A birthday party

Tomorrow is Suryansh's (my nephew) second birthday. And I am almost certain that he will have a great day. But perhaps oddly, I think the person who will really feel elated is his older sister (she's 5). And not because she can eat more cake than him (because she can't!), nor because she's old enough…

Table tennis tales – Sun Tzu plays ping-pong

A year or so ago, I was leant "The Art of War" by a new friend. It had been on my "to read" pile for years, but I only got around to it at his vociferous recommendation. When I first read it, some parts resonated, but I mostly found myself wondering why everything was set…

Always a second too late – l’esprit de l’escalier

Have you ever had that feeling; you're arguing with someone. The argument finishes. You walk away. Up the stairs. And then, suddenly, you think of exactly what you should have said in the argument. Just a few minutes too late. The feeling that this awesome comic by Chaz Hutton shows so beautifully: https://www.instagram.com/p/BdV9ESkBmB0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link It turns…

Seeing clearly…

Anyone who knows me will also know the thick bottle-top glasses that always adorn my face. Vision, therefore, is, clearly, not my strong suit. This is true for both biological and metaphorical vision. There are big, blue sky thinkers, who can dream the unimaginable, and bring it to bear, the bearers of De Bono's famed yellow…

commitment

Commitment is a 12 year old who has never missed a day of school. A child in Class 7, who has not missed a single day of school in the past 7 years. I cannot begin to imagine that. I do not know anyone who has not missed a single day of school, probably even in…