Wednesday along the Cam

The Assessment for my Medical Devices class was held in the Biotech Centre today.  We changed the format a bit, asking students to find a niche for an emerging technology, a use for a component, as opposed to building a business case around a single product and patient group.  Everyone did well on the assignment, lots of insight and energy as one would expect from Cambridge.

I’d hoped to get more time to walk around town, perhaps a visit to the Kettles Yard gallery and coffee with friends.  But there was a lot of admin work to do, HR and shareholders, and some last-minute tweaking on the financial models.  By the time we finished, the day had turned drizzly and dark.

    

Still, the trees were showing first blooms and there were punters on the Cam: it will be Pimms and strawberries season soon enough.

Meandering the Thames Walk

Weekends always mean more when the week has been particularly demanding.   A bit of spring warmth arrived as well, so it was a good day to drive over to Pangbourne-on-Thames for some time along the Thames riverbanks

If you're a commuter who fancies yourself a squire, Pangbourne is the place for you, gushes the Guardian.  Fancy yourself at the end of a hard day, not to crack open the G&T, butr poised to stride off with Rover through coppices atop the North Wessex Downs, checking for foxes and, who knows, wild boar.

I count at least three words and several concepts in there that were not part of the Test, strides still to be made.

We completed work on the business plan revisions this week, hopefully putting the gloss to it this weekend and ready to start shopping it.  The two biggest changes are to swap the clinical trial for regulatory approval in the schedule and to start work earlier on new applications. 

They seem small, but they’ve received enthusiastic reviews in early outings to shareholders and investors, who perceive less risk and greater value in the company’s plans as a result. 

Hopefully, this lets us complete the final quarter of the raise quickly.

A misty rain washed over the bridge to the civil parish, dimming the river and forcing the fishermen into tight huddles over their poles.  The river steamer started a lazy turn, the swans tucked into the brush along the shore.  Bare trees bent low over the single-lane road into old Whitchurch, the church itself closed tight and silent.

My HX-9V camera is reaching its twilight years, finicky about starting and sensitive to daylight.  I’ve been researching the alternatives and visiting advisors at local camera stores.  I’d like to step up towards an RX100, not yet ready for a dSLR, and am comparing specs that I’ve learned in my photography course.

I’m thinking about video as well.  Jonah Kessel, a journalist working in China, was interviewed on Sinica this week, and he made a nice comparison of still and video photography.  I really like his work, and the flexibility would be good for experimenting  for storytelling and scene-setting.

Out along the Thames Walk, then.  The water was low and lazy, just a smattering of houseboats tied up ahead of the season.  with just, the only colour along the banks today.    A few walkers passed with dogs and children, enjoying the day silently, staying on the worn, muddy path.  I ventured across the floodplains, grassy wetlands transiting to crisply brown undergrowth, crunching at each step.

Is it okay to do nothing, wondered the Shrink and Sage a year ago.  After a period of work, it may be appropriate to just flop for a while and reconnect, ventured the Shrink. Against the perennial temptation to believe something must be done, doing nothing is often the more courageous and fruitful path, reassured the Sage.

I nudge the bracken to see if I can flush a butterfly, admire the daffodils, a bit more Tootle than philosopher.  "Stay on the rails no matter what,” was the lesson of that story. ‘Never a moral that I took to heart.

A nice afternoon off, in any case.  A meander, a chat; capturing the light and releasing some ideas that have been percolating back in Poole. The clocks jump ahead in the US tonight: not quite summer yet, but a taste of Berkshire spring will do.