Aoife
@chiefbreenie.bsky.social
product manager
disabled and liver transplant recipient
whippet owner/servant
she/her
disabled and liver transplant recipient
whippet owner/servant
she/her
Probs a day for tea and seed sorting and tentatively stepping into the garden and reconquering the veg beds from the squirrels and their hidden nuts. Gardening has helped my sometimes-a-bit-anxious-and-sad brain rethink January and reimagine it for all the possibilities of the coming growing year.
January 18, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Probs a day for tea and seed sorting and tentatively stepping into the garden and reconquering the veg beds from the squirrels and their hidden nuts. Gardening has helped my sometimes-a-bit-anxious-and-sad brain rethink January and reimagine it for all the possibilities of the coming growing year.
Lots of good conversations as always at #ukgc26. Some takeaways:
- hypothesis-driven practice Inc 'vibe coding' needs an acceptance it might fail
- thinking about spaces to discuss failure that include #localgov
- product jobs are never the same
- still many barriers to data sharing
- hypothesis-driven practice Inc 'vibe coding' needs an acceptance it might fail
- thinking about spaces to discuss failure that include #localgov
- product jobs are never the same
- still many barriers to data sharing
January 17, 2026 at 6:02 PM
I have no idea what time I'll get in but I am at least on a train to Birmingham #ukgc26
Come talk to me about GDS Local - keen to hear any thoughts about opportunities or learnings and generally mingle with folks interested in all things #localgov
Come talk to me about GDS Local - keen to hear any thoughts about opportunities or learnings and generally mingle with folks interested in all things #localgov
Good news! The (delayed) 09:16 is boarding.
January 17, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by Aoife
PSA for those heading from London to Birmingham for @ukgovcamp.com - all trains from Euston currently cancelled, head to St Pancras and change at Leicester... #govcamp
January 17, 2026 at 7:43 AM
PSA for those heading from London to Birmingham for @ukgovcamp.com - all trains from Euston currently cancelled, head to St Pancras and change at Leicester... #govcamp
My prescription fee exemption cert expires soon. To get it renewed, my GP must full out the FP92A paper form return it by post (there's also a process to order copies of this form!). But I also need to put in a request to ask my GP to do this process. This process feels like it could be better...
January 4, 2026 at 5:51 PM
My prescription fee exemption cert expires soon. To get it renewed, my GP must full out the FP92A paper form return it by post (there's also a process to order copies of this form!). But I also need to put in a request to ask my GP to do this process. This process feels like it could be better...
Made some Irish brown bread. Added a bit too much wheat bran. The crust tastes almost like digestive biscuits. That's a win, I reckon!
January 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Made some Irish brown bread. Added a bit too much wheat bran. The crust tastes almost like digestive biscuits. That's a win, I reckon!
Rounding out 2025 walking with my favourite boy along one of our favourite walks in North Devon - on the cliffs, undulating beside the sea. Zero hospital admissions this year which makes for a change from the last few years!
December 31, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Rounding out 2025 walking with my favourite boy along one of our favourite walks in North Devon - on the cliffs, undulating beside the sea. Zero hospital admissions this year which makes for a change from the last few years!
Слава 💙💛💙💛
Carol of the Bells in #
Kyiv subway.
Voices of the Embassies of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom came together to perform Shchedryk in the Kyiv metro as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thankful to everyone who stands with us!
Kyiv subway.
Voices of the Embassies of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom came together to perform Shchedryk in the Kyiv metro as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thankful to everyone who stands with us!
December 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Слава 💙💛💙💛
My 13th Christmas with my donated liver. This year, for the first time, I've had some irregular blood tests and no answers yet so I go into 2026 with uncertainty. I find myself even more grateful for more than a decade of totally normal function. Banality is the greatest gift. Merry Christmas 🎄 🎁
December 25, 2025 at 12:08 PM
My 13th Christmas with my donated liver. This year, for the first time, I've had some irregular blood tests and no answers yet so I go into 2026 with uncertainty. I find myself even more grateful for more than a decade of totally normal function. Banality is the greatest gift. Merry Christmas 🎄 🎁
Reposted by Aoife
My colleague @juliacushion.bsky.social made a “sunlight optimism” spreadsheet, my colleague @zarino.co.uk said there should be a postcode lookup version, I have the day off, the kid has gone swimming, and so, I present:
The Sunlight Optimism Calculator: dracos.co.uk/made/sunligh...
