Bob Mortimer’s ‘The Satsuma Complex’. And one step at a time!

In yet another surprising turn of events, today I joined a library. And borrowed a book of fiction. To read.

Today has been utterly barmy, and not only the weather.

A hairy border terrier bathed in sunlight, and looking off to the side of the camera.

So ends a peaceful, relaxing and enjoyable Easter bank holiday doing mostly nothing, beyond watching some films and TV shows, spending time with my family, and going on short walks with this little old lady. Perfect.

Quick morning shout out to all the other freelancers who didn't even know it was the bank holiday, the whole concept having become utterly irrelevant to their lived experience.

Holiday advice: It's pleasant to get a train to Europe. You just have to turn travelling into a core part of the holiday - lunch in Paris, dinner in Bordeaux, trip to Spain, week on beach etc. It's limiting, but very enjoyable & decent alternative to a flight you won't be able to afford by summer.

Attempted to give blood for the first time today but failed the vein assessment. Gutted. Signing up was easy, and the team at the new donation centre in Brighton are really friendly, so go and give blood. https://www.blood.co.uk

Bit more than rumours. See DHH’s blog; it‘s explicit, and goes far beyond ‘unpleasant‘.

I wouldn’t touch a 37signals product with a 10-foot pole.

Me sitting on a chair next to Margaret Calvert.

Tonight I got to meet one of my design heroes, Margaret Calvert. Her work speaks for itself, which makes her modesty even more impressive. When I told her I use her typeface every day, she simply responded “oh dear, poor you”. Legend.

People socialise under red and white canopies. The buildings behind them are golden, with the shadows of nearby trees imparted on their beautifully decorated facades.

Sun-kissed evenings in Porto never fail to impress.

This is a low.

Starting March much as I did February by trying something new. This morning I completed my first Aquathon (Tuff Fitty’s Frost Bite event in Littlehampton, a 400m swim followed by a 5km run), finishing with a time of 50:35. I’ll take that!

Just got bitten by a dog, which kinda sums up this Thursday.

6 life lessons I discovered while learning to ski Falling down a mountain strapped to two slender skis feels like an analogy for life.

This post about skiing is not about skiing. paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/054/a1/...

Lovely evening spent in a local pub, drinking beer, eating pie and mash and coming fifth (out of seven teams) in the pub quiz with my fellow quizzer, Becky. A truly wonderful way to start the week.

Fuck me, the conclusion to season 2 of The Night Manager was quite unexpected. Wow.

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.

I bloody love Lyon.

Gone skiing.

A bottle of milk and a bottle of cream sat on the ground, in front of a blue door, surrounded by green foliage.

You don’t see this everyday.

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen's note to Starmer after visiting Chequers yesterday.

This brings back painful memories 😑 I swear their keyboards actively resist typing!

2025 in review Another circuit around the sun and time once again to reflect on a year gone by.

How I spent 2025: paulrobertlloyd.com/2026/004/a1/...

Today I… stayed up to watch the finale of Stranger Things (and wasn’t disappointed), took a morning walk with old friends, spent the afternoon with my godmother and goddaughter and concluded by getting hooked on new series of The Traitors and The Night Manager. Pretty good start to 2026, I’d say.

Delivering a small Indiekit-shaped Christmas present, with a new beta release that includes some quality-of-life improvements alongside localisation for Brazilian Portuguese. Feliz Natal! github.com/getindiekit/indiekit/rel...

Union Flag Blues: the Branding of Great British Railways In a blaze of publicity, the branding for Great British Railways, state-owned future operator of some of the privatised British railway network, was unexpectedly launched earlier this month, a mere four years after Great British Railways was first announced. In typical British transport policy tradition, the government almost immediately undermined its own efforts to create a unifying visual identity for the English railway network, having long since ceded the battle to brand the British railway network.

#TheBeautyOfTransport is looking at the newly unveiled GBR branding - not just what it is, but how we ended up with it, and how far it will actually spread. It's a long article this time, so plenty to keep you going over the holidays. Season's Greetings!

Categories The personal website of Paul Robert Lloyd

Probably because I’m not that good at self-promotion, but thanks! It’s absolutely a labour of love, and a slow burning one at that. I’ve written a few posts about the project over the last 12 or so years, if you’d like to know more: paulrobertlloyd.com/categories/b...

Getting close to completing the fourth and final section of Bradshaw’s Guide. As of today, you can now find descriptions for all 1338 towns and cities published in the 1866 edition. Next up; adding the final set of routes and stations. https://bradshaws.guide/places

Dark grey hexagonal finisher’s medal sat on a grey and red finisher’s t-shirt.

Completed it mate. www.spartan.com/en/deka/strong

DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH, LANDO NORRIS! WORLD CHAMPION! 🏆