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’, …
Jan 01
I do love reading – and the break between Christmas and New Year provides a wonderful opportunity to indulge, because emails are slow to arrive at this point in the cadence of the annual cycle, and rarely demand instant responses. Amongst the number of books into which I have immersed myself over these past few …