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{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1", "title": "Paul Robert Lloyd", "description": "The personal website of Paul Robert Lloyd", "home_page_url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com", "feed_url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/feed.json", "favicon": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/assets/icons/icon.svg", "icon": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/assets/icons/icon-192-any.png", "language": "en-GB", "authors": [ { "avatar": "/.well-known/avatar.png", "name": "Paul Robert Lloyd", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com" } ], "items": [ { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/043/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/043/n1/", "date_published": "2026-02-12T00:08:05.338Z", "content_html": "<p>Fuck me, the conclusion to season 2 of The Night Manager was quite unexpected. Wow.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/040/p1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/040/p1/", "date_published": "2026-02-09T13:18:32.922Z", "content_html": "<p>I bloody love Lyon.</p><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2026/040/p1/1.jpg\" alt=\"View of a public square as seen through an open door, that’s in shadow. There’s a decorative fountain, people milling about on foot and by motorbike.\" class=\"u-photo\"></figure>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2026/040/p1/1.jpg", "title": "View of a public square as seen through an open door, that’s in shadow. There’s a decorative fountain, people milling about on foot and by motorbike.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/039/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/039/n1/", "date_published": "2026-02-08T15:37:36.292Z", "content_html": "<p>Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/034/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/034/n1/", "date_published": "2026-02-03T14:30:00.000Z", "content_html": "<p>This has been one of the most intense weeks of my life, both physically challenging and mentally exhausting. And it’s only Tuesday.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/033/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/033/n1/", "date_published": "2026-02-02T12:57:52.028Z", "content_html": "<p>Gone skiing.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/023/p1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/023/p1/", "date_published": "2026-01-23T19:16:55.587Z", "content_html": "<p>You don’t see this everyday.</p><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2026/023/p1/1.jpg\" alt=\"A bottle of milk and a bottle of cream sat on the ground, in front of a blue door, surrounded by green foliage.\" class=\"u-photo\"></figure>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2026/023/p1/1.jpg", "title": "A bottle of milk and a bottle of cream sat on the ground, in front of a blue door, surrounded by green foliage.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/012/j1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/012/j1/", "date_published": "2026-01-12T22:30:48.489Z", "title": "♫ Change by Tears for Fears", "content_html": "<p>♫ <a class=\"u-jam-of\" href=\"https://music.apple.com/gb/album/change/1443911304?i=1443912501\">Change by Tears for Fears</a></p><p>I wasn’t blown away by <cite>Marty Supreme</cite>, but it has given me a new found appreciation of Tears for Fears.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/004/a1/2025_in_review/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/004/a1/2025_in_review/", "date_published": "2026-01-04T15:30:00.000Z", "title": "2025 in review", "summary": "Another circuit around the sun and time once again to reflect on a year gone by.", "content_html": "<p>Another circuit around the sun and time once again to reflect on a year gone by.</p><p>Fair to say that 2025 had a stressful start. Having launched <a href=\"https://digital.nhs.uk/blog/transformation-blog/2025/an-easier-way-to-manage-vaccinations-in-schools\">Manage Vaccinations in Schools</a> (<abbr title=\"also known as\">aka</abbr> Mavis) into private beta for a school aged vaccination service (<abbr title=\"School aged vaccination service\">SAIS</abbr>) team in Coventry and Warwickshire, the pace and style of delivery abruptly and radically changed.</p><p>To support the launch and later roll-out, the size of the team doubled in the space of a week, with the design team expanding to include a new user researcher, content designer and interaction designer. Pretty soon, everything was on fire. I was constantly switching between trying to help new colleagues understand the service and figuring out how we could work together while also trying to address issues and work on new features.</p><p>Onboarding was sink or swim. While I was glad some new joiners took up my suggestion of sharing ‘user manuals’ (a way to quickly discover shared interests and preferred ways of working), it remained a chaotic environment for the first six months. The interaction designer wasn’t able to make it to shore, and left the team in May.</p><p>The role simply wasn’t a good fit; for them, for me or for us. While that’s the reality, it didn’t stop me from beating myself up a little. I sometimes wonder if working from home, with a good deal of autonomy and tendency to over-engineer prototypes, makes it impossible for other designers to work alongside me.