I enjoyed ten days in Geneva and Annecy.

In November I took my parents for a week in Marbella.

In Scotland

I enjoyed a couple of trips around Scotland.

There was our March weekend at Banchory Farm in Fife.

Then in July I had an overnight stay in Alyth.

Eating out

While in London, Tom and I enjoyed a nice breakfast at Fallow on Clair’s recommendation. (Although she was subsequently horrified at me missing the foodie opportunity by only ordering scrambled eggs on toast! My excuse is I was hungover and needed comfort food). On the same trip we had amazing sushi at Brilliant Corners in Dalston. It really is my happy place.

In Spring, Clair and I had an overdue catchup with Charlie over a lovely lunch at Inver.

I made a first visit to Dishoom in Edinburgh, alongside two good pals, and it lived up to the hype.

In autumn I enjoyed a lovely Saturday afternoon at Crabshakk on Byres Road with Gillian, Tom and Nessa.

On Hogmanay, Clair and I ate at Brett and loved it.

Special mention has to go to our evening at Café du Soleil in Geneva where we both had our first taste of fondue. Cheese heaven.

Family

All the major family-related activity seemed to happen in June. Sadly, my Aunt Elsie died. She was in her nineties and the last ten years had seen a steep decline.

On a happier note my niece Caitlin married her partner Ross in June in a beautiful wedding at Lochside House Hotel.

My niece Charlotte had her second child – Mason, a brother for Marc.

That eventful June aside, everything seems to be ticking along. My mum and dad are well. Clair had a challenging year with work, but the work she does is brilliant and with fantastic clients. She’s generally doing well and happy in her new fitness groove, which makes me happy too.

Rudy, our nervous border terrier, has been a mixed bag behaviour-wise, but mostly good. There are lots of signs of improvement. And regardless of the behavioural issues he is just a wee legend who’s full of love and we adore him.

Books

It wasn’t a productive year for reading; I just couldn’t find the motivation. Still, I read a few.

• Possibilities, Herbie Hancock’s autobiography
• Open, Andre Agassi’s autobiography
• Join the Future
• The Islander

And I started The Candy House.

The good news is that they are all great, and recommended.

Films

Of note were Aftersun and Oppenheimer, the latter of which I saw at the GFT in July.

I also saw Captain Fantastic which isn’t new but is… fantastic!

Other arts

In January we visited the Tramway theatre and checked out two exhibitions. The first was a selection of works by Glasgow artist Norman Gilbert, and the second the installation The Rumble of a Tireless Land by Iza Tarasewicz.

In July I went to Banksy’s Cut and run exhibition at the GOMA, which I loved. Later that month I saw the excellent Moorcroft at the Tron theatre.

In September I went to the Armadillo to see the updated version of The Celtic Story with Marty and Michael (with thanks to Gillian for the tickets). I had first seen this thirty years previous and it was nice to revisit the club’s history.

TV

Back in January I loved Mystery Road – Origin.

Later in the year, the Succession finale really lived up to its billing – a fitting end to a brilliant show.

Latterly I really enjoyed Mr Inbetween. Scott Ryan, the lead, is a talent.

Other noteworthy stuff

I learned to make coffee from whole beans.

I’ve been learning Spanish, using Language Transfer’s course and am enjoying that.

Work

I’m lucky – I have a good job with great benefits. I work with smart and lovely people. Even still, me and my job don’t always see eye to eye.

In the positive column for 2023:

• our team was instrumental in implementing a brand refresh
• we made material progress in promoting company-wide accessible practices
• I began learning how to write documentation more formally, and we have made strides on that front
• at scoring I seem to be progressing and had some nice feedback
• I’m trying to get better at empowering others. I’m having some success but have lots of room for improvement
• I went to three inspiring conferences: CSS Day, Design Systems Day in Edinburgh, and my employer’s own internal staff conference which was excellent.

In the negative column:

• I had at least one mental blowout. It was caused by thinking too deeply about a complex and frustrating area. It left me in pretty bad shape mentally, and needing time off.
• latterly I lost energy and focus. I couldn’t find energy to read the various articles I receive by subscription, nor write on my blog. This marked a change for me – I’m usually pretty motivated in that regard.

Health

My physical health was fine. I’m doing enough exercise to keep my weight in check. I can’t remember being ill very often, although being stuck in bed with the cold on my birthday was no fun. I could always be fitter but generally speaking I’m physically fit and well.

A couple of small but impactful changes of note: after Clair told me about Tim Spector and how we shoud avoid spiking our blood sugar, I cut out the large glass of Tropicana orange juice I drank daily for years. I also cut down the amount of granola I eat at breakfast and swapped in nuts and seeds, or a breakfast of brown toast and eggs. This is no doubt having a positive impact on my weight but also, I hope, keeping me healthier long-term. On a similar note, I now try hard to go to sleep earlier and avoid feeling the need to snooze the alarm.

As for mood and mental stability, that’s less straightforward. Firstly I’ve noticed changes to preferences and comfort zones. There are situations I used to enjoy – such as larger gatherings – and now don’t. Generally I’m OK with this. It could be a post-pandemic effect, or a symptom of ageing. Regardless it feels natural so I’m adapting. As long as I find time to see the important people in my life one way or another, it’s fine.

