Angel cyclists

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.

The 30 back to Bill’s on White Lion Street to break fast at the beginning of the company meetup. The invite says 8:00, but I’m alone in the restaurant until 8:40. The waitress asks if she should bring water for my “imaginary friends.”

The day unfolds across the street in the Haptic offices. Julien and Romain have come from Belgium. Jo braved FlyBe cancellations to make it down from Edinburgh. Sal and Steve are with us until 3, when they head off to Prague to do some paid work.

It’s hot in the room. I don’t feel engaged. I’m not sure what we’re trying to achieve. It doesn’t feel like I’m alone. At lunchtime, people wander off in small groups. We desert the booked Delhi Grill, led by Tracey to her favourite, The Indian Vegetarian.

Early evening there’s a Cucumber gathering at the Duke of Cambridge. I stay for a while, but head off home to prepare for an online guest lecture I’m giving for a course at Harvard. It goes ok, but I’m left feeling that something was missing. It’s hard to gauge the room across a video link.

Louise arrives. She’s already knackered but will have to set her alarm for to set off some live stream for a client. I make her a G&T, chat for a bit, and wish her well. I assure her that there’s no way her alarm will disturb me tonight.