</p><p>I also continue to worry that my growing programming proficiency comes at the expense of me being a half-decent designer. Coding can draw me into a space where I become more insular and narrow minded, focused on implementation and less on outcomes. I didn’t speak to nearly enough users during the year, and only visited one <abbr title=\"School aged vaccination service\">SAIS</abbr> team. And I still haven’t seen a vaccination session in a school. Shameful.</p><p>I can make my excuses. I work a 4-day week as the sole interaction designer on a large end-to-end service that is growing in complexity and scope. To make matters worse, I volunteered some of my time (including outside work hours) to the service manual team, making <a href=\"https://github.com/nhsuk/nhsuk-frontend/issues?q=is%3Apr%20author%3A%40me%20created%3A2025\">almost 50 contributions to NHS frontend</a> alone, and helped with the release of v10, <a href=\"https://digital.nhs.uk/blog/design-matters/2025/making-the-nhs-design-system-fit-for-the-future\">a useful and important upgrade</a>.</p><p>I need to think about how I can work better; to be more curious, collaborative and contemplative, and organise my time so that I can spend more of it sat alongside users. This should be easier now that things have settled down and firm foundations have been laid. I’m looking forward to focusing on aspects of our service that can have a lasting impact on public health outcomes.</p><p>Anyway, by the end of March I desperately needed to regain some head space, so boarded the Caledonian Sleeper for a return trip to Dundee. It’s not a visit that stands out; it was cold and grey, the V&A remains largely vacant, while an exhibit of COVID-related artefacts in the McManus was mildly disorientating. I walked to Broughty Ferry and back and not sure why. But the trip cleared my head enough for me to write <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/087/a1/bored/\">a blog post</a> (or was it a poem?) that <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/101/a1/nerve/\">went viral</a>.</p><p>I spent a few Thursday nights staying in London after work so that I could explore London on a Friday and see an exhibition or show. In April, I drooled over the sight of <a href=\"https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/brasil-brasil\">Brazilian modernism at the Royal Academy</a>, and in May enjoyed a long-overdue catch-up with <a href=\"https://www.riseofthemonkeys.co.uk/\">Simon</a>. I’d hoped to do several more overnight stays, but these never materialised. Being able to work from an office in London did allow me to see more theatre; <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_(play)\"><cite>Giant</cite></a> and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nye_(play)\"><cite>Nye</cite></a> were both superb, and restored my faith in the medium having watched the gimmick-laden <cite>Elektra</cite> in January.</p><figure class=\"align-bleed\"><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2026/004/a1/reflection.jpg\" alt=\"Reflection of a cityscape on the mirrored metallic surface of a building.\"><figcaption>Rotterdam reflected by the mirrored surface of the Depot Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.</figcaption></figure><p>In June, I returned to Amsterdam for CSS Day and in the process crossed off a few items from my bucket list. I took the ferry to the Hook of Holland (just about… train delays at Liverpool Street threatened to leave me stranded in Harwich), and <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/151/p1/\">climbed the Book Mountain in Spijkenisse</a>. My abiding memory of this trip was staying in <a href=\"https://theusual.com/en/locations/rotterdam/\">a stylish hotel</a> in Rotterdam and spending evenings in its bar working on <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/243/a1/nhsuk_eleventy_plugin/\">an NHS-flavoured version of the GOV.UK Eleventy Plugin</a>. I returned home via Antwerp, and in the <a href=\"https://museumplantinmoretus.be/en/\">Plantin-Moretus museum</a> said hello to the oldest printing presses in the world.</p><p><a href=\"https://roobottom.com/\">Jon</a> and I got our act together and in September resumed our annual tradition of doing a weekend cycling trip. This time we trundled around bits of East Kent – including a fair distance along the River Stour, only to be met by a closed gate and cycle all the way back.</p><p>When it came to taking <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/292/a1/paris_lyon_sitges_barcelona/\">an extended break in October</a>, I did the sensible thing and left my laptop at home. Unsurprisingly, this did wonders for my mental health. Surprisingly, I spent a night in Paris and enjoyed it.</p><p>Soon after I attended <a href=\"https://multipack.co.uk/events/2025/20th-anniversary/\">Multipack’s 20th anniversary</a> get together in Birmingham. We reminisced about table-based layout, XHTML, Flash and other dead technologies and that made me feel far too old. “Kids these days” was often said without any irony at all.</p><p>One thing I didn’t end up doing was speak at <a href=\"https://research.tuni.fi/plural-en/event/call-for-papers-railway-aesthetics-experiencing-locomotion-across-media-and-cultures/\">an academic conference that took place on a train travelling from Vienna to Istanbul</a>. Both <a href=\"https://adactio.com/\">Jeremy</a> and <a href=\"https://vasilis.nl/\">Vasilis</a> suggested I submit a talk proposal, but I prevaricated right up until the submission deadline. A conversation with my mum made me realise I didn’t want to do it, not least because it’d mean, if my proposal were accepted, spending months working on (and worrying about) a presentation. And 4 days stuck on a train listening to people talk about “trains as metafictional/metapoetic/metacinematic devices”… think I dodged a bullet.