It's time for dinner as my daughter arrives in the kitchen. "Can you empty the dishwasher while we're plating up?" I ask, not sure what response I'll get because she looks as if she's just woken up. In case I was in any doubt she prefaces any further activity with, "I'm tired." Despite her … [Read more...] about What To Do With Power
Relationships
Does It Matter Whether Altruism Really Exists?
On a balmy late spring evening we're eating outside huddled next to the wafts of jasmine bloom providing a flourish to the end of the day. My daughter has spent all day indoors revising for exams. But instead of taking the nervous walk into cavernous halls on campus, she'll be sitting in her … [Read more...] about Does It Matter Whether Altruism Really Exists?
How To Hold A Chord
I was on a workshop once in the beautiful highlands of Scotland when Boo Hewerdine said that the best piece of songwriting advice he was ever given was by a guy in Nashville who had told him, "The longer you hold a chord, the bigger it sounds". I've told numerous people since the beginning of … [Read more...] about How To Hold A Chord
False Memory And Metal Detecting
I've been watching all the episodes of "Detectorists" again, a comedy series ostensibly about nothing more than two friends with a passion for metal detecting but ultimately a lovely story about male relationships. This might be the third time I've watched it from start to finish and, nearing the … [Read more...] about False Memory And Metal Detecting
Why Time Is All That We Have
When I was much younger I had a relationship with a married woman that was destructive for both of us. For her, it was a reckless response to an unhappy marriage. For me, it was a hopeless attempt at finding something I wasn't ready for. Whenever she could get away, she would come to my … [Read more...] about Why Time Is All That We Have