In the last few months I’ve been discovering a new depth of gratitude for the good and simple things in life: family and friends, the changing of the seasons, the joys of working, the surprising goodness of the average human being, whatever the global context. In part this re-examination, or even re-discovery, of gratitude is… read more

My central heating has been on the blink for more than two months now. I’ve spent a small fortune, realised again the value of thermal underwear, learned a lot about the impossibility of influencing in certain contexts, and been impressed by a bewildering range of confidently expressed diagnoses.  I wish I had insisted on a… read more

Imagine going to the zoo and seeing lions forced to sit in the same confined, indoor space for hours, staring at small screens, breaking only to join other lions in crowded small rooms to stare at numbers and account for their behaviour. We’d be utterly outraged. However, I have a very vivid memory of visiting… read more