</p><p>Besides, personal projects were already taking a backseat as I focused on <a href=\"https://x-govuk.org/\">X-GOVUK</a> and NHS-related projects instead. I was able to <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/111/a1/drawings/\">add a new section to this website to collect drawings</a>, and added the final set of place descriptions to <a href=\"https://bradshaws.guide/\">Bradshaw’s Guide</a>. As for <a href=\"https://getindiekit.com/\">Indiekit</a>, I started to think about <a href=\"https://github.com/getindiekit/indiekit/pull/784\">providing named events for plug-ins to hook into</a>, but otherwise made little progress towards shipping v1.0. I joined a long-planned photo walk in February but was massively disappointed with the photos I came back with (unlike <a href=\"https://www.alpower.com/photos/2025-02-01-camera-wander-on-a-grey-day/\">Al</a> and <a href=\"https://benjamin.parry.is/collecting/photos/2025/02/brighon-photography-bimble/\">Ben</a>, the bastards).</p><p>By far the most rewarding personal project of 2025 was that of improving my fitness, working with my personal trainer to increase how much I can lift and carry. Preparing for <a href=\"https://uk.spartan.com/en/deka\">Deka competitions</a> towards the end of the year gave me a renewed focus and a useful way to measure progress. Proudest achievement of the year? I can now skip!</p><p>As I skip into 2026, it’s with an almost visceral sense of time passing at an alarming rate; I swear I was <a href=\"https://www.strava.com/activities/16814388868\">gradually counting down lengths in the swimming pool</a> just a matter of days, not weeks ago.</p><p>With regrets for opportunities – and possibly <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTXTPe3wahc\">alternate timelines</a> – not taken in 2025, I’m hoping this new found sense of mortality will encourage me to be a bit bolder and braver over the coming 12 months. As ever, it’s the hope that kills you.</p><hr><p><a href=\"mailto:reply@paulrobertlloyd.com?subject=Reply:%202025%20in%20review\">Reply via email</a></p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/001/a1/2025_in_numbers/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/001/a1/2025_in_numbers/", "date_published": "2026-01-01T23:45:00.000Z", "title": "2025 in numbers", "summary": "Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern.", "content_html": "<p>Here are some things I’ve been able to count for 2025. <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/collections/year_in_numbers/\">As usual</a>, I’m showing these alongside counts for the previous 4 years as well as some light commentary for added context.</p><h2 id=\"posts\">Posts</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Articles</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Notes</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Photos</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Total</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">11</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">18</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">9</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">38</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">11</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">35</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">42</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">88</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">23</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">38</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">50</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">111</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">11</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">69</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">32</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">112</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">47</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">77</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">128</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A significant drop in the amount of stuff I posted to this website over the last year. This was due to me posting fewer notes (reflective of my decreasing use of social media where notes are often syndicated), but I also didn’t share many photos, nor join any photo challenges. But, <a href=\"http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2025/12/summing-up-2025.html\">inspired by Diamond Geezer</a>, lets add a new count…</p><h2 id=\"photos_taken\">Photos taken</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Commits</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">990</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">796</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">996</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">1086</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">943</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Looking at the number of photos saved to my library, the number I take each year is reasonable consistent. I guess I just need to share more of them here.