The first thing I saw when I opened my mailbox this morning was a link to an article in the Financial Times about how loneliness is contributing to tribal politics, and it got me thinking. Not about politics as I will leave that issue for someone else to ponder; my thoughts are more around loneliness and a growing sense of disconnection in the world. The article quoted something a Harvard sociologist, Robert Putnam, observed – that Americans and Britons are increasingly liv

I’m not sure how others feel this time of year but personally I find it a huge challenge. The buzz of the holiday season is long gone, most of my family and friends are miles away and the hours of daylight are scarce. No matter where I have lived, warm or cold, I have always struggled to re-motivate myself in January and February. This is especially true as I feel like I am supposed to start the new year with a laundry list of resolutions that will make me a better, more p

If you have ever travelled extensively or lived in a country where you don’t speak the language well, you are undoubtedly familiar with the feelings that go with the inability to communicate effectively – anticipation, frustration, self-doubt – the list goes on. My funniest language story happened shortly after my husband and I moved to French-speaking Switzerland with only a smattering of French between us. A few months after we arrived, we decided to head over to the Bourg