July 2022
The most important update of the month is that Harriet and I are expecting a baby! We are due at the end of October (or early November, depending on who you believe). We are both very excited about this new chapter in our life. I’d held back from announcing this earlier, but due to the bump it became harder to keep it under wraps. Some aspects of our family we want to keep private, and with Harriet’s job as a paedeatric doctor we are both sensitive to the precariousness of life. I am also sensitive to friends and aquaintances who have strugged with having children. That said, in the spirit of “it takes a village to raise a child” we are happy to share the news.
We took two trips this month: one quick journey down to Hexham to visit Harriet’s friends. We walked along the river at Corbridge, and visited the National Trust property at Gibside. Sadly three out of five of the group had to cancel due to Covid. Although the hot phase of the Covid emergency seems to be over, I do worry that the “learn to live with the virus” attitude dismisses the real problems that people will face around travel, events and socialising. Learn to live with should not mean accept all the consequences of! There is still more we can do to improve things!
The second trip was to Amsterdam and Haarlem for a week of relaxation. I posted notes and photos in my journal.
Running and Cycling
I managed one long cycle trip exploring to the east of Edinburgh, along the coast, then a right over some tracks and trails to get onto the Pencaitland railway path. You can see the 50km route on Strava. It’s becoming easier to explore, as I’m more confident about where to hit the quiet routes and paths to get back into the city.
I attended the first Holyrood Parkrun. There were several hundred people there, and a great atmosphere. I also went back to EdinBar Runners (aka PubRun). It’s been a while since I regularly attended the running meetups, as I took a break during marathon training so that I could go at my own pace. Hopefully I can resume the habit soon.
Reading
- A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft, as part of my read the greats project
- The Gospels by Sarah Ruden. I’ve not read too much of the Bible, and this version of the Gospels had positive reviews. It was an interesting read, particularly with the translation notes.
- A Culture of Growth by Joel Mokyr. Mokyr is referenced a lot by Deirdre McCloskey in the Bourgeois trilogy, so I wanted to understand more. The idea here is that a technical elite drove progress through the idea that the world was knowable and changable.
I have started working through the last of book of the Bourgeois trilogy: Bourgeois Equality by Deirdre McCloskey and The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd.
EdinburghJS
We took a break with EdinburghJS for July, and had a social event in early August. The meetup will return with technical talks towards the end of September. Keep an eye on the Twitter account for updates.