More concerning were the too-regular occurences of low mood, low energy, frustration and mental fatigue. Working on a Design System team can feel overwhelming or futile or both. Working primarily from home saves time and money but can feel claustrophobic, and mixes parts of life that should be separate. I also generally find too many things vying for my attention and struggle to focus. A big, noticeable change is that my mental resilience isn’t what it was.

While low mood has a significant negative impact on me, it can impact others too. At times I’ve struggled to see the bigger picture and dropped the ball, forgetting people I should prioritise.

In summary my mental health wasn’t always great and it was time to acknowledge that properly. Since then I’ve done this and I feel better for it. There’s a journey ahead. Maybe I’ll write about it more soon.

Let’s go round again

So long, 2023 – you were mostly pretty good and I’m grateful. Even the bad bits have given me helpful pause for thought. I’ve been making positive change already, so onwards and upwards.

David cleverly uses CSS alone (and only a few lines) to show a “back to top” link only after the user has started scrolling, then pin its position to the bottom-left of the screen.

The clever margin-top: 110vh combined with position: sticky – since 110vh is slightly more than 100% of the page’s height – gives the link a starting position that is not initially visible but becomes visible once the user starts scrolling. The bottom: 0 then ensures that when the user continues scrolling vertically the link “sticks” to the bottom-left of the page.

So little code and so clever!

PS if you’re wondering why you’d want a “back to top” link in the first place, it’s to let a user who has scrolled far down a long page to easily get back to options located at the top. See NN Group’s Back-to-Top Button Design Guidelines.

Clair and I just rounded off the year in style with lunch and drinks at Bar Brett on Great Western Road. We had a bird’s eye view too, sat overlooking the pass watching the chefs at work.

Between us we enjoyed a variety of small dishes including oysters, sourdough bread with chicken fat butter, cod toast, smoked beetroot with tahini, clams, lobster ravioli, mushroom XO linguine, Peterhead Coley with curried mussel sauce and a Basque cheesecake.

We tried a few glasses of wine: Veiled Vineyards Old Vine Semillon (white), a Delamotte Blanc de Blancs (champagne), and Le Grand A (Burgundy white) – all lovely.

Brett is fantastic and the staff made us feel very welcome.

We just enjoyed a lovely festive visit to Doug and Zoe’s house where we hung out with them and their girls Zara and Nina. As an unexpected bonus our friend Pablo also stopped by.

After the rush and stress of organising Christmas it was just what the doctor ordered. Doug made a delicious and light panzanella salad. I taught Zara how to play hangmam on good ol’ pencil and paper. We enjoyed a chat and a laugh.

Cheers, pals!

Heather explores why we no longer have “web designers”.

It's been belittled and othered away. It's why we've split that web design role into two; now you're either a UX designer and you can sit at that table over there or you're a front-end developer and you can sit at the table with the people that build websites.

Heather makes lots of good points in this post. But the part that resonates most with me is the observation that we have split design and engineering in a way that is dangerous for building proper websites.

We all lost when the web design role was split in two.

if our design partners are now at a different table, how do we expect them to acquire the deeply technical knowledge they need to know? The people we task with designing websites, I've found, often have huge gaps in their understanding of… the core concepts of web design.

Heather argues that designers don’t need to learn to code but that “design requires a deep understanding of a subject”. Strong agree!

Likewise, the arrival and evolution of the front-end role such that i) developers are separate from designers; and ii) within developers there’s a further split where the majority lack “front of the front-end” skills has meant that:

We now live in a world where our designers aren't allowed to… acquire the technical design knowledge they need to actually do their job and our engineers never learn about the technical design knowledge that they need to build the thing correctly.

Heather’s post does a great job of articulating the problem. They understandably don’t have the answers, but suggest that firstly education gaps and secondly how companies hire are contributing factors. So changes there could be impactful.

Over the years I’ve seen Herr Henke (of Monolake fame) doing variously-themed live shows and in a variety of locations. I loved this particular show and it was made even better by catching him at The Tramway Theatre, one of my favourite venues and just 10 minutes walk from home.

Here’s a little about CBM 8032 AV in the great man’s own words:

CBM 8032 AV is an exploration of the beauty of simple graphics and sound, using computers from the early 1980’s. Everything presented within the project could have been done already in the 1980, but it needed the cultural backdrop of today to come up with the artistic ideas driving it. On stage are five carefully restored Commodore CBM 8032 computers, running custom software developed by the artist and his team. Three computers create sound, one machine is responsible for the graphics and one is controlling all the others, with their green cathode ray tube displays facing the audience, operated by the artist during the show.

I was there with Tom and Simon. Here’s a little phone recording captured by Tom.

We left in agreement that Robert really is a genius. I’ve always loved his music and he is still doing fresh, inventive and wonderful things.

Additional info:

• Tramway event page for CBM 8032 AV

This is a great one-hour interview and a fantatic insight into John Kennedy’s brief but eventful career – the highs and the crushing lows.

I already liked John Kennedy but after hearing him speak so candidly and well, and getting more of an insight into his “don’t waste a minute” attitude, he’s gone even further up in my estimations.