Greetings from Oslo! | The Friday(ish) Update

Welcome to another edition of the Friday(ish) Update, my weekly blog-type-thing about what I’ve been up to.

My excuse for being slightly late with it this week—hey, I did manage to get it out on Friday last week!—is that I’ve been away! Read on for a little more about that…

What have I been up to this week?

Although I doubt I’ll finish it until I’m safely back on the ground, I’m writing the beginning of this week’s Friday(ish) Update from the seat of an aeroplane somewhere above the North Sea. I’m on my way back from Norway, where I’ve spent the past week at OsloMet University delivering lectures and facilitating seminars about making high-quality and engaging educational videos.

It’s been a really great trip. This has been the first time I’ve been outside the UK since the start of the pandemic and only one of a handful of times that I’ve spent a meaningful amount of time away from my house—something doubly claustrophobic when one largely works from home! It’s been a fairly busy week of travelling, teaching and editing slides; nevertheless, the change of scenery and the opportunity to meet a bunch of wonderful new people has been really restorative and energising.

My travelling time has also given me the chance to delve into a couple of key books which are helping to shape my next video. I’ll reveal the topic in next week’s Friday Update but, for now, I will reveal that it is an episode of What The Theory? and one that will certainly interest those among you interested in the present (and future) state of tech and some of the effects that tech companies are having on the rest of the economy. I’m even going to try and include some discussion of Zuckerberg’s recently-revealed metaverse fantasias in there as well!

And outside of work?

While most of my time in Oslo was pretty jam-packed, I did find some time to see the sights. I spent one evening at the Oslo Opera House as I managed to find a piece of theatre which was being performed there that was largely non-verbal. It was a fun little piece of clowning which attempted to explore some more serious themes but which was mostly just a good laugh!

On my second-to-last-day there, I bought a pass which gave me access to most of the city’s museums. Ever one to make sure I get my money’s worth, I spent the day sprinting around the city trying to fit as many of them in as possible. It was pretty tiring (and I probably didn’t leave enough time to eat as I perhaps should have!) but I got to see loads of art—including Damien Hirst’s Mother and Child (Divided), Tracey Emin’s My Bed and Edvard Munch’s The Scream—and learn a lot more than I ever thought I would know about polar exploration at the Fram Museum.

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

The beginning of my journey to Oslo involved a 4-hour drive to Heathrow Airport. I decided to use the time to my best advantage by finally beginning to listen to the audiobook of Shon Faye’s The Transgender Issue. I’ve had the hardback on my shelf since it came out in September but I rarely get time to read physical books that aren’t directly related to stuff I’m working on for the channel—there just isn’t time!

The audiobook continued to accompany me through walks around Oslo and runs along the city’s waterfront. I’ve found it to be a really engaging and compassionate examination of the various intersecting struggles faced by trans people in the UK (and elsewhere) in the contemporary moment—a really important corrective to the hostility and misinformation propagated by much of the UK’s right-wing press.

I’ve still got a couple of chapters left to read (or listen, I guess, as it’s an audiobook!) to but I’d certainly recommend considering it if you're in need of books to read!

That brings us to the end of this week’s Friday(ish) Update! Thanks for reading!

NB: Apologies to supporters on the higher tiers for the delay in releasing the commentary track to accompany my latest video—my partner had a positive COVID test the day prior to my leaving for Oslo and so I had to suddenly rearrange a lot of stuff. It will be with you as soon as possible!