Emotional intelligence, General

Reading University’s world record attempt

I was looking forward to being part of Reading University’s world record attempt today, celebrating academic achievement, coincidentally during Brain Awareness Week. Happy Brain Awareness Week! Is that, “Happy Brain” awareness week, or happy “Brain Awareness” week? Who knows? Who cares? Either way, I’m celebrating one particular aspect of my “happy [...]

Emotional intelligence, General, Health

Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like…

Whoaa! Steady! Don’t go putting the cart before the horse! Because like it or not, we’re all in relationships. Of one sort or another… Maybe even fleetingly. With: the cheerful postman your intelligent daughter* gorgeous wife** fabulous sister** that persistent cold-caller those awful neighbours*** the dullard student at the checkout… [...]

General, Health

I just don’t get it

You know that moment when you simply ‘don’t get it’? Well I don’t!! Get it, that is… You tell me why so many people contacted me last week to ask where their newsletter was? They simply hadn’t received it. The more we looked into it, the more it seemed that [...]

Emotional intelligence, General

How to develop the skills of the most successful people

Oh dearie me! The fear of the unknown. Cor lummy! Uncertainty. We don’t like it, do we? That’s the only thing we’re sure about! Our brains are hardwired to live in caves, and wrestle with saber-tooth tigers, both of which there’s not much call for these days! Well, not round [...]

Brain, General, Health

Heavens above!

Heavens above: It’s all in the stars! Q: What’s a more reliable predictor of living a long and healthy life, than your ahem, horror-scope?    A: How strong the muscles in your legs are! Not a lot of people know that! Older folk often come a right cropper when they fall, [...]

Emotional intelligence, General

Are you brave enough to stand up and be counted?

What would you do? Would you be brave enough to stand up and be counted, to support the underdog? Let’s not take this lying down! I’ve written before about the brave and everso slightly wiser, Monica Lewinsky, responding to her critics. See her TED Talk on The Price of Shame.” Courage [...]

Brain, Emotional intelligence, General

You can be glad about that

Those of us of ‘a certain age’ might recall seeing ‘Pollyanna’ on TV many moons ago. Based on the bestselling novel by Eleanor H Porter, Pollyanna is now considered a classic children’s book, and the name, synonymous with having an optimistic outlook. We’ll come back to Pollyanna later, because I [...]

Emotional intelligence, General

River and Rowing Museum – Ha ha ha ha!

(That’s me, laughing!) Before I tell you why, I just want to preface this with the following disclaimer: (!) We have some great neighbours. Many have become good friends. That’s it! I didn’t want you to think that Grand Designs had painted a balanced picture!! 🙂 However, you may recall [...]

Emotional intelligence, General

There’s nothing like a good chuckle at Xmas…

And this is nothing like a good chuckle… I expect you’ve got better things to do during the run-up to Christmas, than to read my blog! But just in case you’d like a break from wrapping, cooking, planning, negotiating, travelling etc, here’s some entertaining, interesting and funny stuff to keep [...]

Brain, General, Learning

The problem with the yoof of today

Cor, lummy, I don’t half feel old when I start talking about the younger generation! Yes, yes. There’s a good reason for that! Please don’t write in! As I was saying, the problem with the yoof of today, is that they’ve grown up in a culture that seems to judge [...]