</p><h2 id=\"travel\">Travel</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Countries</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Trips</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Distance</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Carbon</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">13</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">5713 km</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">271 kg</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">3</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">15</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">8742 km</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">287 kg</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">6</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">22</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">6439 km</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">215 kg</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">6</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">13</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">8093 km</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">263 kg</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">1</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">1624 km</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">54 kg</td></tr></tbody></table><p>My travel patterns remain consistent, at least when there’s not a global pandemic.</p><p>Unlike previous years, <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/292/a1/paris_lyon_sitges_barcelona/\">my late summer holiday in 2025</a> involved sun, a beach, hotel pool and, importantly, no laptop! While tempted to do the same again this year, I’ve got a list of places I’d like to visit (<a href=\"https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/\">Miniatur Wunderland</a> in Hamburg, <a href=\"https://bobstory.de/en/\">Bob Brickman’s Lego museum</a> in Rosenheim and possibly <a href=\"https://konf.getkirby.com/\">Kirby Konf</a> in Mainz) that may give 2026 a familiar German flavour.</p><h2 id=\"events\">Events</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Cinema</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Other</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Total</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">5</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">10</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">15</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">6</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">14</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">20</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">5</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">13</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">18</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">7</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">9</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">16</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">7</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">11</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Somehow I went to fewer events in 2025, which surprises me a little. I saw 3 plays (<cite>Elektra</cite>, <cite>Giant</cite> and <cite>Nye</cite>), saw <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_(band)\">Haim</a> live and enjoyed an unexpected <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_and_Lard\">Mark and Lard</a> reunion. I’d also bought tickets to see Martin Parr at the Brighton Festival, only to get distracted and miss the event. <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/dec/07/martin-parr-obituary\">Kicking myself</a>.</p><h2 id=\"contributions_to_repos_on_git_hub\">Contributions to repos on GitHub</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Commits</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">2013</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">2760</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4040</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4295</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">3047</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The numbers GitHub reports have seemingly changed since I recorded them last year, so I have no idea how reliable these are. Regardless of raw figures, I spent too much of my spare time in a code editor, much of it for work or work-adjacent projects, which wasn’t particularly clever.</p><h2 id=\"activities_on_strava\">Activities on Strava</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Cycling</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Running</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Swimming</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Weights</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Total</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">3h 12m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">1h 00m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">6h 13m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">56h 15m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">66h 40m</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">3h 26m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">2h 9m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">8h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">13h 35m</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">3h 46m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">3h 46m</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">4h 2m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">6h 21m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">10h 23m</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">20h 37m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">19h 50m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">0h 0m</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">40h 27m</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Towards the end of 2024 I had an overly ambitious plan to run 3 days a week and swim once a week or more, but 2025 was the year I fell in love with weight lifting, ultimately spending 2 hours a week building up my strength and endurance.