We think nothing of arresting actual or suspected criminals to prevent them doing more harm. It stands to reason that preventing our same old, same old behaviour - our everyday actions and inactions that damage our Evolving communities, Places where we live and work and Earth demands arresting action.

My car-free experiment of nigh on 3 years, throws all kinds of chance encounters and random chats my way. Like a lunchtime bus trip the other day. Wedging my suitcase into the front seat the much older woman opposite asks, “Away somewhere nice?” “I’m off to the funeral of the oldest resident in my home town. 🙏 He was 102! A good friend of my father’s.

Leadership is standing up for what matters most: When the way forward is unclear even if you're the only one no matter what. Standing out from the crowd, in the fog and in glorious technicolour. Stand up and stand out even in the midst of misty uncertainty. How's yours? It matters.

Caring for old buildings well is invariably a labour of love. How fitting that the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings [the S.P.A.B.] should recognise this in its brand new Best Loved Award 2022. From humble 16th century farm barns, to creative re-use of nuclear bunkers to stately homes on a grand scale, and everything in between, the judging panel was delighted to see wide ranging submissions of all ages from across these islands. 

The winners of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Building’s first ever Best Loved Award 2022 were announced on 3rd November at a gala SPAB Heritage Awards ceremony in a packed Conway Hall, former home of the Ethical Society, London. One of five judges honoured to help assess 23 submissions from across these islands – from the north of Scotland to the Isle of Wight, and from Dublin to Cork - we were delighted to see entries ranging from 16th century farm barns, nuclear bunkers, to stately homes on a grand scale, and everything in between.

What places are we talking about? Among them are: Work places, Home places, Everyday places. For you, what in your workplace, homeplace or everyday place builds belonging? What’s missing? What ingredients make the difference? In places, where there’s not enough of it and, even where it’s missing altogether, it’s possible to create better belonging.

Finding myself, unpredictably, in coastal Ireland during lockdown a maximum 5km travel radius restricts the scope of my daily walks. Or so I think.

Brene Brown often says: “We are hard wired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.” Feeling like we don’t belong is a sick in the pit of the stomach kind of feeling. Not good. With so much remote working the potential to feel disconnected from other people and communities has sky rocketed.

When we are not communicating with the people around us, and they with us, we haven’t a chance in hell of growing a great team or community. What kind of communication creates great community? What it’s not…Not the kind of speaking that: Talks AT people, tells people what they SHOULD do and tries to fix people, give advice without permission

Connection before Content’ is a phrase coined by Peter Block and oft quoted since. Giving a few minutes, even a moment or two, to get everyone connected at the beginning of a meeting or seminar is a brilliant way to elevate the quality of our communication afterwards. Connection is different to an icebreaker. At best the latter might, or might not, warm the room enough to cause a slight thaw.

Without creating great spaces, the kind of communication it takes to cause the change the world needs - that isn’t going to happen all by itself - isn’t gonna happen. The good news is we CAN create the great spaces we need - virtual and real, inside and out. Key ingredients include: Psychological safety, attractiveness, silence (some) and time.

We live in a world full of chatter. There’s lots of talk. Listen to colleagues, friends and family. What are they saying? Maybe they’re talking about: The weather? Their health? Cost of living? Perhaps they’re describing how it is right now. Things like the: Dereliction, epidemic, housing crisis and homelessness epidemic. With all that talking how much is changing?

I’m in my favourite cafe ordering my favourite soup. Tapping my card, the super friendly owner taps my arm.‘ That guy didn’t want to sit beside you yesterday, then he came up after and said: ‘That woman changed my life!’ It’s the day before… This place is really busy. Grabbing a stool at the last empty table I notice a coat flung over the other chair.

Sixty years ago, then President of America, John F. Kennedy promised to put an American astronaut on the moon by the end of the decade, saying: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they hard.” President John F. Kennedy. Back in 1962 going to the moon certainly seemed impossible. The alloys didn’t exist. The technology didn’t exist.

Being well connected with our colleagues, clients, neighbours is the bedrock of relatedness. When we have that our collective workability soars. Without it we are in pieces. 'It's like trees in a forest. They need to share food and communicate fully with each other to thrive. The whole is greater than the parts.'

Feeling what seemed like a lettuce leaf stuck between two bottom front teeth over the weekend, I set to with the dental floss. Expecting to whip it out in a jiffy, it’s not what I thought. Turns out I’ve chipped a tiny piece off the back of my tooth. Nothing major. You can’t even see it. Surely there’s no need to do anything?

Who cares anyhow?  Why bother fixing them up at all?  Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to let them moulder and crumble? Then we could sweep them all away and start anew. That’s what happened between the bridges of the town where I grew up: Enniskillen, Northern Ireland's island town. There we didn’t even wait until our old homes on the side streets were vacant and derelict.

How daring a leader are you? Are you courageous enough to: Sail across the Atlantic and Pacific in a yacht this size? Weather Gale Force 10 on a vast ocean? Weather Gale Force 10 on a vast ocean with a partly trainee crew? My friend Michelle is that brave.

It was a pure delight to hear Donnan Harvey, Secretary to the Cathedral Quarter Committee in Letterkenny, County Donegal, and Kyle Thompson, Director at New Gate Arts Centre, share their respective work at Church Lane and the Fountain Estate, Derry~Londonderry.

Once upon a time many did not see the old walled city in Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland, as an asset. Symbolic of a colonial past it was heavily targeted during the 1970s IRA car bombing campaign. By the ‘80s, ‘90s and Noughties (long after the car bombs had ended) old buildings of all ages - listed and unlisted - were being bulldozed with alarming regularity, this time in the name of ‘progress’.