Apparently half of us have put on weight in the various lockdowns. That means half of my readers might welcome me gently opening up the subject. When Millie, our Pom-chi guard dog, arrived early last year the big bonus was, with all the extra walking, me losing half a stone. Until one day, on our... Continue Reading →
I was asked a little while ago to share the story of my life; I started writing things down trying to recover memories from childhood and beyond. I'm aged 8 or 9; a tiny fragment appears at this point: a man answering my knock on his door says with a laugh, ’No, only the rags... Continue Reading →
A small group of us have been Zooming once a week during the various lockdowns. An idea which came up was for each of us to tell the story of our life. I didn’t much respond to this; I couldn’t imagine how my life could possibly interest anyone.When my turn came I dutifully sat down... Continue Reading →
If we're involved in running a charity or a church or anything at all we have to see everything as a start up; we have to take it all apart and put it back together again. Yesterday I joined a live service from a big church in Surrey that I've worked with. I don't know... Continue Reading →
So, for every one of us it’s been quite a year. For me, a year of enormous change. 25 years ago I took redundancy and went off to start a business. I spent the last 10 years trying and failing to work out an exit strategy. The last few years were particularly turbulent, a story... Continue Reading →
There's a time to give and a time to receive: • a time to breathe in and a time to breathe out• a time to wake up and a time to go to sleep• a time to speed up and a time to stop• a time to speak and a time to listen• a time... Continue Reading →
My job in these fast changing times is to come up with solutions to the many and varied problems our clients face. Most weeks, someone desperate for help writes in with a long and detailed description of the crisis currently being faced. In my insecurity my first response is usually to panic; ‘how on earth... Continue Reading →
A subject every charity needs to be giving some thought to right now. The latest treasury forecast is that household giving may drop by up to 25% next year. You can read more about that HERE. Charity treasurers I am talking to are saying that giving is down. One church treasurer said that giving is down by a quarter... Continue Reading →
I like to keep an eye on what Mary Portas is sharing these days; a beacon of optimism amidst the encircling media gloom. Goodbye, she says to boring chains of shops and hotels. Hello, spaces and places of creativity that feed the soul rather than sell us more stuff. This is important – the rekindling of creativity.... Continue Reading →
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