</p><p>In September I attempted my first Deka fitness competition, <a href=\"https://uk.spartan.com/en/deka/atlas\">Atlas</a> but only completed 4 stations. I completed the <a href=\"https://uk.spartan.com/en/deka/strong\">Strong</a> in December but with a truly embarrassing time. Regardless, I’ve set myself the audacious goal of completing the Atlas within the 30 minute time limit before the year is out.</p><h2 id=\"check_ins_on_swarm\">Check-ins on Swarm</h2><table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th style=\"text-align:right\">Check-ins</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2025</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">295</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">928</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">1008</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">941</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">785</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td style=\"text-align:right\">623</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 2024 <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/003/a1/2024_in_numbers#check_ins_on_swarm\">I wondered why I continued to use Swarm</a>. With that in mind I decided to check-in only when visiting new places. You can see the result. Now that Swarm no longer has a web interface, and needing to count the number of check-ins in 2025 by hand, I may be ready to delete the app entirely. Let’s see if I manage this when we return to these counts in 12 months time.</p><hr><p><a href=\"mailto:reply@paulrobertlloyd.com?subject=Reply:%202025%20in%20numbers\">Reply via email</a></p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/001/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/001/n1/", "date_published": "2026-01-01T22:50:26.729Z", "content_html": "<p>Today I… stayed up to watch the finale of <cite>Stranger Things</cite> (and wasn’t disappointed), took a morning walk with old friends, spent the afternoon with both my godmother and goddaughter and concluded it by getting hooked onto new series of <cite>The Traitors</cite> and <cite>The Night Manager</cite>. Pretty good start to 2026, I’d say.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/358/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/358/n1/", "date_published": "2025-12-24T22:31:17.392Z", "content_html": "<p>Delivering a small Indiekit-shaped Christmas present, with <a href=\"https://github.com/getindiekit/indiekit/releases/tag/v1.0.0-beta.25\">a new beta release</a> that includes some quality-of-life improvements alongside localisation for Brazilian Portuguese. <em>Feliz Natal!</em></p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/352/d2/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/352/d2/", "date_published": "2025-12-18T22:20:00.000Z", "title": "Manage vaccinations in schools: Flu private beta", "content_html": "<figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/352/d2/1.png\" alt=\"A circular badge featuring a polar bear and her 2 cubs. Each has a 1UP above them heads, one above a doughnut, another above a diamond.\"></figure><p>The mission patch for the release supporting seasonal flu vaccinations features Mavis and her 2 cubs getting their boosters; <a href=\"https://design-history.prevention-services.nhs.uk/manage-vaccinations-in-schools/2025/09/flu-recording/\">one with a doughnut, another with a diamond</a>.</p>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/352/d2/1.png", "title": "A circular badge featuring a polar bear and her 2 cubs. Each has a 1UP above them heads, one above a doughnut, another above a diamond.", "mime_type": "image/png" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/352/d1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/352/d1/", "date_published": "2025-12-18T22:20:00.000Z", "title": "Manage vaccinations in schools: CHIS discovery", "content_html": "<figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/352/d1/1.png\" alt=\"A howling polar bear standing on a block of cheese.\"></figure><p>The mission patch for the CHIS (child health information services) discovery features Mavis howling to notify all nearby polar bears about an unvaccinated cub. She does so by standing atop a block of nearby cheese (sounds like <em>chis</em>).</p>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/352/d1/1.png", "title": "A howling polar bear standing on a block of cheese.", "mime_type": "image/png" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/348/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/348/n1/", "date_published": "2025-12-14T21:19:44.259Z", "content_html": "<p>Getting close to completing the fourth and final section of Bradshaw’s Guide. As of today, you can now find <a href=\"https://bradshaws.guide/places\">descriptions for all 1338 towns and cities published in the 1866 edition</a>. Next up; adding the final set of routes and stations.