Sunday Sum - 28th May 2023

Hey , welcome back to

The Sunday Summary

, a collection of insights and my behind the scenes from the past week.

💂🏻‍♀️ A London experience:Brewers Hall - Aldermanbury SquareA luncheon with the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers, and my first visit to this hall. The current livery hall was rebuilt in 1960, following bombing in the blitz of 1940. The previous hall to that perished with the great fire of 1666.  If there’s any taxi driver, past or present, or anyone who works in association to the taxi trade (insurance, goods, maintenance etc) do get in touch if you wish to join the WCHCD.  It’s a great institution, one that we are incredibly lucky to have and I really enjoy having these break up my weeks/months.🎧 An audiobook I'm loving:The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain - Ian MortimerYou’ll know my disdain for heavy history books.  And while this is a relatively large book, it places you, the reader (or in my case listener) right into the heart of London. One big event of course in restoration Britain is the great fire of London.  What makes this book unique is that it reads like a fiction, whereby Mortimer puts you in the heart of the action. Vivid depictions of what you can hear, see and even smell, bring the 17th century London to life.  I can’t wait to explore the whole series of books!🎸 A recent splurge:Yamaha Acoustic GuitarHaving played electric (badly) in my teens, and attempting again during the 2020 lockdowns.  I thought I’d go simpler with acoustic.  The idea, it just sits in the lounge, and any time I’m procrastinating from editing or writing, I can just pick-up the guitar and play a few chords.  It certainly does the trick! 

📺  A strategic review of my YouTube channel:

It would appear that the overwhelming majority of views and income come from my shift videos. So much so that almost every other video pales in insignificance.  Somewhat sad because I enjoy playing with new ideas and formats, but knowing that these are unlikely to be rewarded is somewhat demoralising (although they are often a source of anxiety and frustration as I try and calculate what to make each week).  I know that focusing on the money isn’t necessarily the be all and end all, and other calculated hits need to be taken.  I.e. my very popular “Best places to eat in London video”.  And sometimes it’s nice to make a video that I’m genuinely interested in (albeit demoralising when hardly anyone watches it).

In short, expect shift videos more regularly. And another type of video regularly.  I’m not sure if I’m going to be hitting the previous cadence of a video a week for sometime.  I guess it’s the perils of having a platform viewed by many, it's somewhat crippling to produce content now rather than the initial start up phase where I could just swing randomly (I used to upload 2 times a week! That now sounds borderline maniacal.). Would love to hear your thoughts on this, or if you wish to contribute to the channel in anyway!🥪 And just to round the week off.I went back  to the legendary establishment in Islington, that is Johnny Schnitzel.  If you haven't been here yet, the queues and portions certainly don't lie!

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Please feel free to reach out to me with your; comments, concerns or just general conversation.  

I'd love to know what you're up to or what you might be working on!

 📝😁

Have a great week everyone!

Tom

Just as a side note, any Amazon links featured that you purchase (or go on to buy another product from Amazon), I get a small affiliate revenue from. It all goes towards supporting my creative efforts, so thank you 😊