Society

In the early hours of Sunday morning, my daughter Isla was admitted to hospital with tonsillitis so severe she could no longer swallow. As a parent, it was a worrying time. As a tech lead working on national health infrastructure, it was quietly illuminating. I’m currently helping to build the National Screening Platform for NHS England — a set of systems designed to make the flow of patient data smoother, more interoperable, and ultimately more useful, hopefully leading to cost savings and better health outcomes for the country’s citizens. But this weekend, I wasn’t a developer or a technical architect. I was just a sleep-deprived dad, waiting anxiously by a bedside. ...

There’s no television in our shared family living areas any more. The imposing screen that once sat at the heart of the home, the altar of sofas and the focus of countless evenings, has been repurposed. It now lives in Matthew’s playroom, where it serves primarily as a large Xbox monitor. And you know what? I don’t miss it. Jocelyn and I just don’t seem to watch television these days. It’s not a moral stance or a lifestyle trend, it’s been more of a drift. A quiet migration away from passive consumption toward something else. ...

I’ve recently completed a stint of jury service, which lasted a little over two weeks at York Crown Court. For obvious reasons, I can’t blog about the trials I was involved with, but it was a fascinating couple of weeks, and it would be a shame not to share some of the experience with you. Whenever I mentioned my upcoming service to friends and colleagues, their responses fell into one of two camps: either, “Ugh, I’d hate that! I’d really dread doing jury service!” or, “You lucky sod, I’d love to do that, but I’ve never been asked!” The thought of serving on a jury clearly polarises people, and I must confess, I felt a certain dread when I first received my summons. ...