A Place in the Sun

It's all about the little things that make huge differences.  I had this experience in the last few weeks, to a month. My boat stopped working, and I had serious problems with overheating. I thought the oil was heating, and that I might have been losing coolant.  I refilled both, checked the pipes.  Then I wasked someone to come and help me and he changed an impeller.  BOOM! She works like a dream. The next week, I was complaining about my mop-and-bucket system.  It's mechanical - but I wasn't cleaning properly.  Rummaging in my cupboard, I found a new replacement mop-head. I changed it - VAMOOSH! Nice, fresh floors. My bike wouldn't start.  I knew immediately - I changed a spark plug. Took a few kicks, and he roared back to life. Moral of the story: a very tiny thing can have effect on the entire ecosystem of whatever it is you're dealing with. The English saying goes, 'Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves'.  This...

 I have often thought about what friends I have.  I have not, for a very long time, thrown all friends into one basket.  I also think that people can only handle things that are within their sphere – so for example, it is useless discussing the opera with someone like me, because I don’t get it.  I have friends for different things, but usually it revolves around sharing. I don’t do one-way relationships – that is not friendship, that is dependency.  Neither do I do symbiosis (where we each completely feed off each other) – a real friend will share with you but let you swim alone; and as a real friend, you will share with them but then swim unaided – and that works both ways. Sharing – perhaps we connect because we are going through something similar and we can share our ideas and learn from each other; perhaps we can share because we both love a good love, or a goof around an arts exhibition. There are a few dear people – very dear – who I do n...

Easter always seems to arrive at just the right time. It comes with spring, when the earth starts to stir again—buds on trees, longer days, and that sense of possibility in the air. This Easter Sunday, the weather feels like a reflection of that shift: bright and clear, after weeks of grey skies and even the rare desert rain. It’s as if the world decided to turn a page. Mindful Morning Checklist An important tool for me to stay grounded The past year—or maybe a little more—has been heavy. There were losses, of many kinds. Work that slipped away. Business deals that didn’t land. Relationships that changed, ended, or quietly faded. Even mentors I leaned on have been lost in one way or another. It’s been a time of release, and sometimes, of having to let go before I felt ready. But within that space, new things have taken root. I’ve been surprised—and deeply grateful—for the support of new friends who showed up with kindness, without fanfare. And there’s been something beautiful about r...

 The term "Monday Blues" refers to the feeling of sadness, lethargy, or lack of motivation that some people experience at the beginning of the workweek, particularly on Mondays. While it is a commonly used expression, it is not a formally recognized medical or psychological condition. Instead, it is more of a colloquial term to describe a mood or emotional state. So, is it true? There is some scientific evidence that supports the idea that people may experience negative emotions or stress at the start of the workweek. What causes it? The Monday-Blues phenomenon can be due to a combination of factors: Weekend effect : After a relaxing or enjoyable weekend, the transition back to work on Monday may feel abrupt and cause some resistance. It may be hard for someone to switch from the easy state of the weekend to the office environment. Try to have an easy Sunday evening and make sure you are well rested on a Monday morning! Sleep disruption : Changes...

  Jump forward a few months - and here we are, looking at Christmas!  I have come forward in leaps and bounds, and it's not been easy. In one of my development sessions, which I try to attend from time to time to keep on track,  I came up with the following: Inner peace and gratitude are  crucial to a wholesome recovery. Every morning, say 3 affirmations for each of: family, career, personal life; and then practice gratitude (3 things you are grateful for). In the evening, do the gratitude bit again. Watch your life change. This morning, I logged back on to my DayOne App (Web Version) - or you can download it from here ! - to continue my journey in logging my progress. Thanks for the idea, Mark Manson !  Through reading his book and following his online articles and podcasts, I found a way to journal my progress and to be able to look back - just to see how far I've come! 

Building Bridges Through Travel Reflections from the Road If you know me, you know how much I love to travel. That passion has followed me throughout my personal life, and it’s deeply woven into the fabric of my work too. This is La Madeleine, the chuch dedicated to the Magdalene in the heart of Paris Business trips have become a regular rhythm — especially in the world of superyachts and aircraft, where presence matters and relationships are everything. Whether it’s jetting off for a major yacht show (such as Monaco ), heading to an aircraft exhibition ( EBACE ), or attending an industry conference, travel is more than just a part of the job — it’s an extension of how business gets done in this world. This beautiful restaurant lies at the heart of a Paris Train Station Yes, it’s exciting. But it’s also intense. These events can mean early wake-up calls, long hours on your feet, and staying sharp from sunrise to well past midnight. One moment you’re at a boardroom table, the next...

 I read about a stoic's attitude towards grief.  Of course it gets better but it comes and goes in waves. It is one thing when you have to move mountains to achieve something - a family event or requirement, a career goal or deadline.  That's an achievement in itself. It's another to have to do it when your heart is broken.  I asked myself - If I were to succeed in being a proper stoic, would this get better for me? There's a lot of hype around being stoic - and it seems to be a magic formula so as not to suffer so intensely. But I guess, pain is necessary for us to move past certain experiences, to learn and to heal. But, achieving your goals in life while healing a broken heart is tough, even if you are a 'stoic' or practice stoicism in some form. Making it alone in the midst of your grief isn't easy, but it is what makes you strong. No doubt the Stoics were people who had feelings - big feelings.  Look up Seneca's essays on grief and loss, or the stor...

  I have found myself scrolling social media like crazy in recent weeks.  When bored. When tired. When needing down-time.  Hell, I'm even writing about it. This morning I left my phone upstairs while having a coffee with mum in the kitchen. And I was pacing nervously about. She just asked: "What's wrong with you today? You're pacing about like mad." The truth is, I had left the phone and was unable to quell the itch to look at social media. I wanted to see whether my recent story had any likes, whether my recent photography posts had received reactions, whether my posts had any views. And it goes on. Bloody crazy, if you ask me. So I thought: this deserves to be treated like an addiction.  You cannot take the first peek (outside of set peeking times, at least) and you have to 'do something else' rather than indulge in the social media world. Going in there, I risk becoming sucked in like a whirlpool, while life is going on outside. Not good. The withdrawal...

Earlier this year,  I published my On Grief post. Water has flowed under the bridge daily. I wanted to share some thoughts here. My mentor, Jackey Backman , joined along with me on a holiday and we ended up being 'on retreat' together - mirroring each other and bringing up the other's isuses through being a mirror for each other. She also helped me process things as they came up, while we were travelling. We were out of comms half the time and I kept her busy tapping her phone - not on social media but on a Trip Meter (which is an app that counts metres / kilometres) as we passed important signs and landmarks along our Sicily journey. We had to keep telling each other not to squirrel away in our heads and it was quite funny. BUT there was great learning for both of us, I dare say, and having Jackey along (besides the great company) felt like doing a retreat. We were doing things we don't normally do, sometimes getting uncomfortable (including having ourselves in ...

The monster strikes again.  Love and loss - we can safely say that all love stories end in tragedy - either because of some form of separation, or death. Grief has struck again and it is unspeakable.  Through the tears, I am working on self development. I look for him on social media and he's just below the surface, but not making any contact except occasionally.  To that extent, neither am I. I am keeping time and space as my healer, and possibly as an insight to both of us as to where we want to go. Most people I talk to on his side seem to think that this was the real deal for him. That our relationship was, for him, the works.  What could have driven him ... fear of commitment, the intensity, the crazy schedule.  I know he needs time. I know I need time too.  Through this, I learned that many limiting beliefs have determined how i deal with grief. And I am trying to change them. I don't have to go through the pain of the bargaining stage - the bargainin...