Eat to Live or Live to Eat?
It’s funny how some people just can’t enjoy the delights of food and drink. They are only interested in the nutritional value, the calorific value, the balance, the origin and the composition of their food. “Sustenance” rather than food, just fuel to keep the body going, but increasingly fine-tuned to all the critical factors above:
February is The Month of Love or Is It?
I have two questions to aks about this. Firstly, why? Who was this person, Saint Valentine, who condemned us to a singular focus on love in February? Was he a great romantic, or perhaps a figure of tragedy who died heartbroken? Secondly, what is this thing called love anyway? Let’s start with Saint Valentine. It
The ‘Right Way’ to Love Bali
“Love is a Many-Splendoured Thing” I’m pretty sure that expression came from a gooey Hollywood movie but it says it – all tongue in cheek! The love that St. Valentine expressed back in the 1st century, was actually one of sacrifice and that’s a very hard thing to do or even to contemplate. But is
It’s Time For The Roaring 20’s Again!
One hundred years ago the world was still celebrating peace in Europe after the devastation of World War One; America was in its first flush of modern lifestyle and invented the speakeasy, filled with dance, sing and happiness, fuelled by the beginning of a huge booze trade. It was the ‘Roaring Twenties’ when anything was
The Future of Bali : Challenges of Over Tourism
Many times voted ‘The Best Island in The World’ Bali has a serious historical reputation to live up to, but at the same time has been recently vilified and castigated across the world first for over development and latterly, waste management, or should I say lack of it! So these mixed messages aptly describe the
The ‘Golden Rule’ Applies to Everything
No it’s not a new technology regulation, the Golden Rule is something given to us by Jesus Christ and at this time as we approach the celebration of His birth, it is appropriate to see just how applicable this rule is to literally everything we do, in business, in our families, in our sport, in
What to Remember During Bali’s ‘Festive Season’
Many years ago in Europe, but it was probably the same all over the world, festivals were very much centred on religious celebrations. Many of them were agriculturally based too like ‘Thanksgiving’ for a good harvest (or sometimes a human sacrifice because the harvest was bad!), and were usually at very fixed points of the
Bali’s Traffic Woes
I didn’t want to write about traffic again but after the last few days of chaos on the roads of Bali, I have to! Traffic jams spoil holidays and that’s what 6 million people come here for, a holiday, to relax and enjoy their precious free time. But that simply does not involve sitting for
On Bali’s Beaten, Bashed and Battered Paths
There was a time, not that long ago, when it was really possible to get lost in Bali. To wander down unmarked roads and lanes and sit quietly under banyan trees in unnamed villages. There was nature in Kuta and fields in Seminyak, there wasn’t a single building in Nusa Dua nor a villa on
Three Causes of Well-Being in Bali
Welcome to Bali where there are many traditions and cultural beliefs. One that I greatly admire and respect is TRI HITA KARANA which translates as “ Three causes of well-being”. No, they are not power, money and love! they are much more meaningful than that. They are: harmony with God, harmony among people and harmony
The Dilemma of Sustainability
Sustainability is the hot word of the moment. Encompassing environmental friendliness, economic viability, community sensitivity and ethnical employment. It is a huge and complicated subject. But it’s not just hot, it’s important. Almost everything, no, actually everything needs to be sustainable. While most of us think of sustainability as an environmental issue and absolutely abhor
Why is Waste Wasting So Much of our Time?
The two current obsessions of Bali are linked (symbolically at least). The digital/ social media frenzy, symbolised by www, and the garbage or plastic fixation symbolised by wwww (waste, water and waste water). Maybe the solution is to match them together to create ‘thewastewaterworldwideweb’ project ? Certainly we need to find a solution quickly because
From Sea to Shining Sea
British Poet John Masefield wrote his famous poem ‘Sea Fever’ in 1902 which so beautifully expresses our fascination with the sea. The second verse sums it up well: “I must down to the sea again, for the call of the running rideIs a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied” We