The Sunlight Optimism Calculator: dracos.co.uk/made/sunligh...
December 24, 2025 at 12:38 PM
My colleague @juliacushion.bsky.social made a “sunlight optimism” spreadsheet, my colleague @zarino.co.uk said there should be a postcode lookup version, I have the day off, the kid has gone swimming, and so, I present:
The Sunlight Optimism Calculator: dracos.co.uk/made/sunligh...
The Sunlight Optimism Calculator: dracos.co.uk/made/sunligh...
Reposted by Aoife
If you’re not doing anything at 8.40, you should join a chunk of Irish people as we watch the solstice online.
RTÉ radio news just made a point of saying that there is no cloud cover over Newgrange today.
bsky.app/profile/bike...
RTÉ radio news just made a point of saying that there is no cloud cover over Newgrange today.
bsky.app/profile/bike...
8 hours twenty minutes to go before #newgrangesolstice 2025, folks!
The good doctors Clare and Frank will be back again to accompany the winter light slowly illuminating Newgrange’s burial chamber.
Go here for details of where you can watch. www.gov.ie/en/office-of...
The good doctors Clare and Frank will be back again to accompany the winter light slowly illuminating Newgrange’s burial chamber.
Go here for details of where you can watch. www.gov.ie/en/office-of...
December 21, 2025 at 8:04 AM
If you’re not doing anything at 8.40, you should join a chunk of Irish people as we watch the solstice online.
RTÉ radio news just made a point of saying that there is no cloud cover over Newgrange today.
bsky.app/profile/bike...
RTÉ radio news just made a point of saying that there is no cloud cover over Newgrange today.
bsky.app/profile/bike...
Reposted by Aoife
New blog post: Why do people leave comments on OpenBenches?
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/why-do-people-leave-comments-on-openbenches/
I'm still a believer in the promise of Web 2.0. The idea that giving people a curated space to chat produces tiny sparks of magic. My wife Liz and I have …
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/why-do-people-leave-comments-on-openbenches/
I'm still a believer in the promise of Web 2.0. The idea that giving people a curated space to chat produces tiny sparks of magic. My wife Liz and I have …
Why do people leave comments on OpenBenches?
I'm still a believer in the promise of Web 2.0. The idea that giving people a curated space to chat produces tiny sparks of magic. My wife Liz and I have been running the OpenBenches project for about 8 years - it's a crowd-sourced repository of memorial benches. People take a geotagged photo of a bench's plaque, upload it to our site, and we share it with the world. Might sound a bit niche,…
shkspr.mobi
December 20, 2025 at 12:45 PM
New blog post: Why do people leave comments on OpenBenches?
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/why-do-people-leave-comments-on-openbenches/
I'm still a believer in the promise of Web 2.0. The idea that giving people a curated space to chat produces tiny sparks of magic. My wife Liz and I have …
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/why-do-people-leave-comments-on-openbenches/
I'm still a believer in the promise of Web 2.0. The idea that giving people a curated space to chat produces tiny sparks of magic. My wife Liz and I have …
And that's a wrap on work for this year as well as my time at MHCLG (for now). New things in the new year... But first, some rest.
December 19, 2025 at 6:13 PM
And that's a wrap on work for this year as well as my time at MHCLG (for now). New things in the new year... But first, some rest.
My year as a product manager in the public sector unwrapped:
- 0.5 FTE saying "but what problem does this solve?"
- 0.2 FTE saying "that sounds like a great assumption we can test" when some announces their opinion.
- 0.2 FTE cursing Mural.
- 0.1 FTE sighing.
- 0.5 FTE saying "but what problem does this solve?"
- 0.2 FTE saying "that sounds like a great assumption we can test" when some announces their opinion.
- 0.2 FTE cursing Mural.
- 0.1 FTE sighing.
