Sep 27
It was a delicious surprise, arriving from home to Edinburgh Airport 2 weeks ago, to discover that my flight down to London – the first leg of my much longer journey to Hong Kong – was going to be on a 787. For a route which usually involves the considerably less glamorous prospect of an …
Aug 09
I finished reading Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams’ account of her years at Facebook, while I was still in Sydney recently, and – despite the uplift to my spirits that always comes when I spend time in that wonderful city – I found myself quite unsettled. This is especially the case because I am currently immersed …
Jul 27
Last Saturday morning, towards the end of my short visit to Sydney, I hopped on to the train into the city and sauntered cheerily down towards Circular Quay for a matinee performance of The Merry Widow at the Sydney Opera House. It had been a lovely week – one of those weeks that leaves you …
Jul 16
Sitting in a taxi this morning on my way to Edinburgh Airport, enjoying the freshness and extraordinary light of a 4.30 am foray into the Scottish landscape, about to exchange the Scottish summer for the Sydney winter – the only material difference, of course, being the longer day in Scotland at this time of year …
Jun 28
In a moment of pure and wonderful self-indulgence last week, I booked a last-minute – by which I mean actually on the day – ticket to see Cole Porter’s ‘High Society’ at the Barbican in London … and it was fabulous. It had an amazing cast, including Felicity Kendal and Helen George, a brilliant orchestra, …
May 19
Tucking into a hearty breakfast at my hotel in London last Sunday, in readiness for a day ahead at the annual COBIS conference, I found myself lingering over my baked beans. The reason for this … I was captivated by a conversation at a nearby table, where an electrician was talking energetically about his job. …
Mar 15
At one point last Friday morning, as I addressed the audience at the 21st Century Learning Conference in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, I noted that I had observed that teachers and leaders, when they leave the profession, almost always seem to need some form of rehabilitation in order to readjust to ordinary …
Feb 02
As I head to the BSME conference in Abu Dhabi this week, having sadly been unable to attend this year’s WISE conference (which I have really enjoyed since its inception in 2024), and also having missed the Middle East School Leadership Conference (which I have really loved too in recent years), I find myself wondering …
Jan 18
I remember exactly when I first encountered ‘Laughter Yoga’ – it was in June 2024, at the Hakuba Forum in Japan. I remember very clearly that I was rather sceptical, and more than a little trepidatious … but the introductory exercise we experienced, as part of our journey of self-connection and world impact, was surprisingly …
Jan 11
Over the weekend, I have been putting the final touches to a talk I am giving at the BSME Annual Conference in early February, and during my reflections, I have found myself thinking more and more about discomfort. This flow of thought is unsurprising – my talk is entitled ‘5 Uncomfortable Truths for School Leaders’, …