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/347/p1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/347/p1/", "date_published": "2025-12-13T13:54:57.243Z", "content_html": "<p><a href=\"https://www.spartan.com/en/deka/strong\">Completed it</a> mate.</p><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/347/p1/1.jpg\" alt=\"Dark grey hexagonal finisher’s medal sat on a grey and red finisher’s t-shirt.\" class=\"u-photo\"></figure>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/347/p1/1.jpg", "title": "Dark grey hexagonal finisher’s medal sat on a grey and red finisher’s t-shirt.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/341/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/341/n1/", "date_published": "2025-12-07T14:31:16.680Z", "content_html": "<p>DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH, LANDO NORRIS! WORLD CHAMPION! 🏆</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/337/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/337/n1/", "date_published": "2025-12-03T22:33:26.417Z", "content_html": "<p>I have re-watched <cite>Die Hard</cite> and can confirm: it is a Christmas movie (no matter <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/01/die-hard-not-christmas-movie-home-alone\">what the British public may think</a>).</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/303/d1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/303/d1/", "date_published": "2025-10-30T12:00:00.000Z", "title": "NHS Vaccination Digital Services: Autumn/Winter Campaign 2025", "content_html": "<figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/303/d1/1.png\" alt=\"A circular badge featuring an illustration of a smiling hedgehog.\"></figure><p>The mission patch to celebrate the digital services supporting the Autumn/Winter 2025 seasonal vaccination campaigns.</p>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/303/d1/1.png", "title": "A circular badge featuring an illustration of a smiling hedgehog.", "mime_type": "image/png" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/299/p1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/299/p1/", "date_published": "2025-10-26T23:50:00.000Z", "content_html": "<p>I absolutely bloody love Haim, and they didn’t disappoint this evening.</p><ul><li><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/1.jpg\" alt=\"Alana, Danielle and Este Haim projected in black and white.\" class=\"u-photo\"></li><li><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/2.jpg\" alt=\"Este Haim singing below a sign in red text that says ‘Cry’.\" class=\"u-photo\"></li><li><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/3.jpg\" alt=\"Alana, Danielle and Este Haim playing their guitars below a sign in red text that says ‘I quit lying to myself’.\" class=\"u-photo\"></li><li><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/4.jpg\" alt=\"Alana, Danielle and Este Haim druming on stage, projected on a screen behind them.\" class=\"u-photo\"></li></ul>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/1.jpg", "title": "Alana, Danielle and Este Haim projected in black and white.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" }, { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/2.jpg", "title": "Este Haim singing below a sign in red text that says ‘Cry’.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" }, { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/3.jpg", "title": "Alana, Danielle and Este Haim playing their guitars below a sign in red text that says ‘I quit lying to myself’.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" }, { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/299/p1/4.jpg", "title": "Alana, Danielle and Este Haim druming on stage, projected on a screen behind them.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" } ] }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/292/a1/paris_lyon_sitges_barcelona/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/292/a1/paris_lyon_sitges_barcelona/", "date_published": "2025-10-19T21:00:00.000Z", "title": "Last of the summer shine", "summary": "Attempting to avoid tourist treadmills in France and Spain.", "content_html": "<p>I’ve gotten out of the habit of writing about my travels. Not sure why, maybe it’s a consequence of revisiting favourite cities or an increasing familiarity with Europe in general, and everything feeling less remarkable.</p><p>Anyway, earlier this month I took myself to Sitges – via Paris and Lyon – to extend my summer, and thought I’d share a few photos I took, alongside some light commentary.</p><h2 id=\"paris\">Paris</h2><p>Given previous experiences, I try to avoid the French capital when venturing across Europe. If I’m travelling south, I’ll head to Lyon instead.</p><p>Thanks to train chaos this side of the Channel, I had to resign myself to spending a night in Paris. I found a predictably small hotel in the <em lang=\"fr\">Saint-Paul</em> district, close to <em lang=\"fr\">Gare de Lyon</em> and also <em lang=\"fr\">Notre Dame</em>. In this moment of mild desperation, I inadvertently found <a href=\"https://www.letempledejeanne.com/en/\"><em lang=\"fr\">Temple de Jeanne</em></a>, a hotel with incredibly friendly and courteous staff. <em lang=\"fr\">Ça alors!</em></p><p>The next morning, before catching my rescheduled train to Lyon, I chanced finding a short queue outside the rebuilt and rejuvenated Notre Dame Cathedral. After 20 minutes, I was in.