33 years ago, five teenage Scouts did their DofE Gold expedition following Hadrian’s Wall and then heading into the Cheviots. I’ve just been rereading the log book I wrote at the time. This week, walking alone, I will be retracing our steps along the wall (though I’ll be sleeping in comfortable B&Bs rather than in…
To the headteacher of East London Science School… Dear David On this warm and sunny Friday afternoon, I thought you might appreciate this short note as you get ready for the weekend. I have just shared a tube carriage with a party of your pupils who are on the way to the V&A…
“Ah, but I was so much older then I’m younger than that now” – Bob Dylan It now looks as though the result of the UK’s election could have been down to young people turning out in their droves to vote. Talk of a 72% turnout for 18 to 24-year-olds has been doing the…
It has the makings of an iconic and historic photograph. Lucie, a young Scout from the Czech Republic, squares up to a demonstrator at a march organized by the far-right. The spirit of youth; an unspoken commitment to peace; hope for the future. It’s perfect. Except for one thing. Enshrined within the constitution of…
IN 1975, John T. Molloy published “Dress for Success,” a manual for male office attire. The book proved to be a best-seller. I’m not sure his advice would pass muster today… Sooner or later, most of my clients ask if it is ever appropriate to wear sports jackets to the office. Some indicate that other…
As a child, I wasn’t much of a sportsman. Asthmatic, lacking in co-ordination, a bit scared of team games. But, in the last couple of years of secondary school, I did discover cross country running. And, when I was searching for a sport to do for my Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, I…
I got a call last night from a friend who’s about to go to the USA for business, asking me what “bits and pieces” I take with me on my travels. Here’s a list of things I take with me wherever I go: My iPad I no longer travel with a laptop. My…
I’ve owned my Brompton folding bike for about three years now and can’t imagine life without it. I am still surprised and a little embarrassed by how much I love it. I bought it originally because I was fed up with the last part of my daily commute, which involved using the London tube at…
“There is more in you than you think” Over the last 60 years the Award has inspired millions of young people to transform their lives. In 2014 more than 1.1 million young people around the world took part in the Award, in 141 countries and territories, equipping them with skills for life. To celebrate this…
Why? That’s the question most people have asked me since finding out that I was going to run a half marathon on New Year’s Eve. In Zurich. Starting at midnight. In the dark. And my answer has been pretty simple. It’s New Year’s Eve. It’s in Zurich. It starts at midnight. It’s…