Here’s the content you’ve all been waiting for: Me sat astride a JCB digger 😆
by Darren Caveney
1. Riding on a train
It was an absolute treat to travel down to London and host Orlo’s ‘The Power of Social’ event. We’ve pretty much all missed the face to face opportunities we so took for granted pre-covid. And whilst wearing a mask on a train for an hour and 20 mins wasn’t as much fun it was so good to hit the road and tracks again.
The event itself was packed with learning from Reading and Horsham councils. Plus a fascinating chat with A&E and TV doctor, Dr Alex George.
This hybrid approach to events (a live panel together in one place with a virtual audience) seemed to work really well, and the TV studio style set up looked great when I took a look back at the recording. You can watch it here.
My learning?
Well TV set lights are very, very hot. I should have known that.
But the key takeaway for me was Dr Alex’s tip about protecting the first and last hour of each day to boost personal wellbeing and protect mental health. I’ve been trying it since and I like it. Of course it isn’t always practical but it’s a pretty good piece of advice to aim for. And we can trust him, because he’s a doctor.
2. Social anxiety: On the increase?
There have been a couple of instances recently where I’ve spotted little bits of social anxiety kicking in in a few people close to me. Nothing strange in that, of course. And maybe I was unconsciously looking for signs of Covid fall-out as we’re now in whatever stage this stage is called. I lose track.
But I think it’s there for sure. And I would guess that it will be really prevalent amongst children and young people, given the rubbish 15 months they have all experienced. That’s a big chunk of some children’s entire lives.
My learning
It’s just a little reminder that we all need to keep a look out for signs of social anxiety amongst our kids, friends, family and colleagues.
3. Messing around with a mini digger…
I’m having some work done to my very tatty back garden at the moment. Well I figured that as we spend so long in our homes now I may as well get it sorted. I’m not alone in that idea, it turns out. The guy doing mine had a year’s worth of new customer enquiries and requests for quotes in the first three months of the year. Wow. If you’re on the hunt for a new career that’s what’s known as a hot opportunity.
Oh and sorry about the cheesy pic – I couldn’t resist. I have been suitably pulled up for my lack of health and safety adherence, rest assured.
My learning?
Well did you know that for these small diggers there is a generic key to start them all up? One key which works on them all. Which is why so many of them get nicked. Who knew? Handy intel for any of you thinking of buying a JCB (other brands of digger are available)
Stay safe, all x
Darren Caveney is creator and owner of comms2point0 and creative communicators ltd
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