</p><ul><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/paris_notre_dame_1.jpg\" alt=\"Light shining through stained glass windows adding spots of colour to a nearby wall.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/paris_notre_dame_2.jpg\" alt=\"A bas-relief sculpture of a man praying situated below a row of stained glass windows.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/paris_notre_dame_3.jpg\" alt=\"Highly decorated walls below high stone arches.\"></figure></li></ul><p>Much like the Sistine Chapel, hoards of tourists prevented any possibility of me being awe struck. Here too are frequent requests for visitors to be silent, though given as automated announcements, the illusion of this being a place of solemnity soon vanished.</p><h2 id=\"lyon\">Lyon</h2><p>My time in Lyon truncated, I reacquainted myself with each part of this beautiful city, split into three by the rivers <em lang=\"fr\">Rhône</em> and <em lang=\"fr\">Saône</em>.</p><figure class=\"align-bleed\"><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/lyon_fontaine_bartholdi.jpg\" alt=\"A water fountain featuring a woman riding atop 4 galloping horses.\"><figcaption>Fontaine Bartholdi in Place de Terreaux.</figcaption></figure><p>Arriving west of the city in <em lang=\"fr\">La Part-Dieu</em>, I got to see the refurbished station concourse I saw glimpses of two years earlier.</p><p>Over the road lies the sprawling white jigsaw-clad Westfield shopping centre, with both the pencil-like <em lang=\"fr\">Tour Part-Dieu</em> and slender <em lang=\"fr\">Tour Oxygène</em> towers reaching above nearby.</p><p>Nestled among buildings in this area lie fine examples of brutalism (not pictured). The shell-shaped <a href=\"https://hiddenarchitecture.net/maurice-ravel-auditorium/\">Maurice Ravel auditorium</a> is a particular highlight, but on this visit the rigid lines of the <em lang=\"fr\">100 Cours Lafayette</em> apartment blocks caught my attention.</p><ul><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/lyon_rue_paul_chenavard.jpg\" alt=\"Sunlight picks out the windows on a street with a cyclist in the shadows.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/lyon_lamppost.jpg\" alt=\"A man sits near a lamppost, with large grey doors to a building behind both.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/lyon_saint_nizier.jpg\" alt=\"A decorated church spire bathed in sunlight, with a cyclist in the foreground.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/lyon_clock.jpg\" alt=\"A modern clock outside an older building featuring rows of windows.\"></figure></li></ul><p>Crossing a river in Lyon can transport you back a century or two. Crossing the <em lang=\"fr\">Rhône</em>, towers and concrete carbuncles give way to low-rise terraces and fine gothic buildings such as the <em lang=\"fr\">Hotel de Ville</em> and <em lang=\"fr\">Opéra Nouvel</em>. The large tree-lined <em lang=\"fr\">Place Bellecour</em> underlines the formality of this area.</p><p>Crossing the <em lang=\"fr\">Saône</em>, I retreated further into history. Although the neo-classical <em lang=\"fr\">Palais de juctice historique de Lyon</em> faces the river, it is here that you can find <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon_Cathedral\">Lyon’s medieval cathedral</a> and narrow cobble-stoned streets.</p><p>I didn’t climb (or take the funicular railway) up the hill this time, but if I had, I would have ventured further back and found the remains of a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Theatre_of_Fourvi%C3%A8re\">Roman amphitheatre</a>.</p><figure class=\"align-bleed\"><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/lyon_palais_de_juctice.jpg\" alt=\"Looking up at 8 neo-classical columns, with the French flag flying above them.\"><figcaption>Palais de juctice historique de Lyon.</figcaption></figure><h2 id=\"sitges\">Sitges</h2><p>My eventual destination was <em lang=\"es\">Sitges</em>, a little south of Barcelona. I picked this city for its beach and distance from major tourist attractions to make sure I had a proper holiday where I had little choice but to relax.</p><p>Of all its tourist attractions, I had hoped to visit the <a href=\"https://museusdesitges.cat/en/museum/palau-de-maricel/palau-de-maricel\"><em lang=\"es\">Palau de Maricel</em></a> but as this opens on select Sundays, I had to console myself with a walk around the neighbouring museum instead.</p><p>Not much to show for my time here – the beach and hotel pool were both lovely, thanks.</p><ul><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/sitges_street.jpg\" alt=\"A narrow street with some signage on buildings and seats outside restaurants.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/sitges_st_batholomew_thecla.jpg\" alt=\"Last afternoon sun illuminates a medieval church tower.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/sitges_sunset.jpg\" alt=\"Sunset with people as silhouettes in the foreground.\"></figure></li></ul><h2 id=\"barcelona\">Barcelona</h2><p>Towards the end of my trip, I took the train into Barcelona for some architectural tourism. On the first day I visited the Gaudí-designed <em lang=\"es\">Park Güell</em> (once I could get past the <a href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/279/n1/\">woeful digital-only ticketing system</a>). Like <em lang=\"fr\">Notre Dame</em>, this is a beautiful location spoilt by an influx of visitors.