Travel and adventure

When three worlds converge: tribal life in Ethiopia

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One image sums up my time in the Omo Valley: the remote area in south-west Ethiopia where tribal cultures still flourish. I’m attending a wedding in a village several miles down a dusty path, barely usable by vehicles.  The woman in front of me has the braided, red-dyed hair typical for women of the Hammar … Read more

A hand-made easel, a mango tree, and a goat: resilience training in rural Ethiopia

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A hand-made easel, a mango tree, and a goat: resilience training in rural Ethiopia: I feel so honoured and touched that this flipchart easel has been hand-made locally for me: square section steel, painted grey, with a big panel of wood bolted to its front. Its two coat hooks just about fit with the brass eyelets on the pad – ironically, made in China.
Handmade easelWhy here? Why me?

Face-offs with cows, and flying chickens. Lessons in community from Ethiopian roads

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Face-offs with cows, and flying chickens. Lessons in community from Ethiopian roads.

It happens so often, you suspect the animals must enjoy it: why else do they spread the full width of the tarmac, instead of using the broad gravel verges? The cows are the worst: they glower balefully as if they might charge, and only turn aside from our approaching vehicle at the very last minute. At least the goats lose their nerve sooner.

FACT! Virgin XC more reliable than DB Intercity Express!!

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I travel to Germany by train most years, and this year I finally realised that my major frustrations with Dutsche Bahn are not just bad luck, it really is bad. Online research quickly confirmed this: the average reliability of DB’s ICE (InterCity Express) trains has been around 75% for several years, whereas the recent figure … Read more

Cracking resilience problems on Eigg

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Eigg is a small island in the Hebrides: five miles by three, with 100 inhabitants.  Try adding to your resilience challenges: harsh climate, high transport costs, poor soil, and … a series of despotic landlords. However the gift was in the problem: the despots provoked Eigg’s people into creating the first community land buyout in … Read more

Where does peace begin?

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My recent trip to Scotland included a stay at Allanton Peace Sanctuary: Allanton is a beautiful retreat centre with spacious grounds in a rural location near Dumfries, easily reached from Central Scotland, Northern England and elsewhere. Allanton Sanctuary is the European Sanctuary of the World Peace Prayer Society.  The Society was founded in 1955 by … Read more

Pragmatic Nomadism: Mongolian-Style Resilience

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I have learned from nomads as a role model for modern-day resilience for many years, drawing mainly on my experience leading twelve groups with Bedouin in the Tunisian Sahara.  Kate Humble’s recent BBC2 series on nomads offers vivid insights from across the world, and I enjoyed her programme on nomads in the Gobi desert, Mongolia. … Read more

Pilgrim Without Map or Boots – New lifeskills for uncertain times

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I aim to have a retreat time of 3 – 4 days every quarter: it’s a good way to rest, renew, and review my direction. This time, I’m doing a self-guided retreat at the Northumbria Community, a centre in rural mid-Northumberland, inspired by the Celtic Christian monasteries which once flourished in this area. A spiritual … Read more

Too Old for This Kind of Thing?

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Learning from Africa: Courage and gratitude help

The bus puts me down in the dark at an isolated gas station near Jinga, a town in Uganda. There’s just me and four local guys: boda-bodas, motorbike taxis. Can I trust one of them to get me and my suitcase to my destination? I choose Martin, who claims to know where Adrift Rafting are located. After a brief but heated haggle on price, we set off.

It’s a very bumpy dirt road, but I find myself enjoying the novelty, riding pillion on a warm tropical night, with exotic birds alternating with chattering villages. After several miles, we arrive at the wrong place.

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