I'm in Cornwall, as promised.
There's something about this county - I always get a little sense of excitement about being here. I think it's because my ancestors came from the West Country. In fact, there's considerable evidence to suggest that my grandmother's grandfather was actually a pirate.
The last time I said that, someone looked at me carefully and smiled, saying, "Yep, that makes sense." I didn't have the opportunity to probe what that means.
Excitement aside, I'm here for a conference - one which is apparently heavily attended by software developers (understandable - I think it's mostly aimed at them). I had a little look round the bar tonight while munching on a cornish pasty. There was a guy wearing a white suit jacket... and shorts. Developer. There were lots of other variations - the t-shirts were out in force of course, quoting The Big Bang Theory and displaying slogans like "Don't argue with me; I'm an engineer," and pictograms of gaming dice. Knee-length shorts, sandals and odd haircuts were very much on display too. It's a weird world this, sometimes. I pondered how difficult it seems to be for us as a species, to avoid the wearing of uniforms.
"How was your pasty?" asked someone.
"Yeah, good," I said boringly. I realised afterwards that it was much the same as any other cornish pasty, despite having been made authentically. The pastry had the same oven-baked crispness and the meat and vegetable slop was quite ordinary. I don't want to be a heretic but I think it must be hard to be the original and best when the West Cornwall Pasty Company and Ginsters are doing it just as well up and down the land.
The bell rang ten and the bar closed so we headed back to the accommodation, heads spinning with cider. This conference is all about learning how to work in 'agile' teams and how to make great products along the way. Tomorrow will be fascinating. Maybe I should pass on the notes to the people who made the pasties.
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