My publishers have given me a discount code to get 30% off the 3rd edition of Financial Management and Accounting in the Public Sector. FMAP23 is valid until 31 August when you buy direct from my publisher.

Taken me months to get around to this but finally www.garybandy.co.uk points to my Micro.blog site and I can delete the Squarespace one.

The best thing Apple announce today? The photos that will be able to recognise your pets’ faces.

Schadenfreude is a very underrated form of therapy.

AI: evolution is making us treat it like a human, and we need to kick the habit

Tonight’s live version of Sometimes by James plus choir and orchestra was magnificent. I hope the new album version is even half as good.

What are the best books about how governments collect and spend your taxes?

This is my list of 5 books:

Amazing what you can do with an iPhone and some AI software (Luminar Neo in this case). Photo taken at Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire, England.

Tomorrow is my 58th birthday and I am going to take the day off.

The day after tomorrow is the 18th anniversary of the end of my last full-time, permanent job. Life begins at 40, eh?

Back in 2005 I didn’t know that it would be my last job. I was a local government finance director and I left the job because I wanted two things that it could not give me: variety in terms of content and location.

Over the last 18 years I have moved from interim management to consulting (on outsourcing, mainly) to teaching and writing. I have worked in many different parts of the public sector here in the UK and also done many projects in or for other jurisdictions. This photo was taken in 2017 during an assignment in Sri Lanka.

For many years my answer to the question, would I ever get a ‘proper job’? was you can never say never. However, after all this time, I think the answer is never. I think I would struggle to fit within the confines of an organisation. I have spent too long working for myself, doing things my way, using technology I like, at times and places that suit me. The rise of home working post COVID-19 means it’s possible I could have a job and still be here, but I would still struggle with completing timesheets or having to ask permission to go on a holiday.

It seems, therefore, that the best thing would be to continue doing what I’m doing. It’s worked out well, so far.

London is a great city to walk in when the sun is shining. #nofilter