My father lived a privileged childhood as an only child, coddled by a family convinced of his destined greatness. They provided every intellectual opportunity imaginable, and he became a polyglot, voracious reader, music lover, and connoisseur of life’s finer…

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At Cactus, we’ve always had a cast of characters working for us. One that stands out in my memory was a woman who had spent decades in the apparel industry. She was older than the rest of us, and…

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I grew up in simpler times, when our television choices were limited to the imaginatively named TV One and TV Two. Much of what aired was locally produced: smart, high-quality shows like Gliding On and Mastermind, alongside glossier fare…

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I often, in my various board roles, use the saying about turkeys not voting for Christmas. Generally, I use the metaphor when talking about an organisation’s appetite, or otherwise, for making hard calls amidst the pressure from various stakeholder…

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I wrote the other day about maintaining equanimity in the face of pretty horrible social media comments. That is, of course, made even more difficult when many of those comments utterly misrepresent one’s position on various issues. A case…

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This weekend I found myself glued to the screen watching little dots move across the map of the French Alps. Those dots, for the uninitiated, were the elite runners at UTMB, the biggest ultramarathon event in the world. The…

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There is a certain demographic who, by virtue of their age, heard numerous times in childhood the old rhyme: sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me. It was a kind of verbal armour,…

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Recently, I spent a few days on business in Asia. While most of my travel tends to be in the Western world, this trip took me into new terrain to markets bustling with street vendors, unfamiliar languages, and payment…

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There’s always the risk that when someone who is white, middle-aged and male starts to opine on things, it will be received as a missive from a position of privilege and exuding entitlement… And let’s be honest, often that…

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The other day I was talking to a friend about travel experiences. Said friend prefers resorts and flash hotels for their vacation accommodation. I, however, am wired another way and still like the idea of random conversations that spring…

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