Rollercoaster

Yesterday’s foiling of (half of) the bike robbery has continued to play out today, and it’s been somewhat gripping. There’s a very active Facebook group for bikes stolen in Cambridge and when I posted the image of the thief, the sleuths immediately emerged to identify him. Within minutes the thief was named, the owner of the stolen bike was known and later another member of the group posted a video of him confronting the bike thief cycling around on the one he stole yesterday. The group tries to recover stolen bikes either by approaching known thieves or by posing as buyers to the online ads that are posted very quickly with bikes at knockdown prices.

After all that drama in the morning, India appeared at my desk at 12.33pm with an almost-empty bottle of champagne.

‘Champagne?’, she proffered.

‘Why do we have a bottle of champagne with only a fifth remaining by 12.33 on a Tuesday?’, I asked. ‘Also, yes please.’

‘Honest answer? SMT’, India confirmed. [referring to our Senior Management Team meeting taking place face time face for the first time in many months]

‘Well, if they can, we all can’, I said as I grabbed the bottle. Before glugging I paused to clarify, ‘can finance see me through the window?’

India advised: ‘well if they can’t I’d get up on the desk and ensure they can.’

I shared the spoils with my colleague Henry, one of the very few people back in the office. We knocked back the dregs furtively. I then jumped on my bike (possibly ill-advisedly) towards Sara’s flat where I worked for the afternoon.

Our Annual General Meeting was at the end of the day, held virtually for the first time. We watched it on Sara’s sofa with a generous serving of gin. It was a success and even in ‘normal’ years this format should be considered as it opens up attendance to anyone around the world (both staff and members) and this is surely strategic and necessary for an international organisation. A long-serving and hugely admired trustee is stepping down after serving as many terms as is allowed and there were some moving words shared between he and our CEO, Mark, who have known each other for many years. My experiences serving as a trustee for a very small organisation put me in awe of the responsibility it brings to be a trustee of a much bigger one.

As it was a warm evening, Sara and I strolled in her closest meadow and had a beer and crisps outside. I then returned home and watched the latest David Attenborough documentary about extinction and biodiversity. After a relative emotional rollercoaster of a day, this was the final and craziest lurch. I was very moved by one of the final things he said to camera, about himself potentially not being around to experience a better world, but that a better world must be our collective goal. What an advocate he is, and absolutely unparalleled in the respect he wins. Long may you keep inspiring the public, Sir Dave.