» Personal Change

I know that Change is scary.  I know it is tempting to feel that if we keep a low profile maybe we can avoid it.  This is especially alluring if we are happy or being successful, but I’m here to tell you that this is an offer that you can’t refuse.  If you sit like […][...] read more » Can you avoid Change by standing still?

I wonder if you would buy these Danish liquorice sweets… I suspect only as a joke. There is a fascinating history or misnamed products that we attempted to export. Some old English favourites simply don’t do well in the States… The thing is names have power which is why some primitive societies will not tell […][...] read more » It’s all in the name

Sitting in a Costa Coffee in an anonymous Surrey mall nursing a half-finished  coffee, watching a parade of young mums pushing buggies in and out and I was aware of feeling suddenly sad.  At another time, I might have felt something very different.  I realised that there was nothing in what was happening that was […][...] read more » It’s all a matter of interpretation

I went for a walk in a local spot that which has the interesting distinction of being incredibly marshy and also cover with huge areas of sand.  This place has more different species of dragonflies than anywhere else in the country, and was so sandy that polar explorers used it to train as the best […][...] read more » “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley”

I was writing to a friend today and sharing some thoughts on the difficulty of breaking out of my virtual ‘egg’ and starting over.  What am I meant to be doing with my time and my life these days?  Who am I now that I’m no longer half a partnership.  Like all parents, we had […][...] read more » A Personal Update: Role and Identity… which comes first?

This picture of a potholer descending into a Lancashire cave captured the feeling of going into the Unknown for me.  So many people and businesses know that things aren’t right but remain inert watching their problems multiply because they, unlike this brave man, are unable to take a step into the Unknown.  Whether we like […][...] read more » Into the Unknown

This picture of Venus was created by NASA using radar data.  I find it an amazing new look at our closest neighbour, albeit 70 million miles distant.  Seeing something old in a new light is one path to understanding.  I often consider this ‘new light’ to be the Mother of Change.  We all see our […][...] read more » Venus..a new look

I love this picture (sent to me by a friend) as beautifully visual way to think about the way that things can be washed away, and fresh starts made.  As regular readers will know, 2010 was just about as tough a year as anyone could imagine for the Cooke clan.  Xmas, I’m happy to report, […][...] read more » Out with the Old…

I think that one of the most profound lessons I have learnt over the last 9 months since Carys’s passing has been that when you lose someone that each person experiences and processes that loss very differently.  I am aware that setting it down like this it seems a statement of the obvious (and perhaps […][...] read more » We all walk a singular path…

The Boy Scouts motto is “Be Prepared” and certainly we are always being encouraged to to ensure that we are ready for the various things Life and business can throw at us.  However, as this year has shown my family so well, you can’t prepare for every eventuality. I’m sitting here, housebound once more, looking […][...] read more » Preparedness