Author: AM Scott On hearing the 2020 budget announcement the former CEO of the Post Office, Mark Barnes, commented, “We are so busy filling the potholes that we are not focusing on building the road.” His statement is poignant, and perhaps applicable to all walks of life, not just financial projections and the economy. Let’s…

There is something vast about an empty canvas just before the artist paints. Whether the master will through paint on in an expression of abstraction or set about mirroring on that blank space an image or scene before him, he will pause to consider his commitment and perhaps start in his right time. Once the…

Author: AM Scott Unashamedly, the Springbok rugby team, so capably led by Siya Kolisi last Saturday, 2 November 2019, have been hoisted high in our talk, our social media feeds, our newspapers and indeed our proudly South African hearts. We like a win. Even more so, we love a decisive victory, where we have ‘slaughtered…

Author: AM Scott Greek mythology has it that Odysseus was terrified of the beautiful island creatures called “sirens” that beckoned sailors on passing ships to their death with their irresistible songs. So he ordered his men to stuff their ears with wax and bind him to the ship’s mast. He commanded his sailors not to…

Author AM Scott “A very little key opens a very heavy door.”  – Charles Dickens Key {noun} : a piece of metal cut into a specific shape and used for opening or closing a lock. Keys open things up. Keys access ideas, places and spaces. Keys keep belongings safe. Keys start an engine. Keys are…

Author: AM Scott The bright, red bus lurched and lumbered as it wended its way down the windy, narrow streets of London. Tired passengers, some carrying heavy bags or pushing tetchy toddlers, bumbled on board, swiping their Oyster cards motorically. No greetings. No smiles. Life, it seemed, was not an opportunity for connection with others….

Author: A M Scott There is a lesser told tale about a sage and his ‘padawan’ who journeyed together to a distant retreat, somewhere outside of Knysna, the one learning from the other as they went. They walked much, spoke little, and updated their social media feed often, like mindful sages and bloggers do. A…

Author: A M Scott How many parents are caught in the whirlwind of ‘bang for your buck’ education, signing their children up to environments that (over)promise a complete ‘solution’ to their child’s spiritual, emotional, academic and physical development? The market is ripe and it doesn’t take much to whet a parent’s appetite for the bells…

Sitting on a cactus Author: A M Scott Raising a child can be rosy but raising a child with learning difficulties can be like handling a cactus at times. A bouquet of roses offers a soft scent and bursts of colour. The blooms gently unfold as the flowers are watered, fed and sheltered. People spot…

BAM! Your baby is born and, prepared as you thought you were, life as a parent is nothing like you had expected. You had a notion that your adventure would be something of a Park Run, but instead it’s the Comrades at best and a trail run most of the time. All the pastel blue…

Author: A M Scott In the 19th Century, an evening routine in a European city likely included the diligent lighting of lamps in the streets. Armed with ladders and torches, lamplighters would set about lighting lamps so that flames would burn into the night illuminating the path or passage, expelling darkness for the evening hours….