So you haven’t learned a new lockdown skill?

May 14, 2020 | ,

A few weeks ago, you were gung ho. You had a plan to maximise the time on lockdown. You were not going to waste it. You were going to learn how to bake, or speak a new language, or play a musical instrument, or something. This was going to be the most productive time in your life. Outside of work, this was the time to do all the things that you had procrastinated on. Now, close to two months in, the paints are still in the box, the online course people keep sending you daily reminders to come back for lessons, you haven't progressed beyond 'hello, how are you?' in Mandarin and, since the...

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Being more than your job

Apr 7, 2020 |

The question that gets asked more at social events than any other is probably "So what do you do?" Don't quote me on this though, I have no empirical evidence that suggests it is so. It just feels that way to me. The minute you give an answer to this, the asker immediately decides on the kind of person you are off the basis of whatever stereotypes or thoughts they have of people in the same profession. Other than a stint as a magazine editor, when I had a clear answer to this question, I have been generally been left at a loss for words when asked. Amongst the different jobs I have had,...

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Maserati: The Strength and Vigour of Neptune

Apr 3, 2020 | ,

Towards the end of 2018, I travelled to Italy with Maserati South Africa to not only experience the Levante SUV, but also to gain some insight into the brand’s history. At the time, I wrote an article for the magazine that I was working for, but then it went out of business. I have decided to share that article, with some images here. Navigating the Italian Countryside It is a random Thursday autumn morning and I am driving relatively delicately over narrow gravel and dirt roads through the Italian countryside up the road from the Varano De’Melegari circuit, not far from Palma. Next to me is...

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The power of journaling

Mar 2, 2020 | , ,

I’ve been journaling relatively regularly for the last 3 to 4 years. It was prompted by finally getting around to reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, in particularly the section on Morning Pages. On her site, she explains what these are: “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*– they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole,...

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The Philips OneBlade

Feb 23, 2020 |

Hair Journey Every morning, I would stand close to the mirror, examining my upper lip with the concentration of an archaeologist searching for strands of hair. As a teenage boy, the transition into man was to be preceded by one’s voice breaking and, more importantly, the arrival of facial hair. And, when eventually came, there was still disappointment … peach fuzz on the upper lip, a couple of strands of hair on the chin right through to my 20s. Being born in the early 70s, I grew up around beards. My father sported an epic full beard. Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Gil Scott-Heron,...

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Language is a tool

Nov 11, 2019 |

In the early days of Twitter, a regular refrain was “it’s only Twitter” when one took offence at the contents of another’s tweet. And then people started losing their jobs, or couldn’t get jobs, or couldn’t get into schools, all because of a view expressed on twitter that was considered beyond the bounds of ‘appropriate.’ Nowadays, we don’t hear that phrase much anymore, but too many people still operate as if social media does not have consequences, which it does, even if it isn’t felt instantly. I have had many a conversation with my 12-year old about the implications of what he shares and...

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