Embarrassment hurts more than failure…

The reason most of us are so scared of failure is that it is so embarrassing. It was embarrassing at school each time a teacher ridiculed our efforts to untangle quadratic equations, or to assemble a frog from spare parts. And even more so when Anne Waites, who we young men idolised, smiled at us … Read more

The Problem: Creativity and Ideas

I am not creative. I am better suited to a life as a mousepad. Each book on creativity that I have read features a test to measure how you fare. For instance, a picture of an empty matchbox and a candle which you must rearrange into a five course dinner in three moves. I always … Read more

Working from Home: Some Challenges

In August last year Mrs Carruthers beguiled me into bringing my office home. This would save money, she argued. And with her embarking on a three-year degree course this would mean a safe presence for the little darlings. And we could then afford to live near the school, and somewhere in her sales pitch I … Read more