December 18, 2025 at 10:34 AM
My year as a product manager in the public sector unwrapped:
- 0.5 FTE saying "but what problem does this solve?"
- 0.2 FTE saying "that sounds like a great assumption we can test" when some announces their opinion.
- 0.2 FTE cursing Mural.
- 0.1 FTE sighing.
- 0.5 FTE saying "but what problem does this solve?"
- 0.2 FTE saying "that sounds like a great assumption we can test" when some announces their opinion.
- 0.2 FTE cursing Mural.
- 0.1 FTE sighing.
This is an absolute treat to watch. There's something quite evocative about seeing in real time a moment of intense connection to the past and the natural present simultaneously.
The #WinterSolstice livestream link is now available
Join us on 21 Dec @ 8:40 am to witness the solstice sunrise live from inside the #Newgrange chamber, weather permitting.
Save the link now and be part of this extraordinary moment.
🔗www.gov.ie/solstice
#ShareTheSolstice
Join us on 21 Dec @ 8:40 am to witness the solstice sunrise live from inside the #Newgrange chamber, weather permitting.
Save the link now and be part of this extraordinary moment.
🔗www.gov.ie/solstice
#ShareTheSolstice
December 18, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This is an absolute treat to watch. There's something quite evocative about seeing in real time a moment of intense connection to the past and the natural present simultaneously.
Forget to share this milestone: we are back to lengthening evenings. Yesterday the sun set a whole 8 seconds later than on Sunday. 🕯️✨
Today is 2025-12-15, the sun sets at 16:05:51 and the grand auld stretch tonight was 00 mins and 08 secs. #GrandStretch #TheGrandStretchIsBack
December 16, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Forget to share this milestone: we are back to lengthening evenings. Yesterday the sun set a whole 8 seconds later than on Sunday. 🕯️✨
Reposted by Aoife
Plus ‘Digital’ as a brand (IMO) has been incredibly damaging, as it’s just pigeonholed us into tech delivery- rather than a problem solving profession, whether the solution is a product or not.
December 10, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Plus ‘Digital’ as a brand (IMO) has been incredibly damaging, as it’s just pigeonholed us into tech delivery- rather than a problem solving profession, whether the solution is a product or not.
Why is *everything* a subscription now? It's not more convenient. It all requires a lot more admin.
December 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Why is *everything* a subscription now? It's not more convenient. It all requires a lot more admin.
Writing a blog on discovery and so far I've referenced "We're going on a bear hunt" and "Let it go". I am not a serious person and yet I hold down a professional job.
December 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Writing a blog on discovery and so far I've referenced "We're going on a bear hunt" and "Let it go". I am not a serious person and yet I hold down a professional job.
Reposted by Aoife
Bloody hell.
December 2, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Bloody hell.
Reposted by Aoife
Example 99 for why I didn’t use the Welsh language option of a service.
A new one: m&s Shrewsbury till froze and crashed when I selected Welsh.
Moved to another till, and selected English.. in case it happened again. Had a train to catch… in a rush.
A new one: m&s Shrewsbury till froze and crashed when I selected Welsh.
Moved to another till, and selected English.. in case it happened again. Had a train to catch… in a rush.
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Example 99 for why I didn’t use the Welsh language option of a service.
A new one: m&s Shrewsbury till froze and crashed when I selected Welsh.
Moved to another till, and selected English.. in case it happened again. Had a train to catch… in a rush.
A new one: m&s Shrewsbury till froze and crashed when I selected Welsh.
Moved to another till, and selected English.. in case it happened again. Had a train to catch… in a rush.
This review, with honest subjective opinions by the author, reminds me of how much a lot of people like to diss pre-chopped veg like onions or carrots. Maybe it's not for you, as part of the able majority.
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future – an astonishing look at how tech is changing disabled people’s lives
Prepare to have your perspective shattered by the comedian’s visits to our US tech overlords. The upcoming advancements for those with disabilities are life-changing
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
This review, with honest subjective opinions by the author, reminds me of how much a lot of people like to diss pre-chopped veg like onions or carrots. Maybe it's not for you, as part of the able majority.
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...