</p><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/barcelona_graffiti.jpg\" alt=\"A message sprayed on an outside wall near says ‘Tourists go home’.\"></figure><p>Approaching the park I spotted graffiti with the message ‘Tourists go home’ and I can understand why. I’ll try and resist the temptation to be an old man moaning about people preening and posing for Instagram. But tourism feels increasingly broken, less about seeing different places, but about being seen at those places. <em lang=\"es\">Park Güell</em> (and its Dragon Stairway) is one such example.</p><ul><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/barcelona_park_guell.jpg\" alt=\"Blue, white and black tiled spire, a cityscape in the distance.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/barcelona_national_art_museum.jpg\" alt=\"Classical tower and dome with details picked out by low sunlight.\"></figure></li><li><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/barcelona_calatrava.jpg\" alt=\"Silhouette of a tall, thin and sculptural communication tower at dusk.\"></figure></li></ul><p>On the second day I headed to <em lang=\"es\">Montjuïc</em> to see the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Pavilion\">Mies Van Der Rohe Pavillon</a>, a replica of a pavilion originally built as the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition. This is not a large building, small enough to question the €9 admission price.</p><p>I then found myself retreading the steps I had taken 16 years ago as I climbed <em lang=\"es\">Montjuïc</em> and strolled around the <em lang=\"es\">Anella Olímpica</em>, location of the 1992 Olympic Games. Three decades on, this area is showing its age, and could do with a bit of renovation. <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFc_Communications_Tower\">Calatrava’s distinctive communications tower</a> is in desperate need of a lick of paint.</p><h2 id=\"paris_part_deux\">Paris (part deux)</h2><p>I was able to get from Sitges to Brighton in one day, though it did mean leaving the hotel at 7am. I’d left myself some wiggle room between arriving in Paris and getting the Eurostar, so after checking my luggage into a locker at <em lang=\"fr\">Gare du Nord</em>, I wondered around the neighbourhood.</p><p>I soon stumbled upon <em lang=\"fr\">Canal Saint-Martin</em>, a little slice of Amsterdam in Paris, the city continuing to work its magic and slowly win me over to its charms.</p><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/292/a1/paris_canal_saint_martin.jpg\" alt=\"A four-storey apartment building reflected in the canal.\"><figcaption>Reflection in Canal Saint-Martin.</figcaption></figure><hr><p><a href=\"mailto:reply@paulrobertlloyd.com?subject=Reply:%20Last%20of%20the%20summer%20shine\">Reply via email</a></p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/291/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/291/n1/", "date_published": "2025-10-18T22:06:19.653Z", "content_html": "<p>Enjoyed drinks and a curry in Birmingham this evening alongside 6 familiar faces to celebrate an astonishing anniversary; 20 years ago this month, 4 web developers met in Walsall, and <a href=\"https://lloydyweb.paulrobertlloyd.com/blog/2005/10/the_we_in_web\">the Multipack was born</a>.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/290/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/290/n1/", "date_published": "2025-10-17T18:06:45.589Z", "content_html": "<p>The concourse at Euston station is now a festival of Rail Alphabet 2. Yet move beyond that and… well, God knows what font has been chosen for the gantries above the approaches to platforms (which themselves still use NR Brunel). One day there might be some visual coherence on the railway, but today is not that day.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/279/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/279/n1/", "date_published": "2025-10-06T14:01:15.048Z", "content_html": "<p>Trying to buy tickets for a major tourist attraction in Barcelona. Three separate attempts fail to complete (session expired). Go to the attraction hoping to buy tickets in person; online purchases only. When speak to an official, tells me to use Google Chrome (I’m using an iPhone, which is a whole other issue but needless to say, this is not an option).</p><p>Just a small, insignificant example of how this century has rapidly turned into a techno-centric idiocracy.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/273/n1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/273/n1/", "date_published": "2025-09-30T07:27:18.912Z", "content_html": "<p>Thanks to severe train delays, I have a morning to spend in Paris. Last night I booked into a charming hotel in Saint-Paul, and just met some of its extraordinarily friendly staff at breakfast. Going by previous experiences, I didn’t think any of this was possible! Paris might be growing on me.</p>" }, { "id": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/267/p1/", "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2025/267/p1/", "date_published": "2025-09-24T19:37:23.699Z", "content_html": "<p>Favourite tree doing favourite tree things.</p><figure><img src=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/267/p1/1.jpg\" alt=\"Luminous bright orange leaves on the branches of a maple tree.\" class=\"u-photo\"></figure>", "attachments": [ { "url": "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/media/2025/267/p1/1.jpg", "title": "Luminous bright orange leaves on the branches of a maple tree.", "mime_type": "image/jpeg" } ] } ] }