It has been said that who you are when no one is looking is who you really are. It’s in that quiet place that things like character, values, integrity and faith are forged. I am not all that I aspire to be in my private world and would be highly embarrassed if some of my [...]
What has grace got to do with good service delivery? Nearly five years ago Lorraine and I travelled to England to give support to our younger daughter and her husband as they welcomed their first child into the world. Knowing about our trip, a German friend kindly gave us some British currency that she had [...]
Honesty rather than ‘spin’ really does open doors! While I've never had the privilege of meeting the famous Scottish comedian, Billy Connelly, I feel like I've experienced the next best thing. Billy Strachan, also from Scotland, was the Principal of the college I attended in the North of England where I studied theology. In his [...]
When a community of people learn to sing with one voice the result can be captivating. The Sing-Off is an a cappella singing competition in which small teams of contestants dazzle with their vocal skills. The clever way they use their voices to both sing and mimic musical instruments can leave you forgetting that they [...]
Taking the time to mentor someone is an investment that can have far reaching effects. In my early twenties I studied theology at a school in the North of England. The main building was a former English country home that looked distinctly like a castle. It stood within a large rural estate that included a [...]
Courage could be defined as the willingness to act when no-one else will. My only near death experience took place at a hot pools complex north of Auckland. I was three years old. My mother was watching a child that she thought was me but on realising that he wasn't, went on a frantic search. [...]
Finishing the race is easy if things are going well. But what if things are going badly and the potential for a good result is lost? Isn't it better to stop competing? Try telling that to an athlete who made a courageous choice nearly 50 years ago that still inspires me today. I call his [...]
Who’s up for running outside their comfort zone? In 2007 I entered the Auckland Half Marathon. For someone who has never found running pleasant, this seemed like a moment of sheer stupidity. Here I was making a deliberate choice to take my body to a painful place it had never been before. The motivation was [...]
Could you identify a team by their footwear? Have you ever noticed that the uniforms of many sports teams playing on the international stage end at their feet? It would seem that players are given complete freedom to use whatever boots they choose. This often results in a crazy array of colours and styles that [...]
My favourite teacher was defined by her kindness. The rumour circulated by my friends was that you definitely didn't want to go into Mrs Penman’s class. Any other class but hers. What is it with little kids? Where do they hear all these stories about cruelty in the classroom? But at seven years of age [...]
