Notes

Spring in Düsseldorf and it's a sunny day, it must be time for #btconf

Back in Düsseldorf for Beyond Tellerrand once again! I made an impromptu stop at IndieWebCamp to assist with setting up the stream and finally have time to tackle accessibility improvements on my website.

Lots of websites and apps now provide fee-free booking for UK train tickets to any destination, featuring split-ticketing and better options for identifying the best value fares. Yet, many people I know still consider The Trainline to be the only option.

📣 New talk in the planning for 2025. Drop me a message if you'd like me to come speak at your event about the current state of digital accessibility, legislation, and effective strategies to improve accessibility culture within your team.

The 2025 WebAIM Million report has been published. Some decreases in accessibility issues, but much still hasn't improved, sadly. https://webaim.org/projects/million/

Enjoyed meeting at the Digital Accessibility Centre today for our annual audit of GOV.UK. Learning how users with various disabilities use and test websites was truly insightful. Strongly reaffirms the importance of advocating for a culture of accessibility, not merely striving for compliance.

First visit in a long long time to Spain and first time in Barcelona. Soaking up the winter sun and mild Mediterranean temperature. Mr Calum

A little lonely in the accessibility lab earlier today for demos at the GDS press launch, whilst AI and Apps took the limelight next door.

Hesitantly booked my first cycling trip to France in order to watch the start of #TDF2025 in July. Praying it won't rain heavily and all the potential fail points of trains/ferry/cycling on foreign roads won't scupper it

Good to be beside the sea and soaking up the first sunny day of 2025

Autocomplete for GOV.UK Site Search is now live after many years of research and testing

Continue efforts to spread awareness of digital accessibility across government services in my day job
#BlueBeanieDay

Priced up travel to the mainland for a couple of conferences next year that could be cheaply and conveniently reached by Eurostar pre-Brexit. Sadly not going as the prices now are jaw dropping and it's not worth the hassle and environmental damage of flying relatively short distances #TrainNotPlanes

Now might be a good time to move Bluesky's default hosting somewhere other than the US

A observation of the UK and London's housing crisis, in almost every new high density development any vacant space designed for shops and cafes is switched to residential. Often in locations without many alternatives for shopping and eating out nearby.

Finally heading home from Waterloo on one of the new-ish Aterio train, only 4 years behind schedule!

National Rail what have you done to your semi-accessible native Android app? Since today it's a poorly wrapped up, slimmed down version of your website without most of the customisable features pretending to be an app.

Could search suggestions drop-down (autocomplete) be coming soon for GOV.UK Search?

Recent accessibility and usability testing with very few issues. Zero WCAG failures A-AA and overall positive feedback from users with a variety of access needs.

I need a reason to justify a short winter trip to the Emerald Isle, beside stocking up on delicious Tayto, tea and bakery goods not to be found this side of the Irish Sea. Any accessibility/design/tech meetups in Dublin this side of Christmas?

Thoroughly enjoying State of the Browser 2024. Brilliantly organised with a diverse lineup of speakers and topics. Turned up 10+ years ago not knowing anyone, now it feels like home with so many familiar, friendly folks to catchup with #Sotb2024