Socially intelligent culture
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Letter to America
”Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” Lawyer Joseph Welch to Senator Joseph McCarthy during a famous exchange of words at a hearing in Washington DC on 9 June 1954. There’s a common currency that exists among civilized people, civilized communities and civilized nations. That…
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A Curse to Trump Them All
I wrote this at least 14 years ago for a musical I was writing (and which remains WIP to this day). I wrote it as a song, but I think the words stand up on their own and I haven’t changed a single word from the original. I was reminded of its relevance when Trump…
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Good Guys
In contrast to A Curse to Trump Them All, which was an accidental prophecy, I wrote this song during Trump 1.0 as a direct response to Trump, and to a broader dearth of quality leadership throughout the world, both incumbent and emerging. Fast forward to 2025 and heroic leaders are even more conspicuous by their…
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Transitional Retirement – Making it Count
What do you do when you’ve hit 57, and you and the Mrs are in the fortunate position of having moved into a comfortable phase in your lives? There’s a surplus from the pay cheque, now that the mortgage is repaid and the kids are leading fully independent existences of their own. But you don’t…
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Asian Travels: Prologue – OE 2.0
It’s been 28 years since we left England. A few years prior we had made a promise to one another that we would jack in our jobs, up sticks and go traveling before we hit the end of our twenties. Then we got sucked into working life in London and every year we would put…
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O England – an anthem
I was inspired, almost compelled, to write this song on a visit to my homeland this summer (2024). The first verse came to me instantly a couple of summers prior, but this full length version pretty much self-assembled one fine day in June as I walked across the local heath in the run-up to the…
life unplugged 