Maybe they actually do make sense. — Ah English; it’s a wild ride. So much of the language many of us confidently expect the whole world to speak is a tangled web of metaphors, sayings and almost impenetrable idioms. So impenetrable, in fact, that even most of its native speakers routinely get it wrong. So come with…

England did better than they have in 55 years, but that’s not enough to humanise black players. — Racism is the spectre which has haunted England’s journey to the Euro 2020 final. It started with booing over Black Lives Matter and ended with racial abuse. That’s the story currently overshadowing our most successful major tournament bid in over half a century. After an extremely tense final, one which…

An unironic love letter to the “raptor girl” from The Lost World. — The year is 1997. Pierce Brosnan is two films deep into Bond; Kate Winslet is on her way to becoming one of the most iconic actors of our time; and Robin Williams is effortlessly displaying his range with both Flubber and Good Will Hunting. The success of SpiceWorld: the Movie…

It’s hard to not share in something everyone assumes you have. — Father’s day. It’s supposedly a simple day, one where we each take the time to be thankful for and celebrate the man in all of our lives who has loved and supported us throughout our lives. But it’s not so simple, is it? The truth is, a lot of us…

Now you’re just stressed AND exhausted. — It’s 10 o’clock. Crunch time. What you do now will have a profound effect on how your day, your week, your month will turn out. You woke up this morning and solemnly promised yourself the same thing that you do every morning: tonight will be the night; tonight you will…

Respecting your past to free your future. — Unhappiness is insidious. It colours our perspective on everything. When we’re not happy with who we are or where we are in our lives, it’s easy to allow that feeling to seep into everything. We’re not satisfied in our jobs, love lives, fitness or any of the myriad of things…

Depravation is not the key to success. — We have a romantic notion that true development is born out of torment. We think of tortured artists; the great toil it took to build the wonders of the world; the pain it takes to bring almost anything into the world. But in our everyday lives, this isn’t realistic. …

Distancing ourselves from something which connects us — I’m just going to come out and say it: I don’t love the word “ally”. Well, that’s not quite true. I’m troubled by it in its shiny new corporate context. As an EDI consultant, it’s one that I use all the time — using “EDI” can itself be problematic, so…

They’re not just going to let you be who you are. — My mother has always described going through life as a black woman as “playing the game on hard”. Although I’ve had many more privileges than she had, I can’t help but agree with this observation. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of being surrounded by racists for my entire life. But…