Emotional intelligence, General

Emotional Flooding!

Many of us, living in the Thames Valley, and on other low-lying land in the UK are experiencing the most extraordinary weather, the like of which, many of us haven’t ever seen before. Not only has it meant a long and dark and wet winter, but it has brought with [...]

General

A Matter of Interpretation

Well, It’s a matter of interpretation, isn’t it? there was a particular and exciting stretch of a few months, a little while back – with umpteen journalists ringing me for quotes and to contribute to articles. First there was the Tesco Magazine, a national publication. Then came the Maidenhead Advertiser – [...]

Emotional intelligence, General, Health

Meditation for Longer Life

So, we’ve known for a long time that meditation is good for us, but now science is catching up and proving the point. You probably know that telomeres are the caps on the ends of our strings of DNA, and that they shorten with each cell division. When they’re completely [...]

Emotional intelligence, General, Learning

How would you have fared in Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game?

You do remember the Generation Game, don’t you? Started in the early ‘70s… and as kids we loved it, especially the last game where the two families tried to copy an expert in a skill needing the ability to pay close attention and copy accurately. One week there’d be an [...]

General, Learning

Using iPads in Schools

Knowing how hard it is for schools to make their budgets go far enough, and knowing how expensive iPads are, I’m really quite impressed that some schools are beginning to equip their classrooms with iPads for their students. When I was teaching, it was hard enough for schools to keep [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence, General, Health

Exercise to boost brain power

Exercise boosts memory and cognitive performance – so says new research. 10-40 minute bursts of activity immediately boosts concentration and focus – probably because of increased blood flow in the brain. So who could blame us for racing round the block for 20 minutes before an exam? Another bit of research showed that [...]

Brain, General, Health

Under Cover – sleep positions

OK! So sleep’s important for our mental health, immune system, for maintaining a healthy weight, for consolidating new information when we’re learning… There has to be a good evolutionary reason for our spending a third of our lives asleep! But if you share a bed, have you ever wondered about sleeping positions and what they [...]

General, Learning

When is an exam deadline, not a deadline?

When it’s a Financial Services Exam! Talk about side-stepping! Having been told, ‘pass your exams by the end of 2012 or lose your jobs’ out of the total of 117 451 representatives in the country, 80 278 still need to pass the exam according to ‘The Citizen’. Apparently there’s a [...]

Brain, General

How can homing pigeons help restore our sense of direction?

A close friend of mine used to race homing pigeons. He tells me that most of them, most of the time would make it all the way home to the south coast of the UK, even from somewhere in the middle of rural France, across the Channel. How do they [...]

Emotional intelligence, General

What’s up with this Rafa Benitez thing?

What’s up with this Rafa Benitez thing? Apparently there is going to be extra security at the Chelsea match against West Brom. They’re expecting trouble. Is this a good example of the tribe questioning the values of their tribal leader? Whether at school, at work, in the family, in popular [...]