Why Apollo?
Why name the company Apollo?
Life Update + Life Urgency
It has been a hot minute, gentle reader… here’s a life update and some thoughts on life-urgency.
Empathy Fatigue
You are not unempathetic because you cannot be fully, patiently empathetic with all people at all times.
The Power of Irony
The irony of feeling peak-powerful one minute to taking a literal minute to put a shirt on is not lost on me – it’s a lesson.
Seize the Day
If you take an opportunity, and truly seize the damn thing, then opportunities explode out of it in every direction.
Merry and Pure
Young souls have a curative quality, an honesty and an innocence that illuminates the dark malignancies that shroud adult society.
Guernsey’s Gladiators
Gladiators face each other because they must – it is do or die. Why are boxers jumping into the ring?
Estranging Kids and Eritrea
How you treat young people, what you say and do to to them, or what you fail to say and do, may irrevocably impact their life trajectory.
Boys, Girls, Boxing
Fatigue can make cowards of men, but the deeper into that dark place you go, the brighter the light on the other side.
Coasting
Words rarely work to change behaviour – he says, writing words in the hope they do just that…
Let It Happen
“You have got to let go and let it happen” – Alan Watts
Sport, Glorious Sport (and Football)
I was better at reading than running. Or, to say the same thing in a different way: in my tiny Catholic primary school, I was second-pick for goalkeeper. There were two kids to choose from, and the slightly fatter kid got it over me.
“I Don’t Get Ill”…
After two nights of caustic distension and voluminous bilateral expulsion, the image of which no innocent reader really ought to have conjured on their midweek evening, I find myself recovered enough to sit up for extended periods, walk short distances (other than bed to toilet) – and write this blog post.
For-Once, A Non-Chirpy Blog
If there were a single ‘point’ to this piece it would be that: unpleasantness is, unfortunately, part and parcel of life. Being blind to it harms more than helps.
Our Dixcart Dam
Dixcart Bay makes you ache with its beauty: cliffs plunging into a small cove, facing blue waters and rocky outcrops in the bay. “We should build a dam,” Adam declares…
El Hajj Mohammed
Mohammed is a gentle mafiosi farmer with a passion for and proficiency in making things grow.
Muhammed Ali and Imposter Syndrome
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on Imposter Syndrome, Bold Moulds and Muhammed Ali
Soiling Oneself and Motivational Circularity
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on Soiling Oneself and Motivational Circularity
Serendipity and Intention
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on Serendipity and Intention
Musings on Momentum, Boxing and Conquering Adversity
Life is dizzyingly short, dazzlingly precious, each minute a gift, and not necessarily guaranteed
Play, Hardship and Hustle
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on Play, Hardship and Hustle
Another Day in the Life: Friday 17th March 2023
Just another blog about just another Friday 🙂
Day in the Life: Friday 10th March 2023
Just a blog about just a day 🙂
Self-Bestowed Blessings and Time Running Out
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on Self-Bestowed Blessings and Time Running Out
AMA: What is the biggest challenge for young people in Guernsey?
I will answer by first giving you answers from a group of young people I work with, then my own thoughts.
A Tantrum, Timidity and Treating Life
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on a Tantrum, Timidity and Treating Life
Frustration, Chasing Fun and Blunting Attention
A Tidbit, Quote and Question on Frustration, Chasing Fun and Blunting Attention
Starting Tidbits, Quotes and Questions
I am starting a twice-monthly journal on this blog with one tidbit from me, one quote from someone else and one question for you
Taxi Tidbits
I have been driving a taxi most mornings over the last three months. Rising well before any hint of dawn, mostly I am driving mostly from 5am until mid-morning, taxiing all and sundry to and from Guernsey Airport, and elsewhere around our little island. Early on in the job, I found myself thinking about my…
Teenage Tearaways and Farming Babies
I try to remember that I might be the only positively impactful adult this young person has spent appreciable time with in their day, and, too often, their whole week.
Thirty: What Happens Now?!
Sense a change of season today? I have just finished a year working in the most rewarding position I’ve held in my life so far, as a youth worker. When colleague asked why I was leaving, I caught myself saying it’s ‘unfortunate’ the role isn’t financially rewarding. This is not what I truly think. What…
Discipline: Helping or Hurting?
The teacher threatened to phone Dad if they didn’t behave. This young person replied, “Don’t you f***ing dare!”
My Youth Club
It’s some feeling, leaving club after belting out Bohemian Rhapsody with operatic passion, alongside kids whose private lives I know to be traumatised and traumatising, having carved out of their day two hours of good, clean, safe fun.
A Couple of Dear Old Dead Shags
The impossible majesty of a new day announces itself with the sun rising over Herm. A flock of ducks flies by, beating and quacking, in perfect V formation. He is gone, but he is present. He is free.
Advocacy: Giving Kids a Voice
The most time consuming, the most emotionally consuming, and the most rewarding part of my job is providing advocacy
Talking Shop: Jobs, Careers and Callings
Don’t mind me as I eat my words about talking shop. I promise, it’s bloody interesting, with vicissitudes of gravity and levity that whip from heart-wrenching to hilarious and back again in the space of hours, sometimes minutes.
Early Bird Catches The Chirp
Mornings are an eternally appreciating asset: they increase in value as long as you own them. If you own your morning, you can afford all that your day demands of you.
Return to Guern: What’s New, What’s Good
What’s new? What’s good? What’s the story morning glory? What’s the word humming bird?
AMA #10: Travelling Solo or in Company
AMA #10: “Do you prefer to travel alone, or with friends or a travel partner?”
AMA #9: Safety and Female Solo Travelling
AMA #9: “Did you feel unsafe? Do you think a solo female traveller would travel as freely?”
AMA #8: Iraqi Kurdistan
AMA #8: “What did you think of Kurdistan?”
AMA #7: Did You Want to Integrate?
AMA #7: “Did you want to stay longer in any of the places to the point of integrating more in their community and society?”
AMA #6: Highest Highs and Lowest Low
AMA #6: “What was the highest high and the lowest low you felt over your travels?”
AMA #5: LGBTQ+
AMA #5: “Is the West’s view of LGBTQ inequality in these countries justified?”
AMA #4: Money, Money, Money
AMA #4: “I used to travel with travellers cheques sewn and concealed in various places, no cashpoint cards, etc. How did you get by?”
AMA #3: Food
AMA #3: “Give us a quick breakdown and overview of the food in each of the countries visited, please?”
AMA #2: Unforgettable Memories
AMA #2: “Tell us about unforgettable memories from each country”
AMA #1: The Most Beautiful Smiles
AMA #1: “Where did you see the most beautiful smiles?”
The Hotel Quarantina and Ask Me Anything
Commencing a double-decker quarantine, here’s how I came to be here and what I will be doing in this time. Plus, Ask Me Anything!
Big Up The Banya
As my body is being seared, and in front of me stands a burly Kyrgyz fellow, butt-naked but for his woollen hat, whirling a towel around like a lasso and causing us untold discomfort, it occurs to me I should write about the Russian banya.
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The Works and Chirps of a Guernseyman 