I originally wrote this on 10th May 2020 during the UK’s first coronavirus lockdown. The thoughts and feelings expressed below recently came back to mind. This weekend, for some reason, the absence of, and inability to have, long, slow, face-to-face conversations has hit me quite hard. We’re several weeks into lockdown so why now? I […]
Instinctively, I’m a globalist. There are many reasons for this but here are two: (a) I’ve lived significant chunks of my life cross-culturally and (b) my own sense of a strong national/cultural identity, resulting from that, is somewhat ambivalent. That’s why I find American poet Walt Whitman’s reflection here quite challenging: It’s taken from his […]
Some reflections on our 12 Discussion Meals. As 2019 draws to a close, I’ve naturally been reflecting on a year that’ll soon be relegated to “the past”. For my wife Emily and I, one of the highlights of 2019 has been the Discussion Meals we’ve hosted since the start of the year. These have taken […]
For the second year running, I’ve compiled a list of my best reads of the year. During 2018, I’ve read hundreds of articles on a range of themes – from culture, to politics, to technology – which have challenged me, and in many cases, shaped my thinking on particular topics. So here goes, in no […]
This morning, I read two pieces of writing. The first was in my Bible – John chapter 4 – where Jesus meets a Samaritan woman. Jews and Samaritans didn’t mix and Jesus knew of her promiscuous life up to this point. However, he shows her the most stunning display of love and grace. The second piece […]
I recently met with Mrs Kayula Siame, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, to discuss industrial policy, promising sectors of the Zambian economy, and entrepreneurship. This is an abridged version of our conversation: When you were appointed, you said that your policy priorities would be ‘industrialisation’ and ‘job creation’. How have […]
MasukuOnMyMind 