Words matter most because they link actions to consequences. They remind, record and persuade humans to act consequentially. As such they preserve and magnify all the other reasons for their importance, which include the recognition of intelligence and learning, as well as an appreciation of irony, tragedy and comedy. But there is no comedy quite […]
Category Archives: Op-ed
2026 Ahem
PEAGE PINTXOS BANISTER: May 2026
Ahem, I travelled down to La Hune with Jurrat and Jessie in a well-loaded car [...]
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01
Jun
Jun
2026 Ahem
MUSKETS SHRIFT RAPT: April 2026
Ahem Alli and I were up and early on Good Friday to be driven with [...]
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30
Apr
Apr
Professional Writing Writing
They awoke…
The hidden past of the bisexual pronoun Those of all political and cultural persuasions [...]
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2026 Ahem
BABY FAIRYLAND TWITTEN: March 2026
Ahem I was about to open a pile of birthday cards when I was encouraged [...]
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30
Mar
Mar
2026 Ahem
QUOTIDIAN HAMMERHEAD HIPPO: February 2026
Ahem Rain and colder weather in southern England dominated the first few days of the [...]
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02
Mar
Mar
Most Africans suffer poverty and inequality in various different forms, including income and employment, geography, age and gender. The gender dimension is particularly significant, with poverty rates among women and girls far higher than among men or boys. Market research was commissioned in 2016 to help understand the economics of the gender divide in Africa. […]
12
Dec
Dec
Looking at the statistics behind the claims Africa’s share of global trade has not changed significantly in twenty years – from around 2.4% or thereabouts between the early 2000s and now. From habits forced by colonialism, African nations have historically relied too heavily on export income from primary commodities, including oil, minerals and raw materials […]
Cote d’Ivoire is by some accounts one of Africa’s best performing economies, with a reported GDP of 7.4% in 2018. It seems to do well in foreign direct investment, with total FDI stock of $10.2 billion, representing 23.8% of the country’s GDP . Above all, President Ouattara claims to have resolved the problems associated with the bloody […]
22
Oct
Oct
Words are the most misunderstood part of that crowded, undisciplined and noisy group of ill-fitting elements that together make up what we call communications. In fact, words often get in the way of communications, like rider-less horses in a race or hooting stationary cars in a traffic jam. We all misunderstand each other in some […]
10
Oct
Oct
Africa’s fast-growing markets should be producing far more commercial opportunities for its businesses and yielding far more jobs for its people, but they are not. If there is genuine economic growth occurring in Africa’s major cities then current data and the view from the street are not reflecting it. Jobless growth haunts the cities of […]
03
Oct
Oct
The ‘Green Revolution’ that transformed agricultural production in Asia and Latin America in the 1960s was driven by two main factors. First, technology and innovation. Rapid advances in agricultural research and development, especially the science of breeding and release of improved seed varieties of main staple crops – wheat and rice – were a precursor […]
Neither Oxfam or the USA appear keen to see Rwanda start up a garment business. Here’s why… What do you think happens to the used clothes we give to clothes banks? Some go to charities for the poor, some to emergency aid, but most go to maintain a multi-million dollar international business, with companies exporting […]
30
Jul
Jul
Poverty in Africa is passed inevitably down through the generations, even more assuredly than is private wealth. Most Africans are hopelessly poor, conditioned by location, time, politics, geography and birth. Yet global media distribution allows them to know that a fulsome standard of living is technically available less than a few hours away by plane. […]
I get so bored with conference calls. I don’t actually want to get bored, but there’s something about the format of the conference call that challenges my will to live. Why is that? Most conference call conversations seem to be completely unreal, either dominated by one or two speakers with no one else talking or […]