Sunshine, champagne and meeting lots of enthusiastic readers of my books. One of November’s highlights was volunteering at the Christmas market organised by the Swedish Church in Southern France. I was one of the 72 (!) volunteers – the photo is from the preparations before opening.
I’m pretty sure this picture gives the impression that I’m heading back into full-time authorship. But that’s not the story behind it. Check out my October recap to find out what it has to do with quiet quitting and a reused Roman stone.
Four events in four days on behalf of IKEM – from PFAS and smart materials to future pharma skills and international perspectives on industry change. Great fun! And on top of it meeting my readers in France.
What does a World Heritage copper mine in Norway have to do with pharmaceutical skills in 2030? Read my August recap to find out. I share updates from the ChemSkills project (on behalf of IKEM), reflections on how industries rise or fall – and a few photos from above and below the surface.
What do Victorian cemeteries and pharma business models have in common?
Sometimes, even the most stable-looking industries fail when they stop adapting. In this month’s recap (previously published on LinkedIn), I reflect on skill needs in the chemical sector, recycled crisis talk – and a surprisingly beautiful graveyard outside Bristol.
In my June recap, I reflect on how we relate to deadlines.
Some of us thrive on last-minute pressure. Others – like me – prefer to trick ourselves into starting early. A recent project meeting made me think about the different ways we get things done, and how a bit of self-awareness (and teamwork) can make all the difference.
May turned out to be a month of waiting — for green lights and go-aheads that didn’t quite come. Instead of sitting still, I accepted an invitation to work from Corsica, mixing Teams calls with exploring. And just as the month was ending, my long awaited new book finally arrived from the printer — along with the first enthusiastic comments from readers.
What’s really the safest path these days — one full-time job or several smaller ones? That’s one of the topics in this recap, along with how a photo from Paris can give the wrong impression.
The highlight of the month was sending a long-awaited book to print, fifteen years after I first started it. About time, if I want to keep my tagline I get things done.
We often talk about how to say no (and that’s something I really need to practice). But this month I wanted to focus on the times when saying yes has turned out well. Like twelve years ago, when I was asked to write a travel guide to Nice — and now I’m holding yet another updated edition in my hands.
Or when I said yes to another EU-funded project — IRISS, an initiative to accelerate the shift towards Safe and Sustainable by Design — which meant I went to Brussels twice this month.
Some choices really do age well.
A photo can be misleading — it may look like I’m on holiday, but behind the scenes I was juggling EU-funded projects and books. One of them explores how history changes depending on who holds the pen — a reminder that perspective matters. And everything I do keeps reinforcing my belief that European collaboration is more important than ever. From medieval forts to horse sledges in Norway, it was business as usual.