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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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The Daleks of Kent

John Elkington · 23 May 2010 · Leave a Comment

This morning in the garden This morning in our garden The oasthouse Daleks of Sissinghurst The oasthouse Daleks of Sissinghurst Private Private Wisteria, I think Wisteria, I think Shadow Shadow Tower 1 Tower 1 Egyptian moment Egyptian moment Beehives Beehives My shadow, but where's my echo? My shadow, but where’s my echo? Habitations Habitations Meditation Meditation Floral fireworks Floral fireworks Blues and yellows Blues and yellows Blue Blue Spectrum 1 Spectrum 1 Spectrum 2 Spectrum 2 Weathervane Weathervane Tower 2 Tower 2 Orb speaks unto orb Orb speaks unto orb Reflections Reflections Will plots Will plots Elaine's shoes Elaine’s shoes Overhead Overhead Hippo, when we drop Will and Carla off in Chelsea Hippo, when we drop Will and Carla off in Chelsea

Utterly glorious day, blue skies throughout. Will and Carla (Rosenzweig) arrive early for breakfast – and then we drive out on the M25 and M26 to Kent, and to Sissinghurst. Abominable traffic jam headed clockwise as we head anti-clockwise, with people out of their cars for miles on end, but somehow we get through unscathed.

Have only once been to Sissinghurst before, when we took cousin Hollister Sprague there perhaps 30 years ago. In many ways, better than I remembered, though fairly busy. The smell of flowers and blooms was ravishing, though Carla was suffering from a form of hay fever – and has the Chelsea Flower Show to ensure tomorrow.

Two of the highlights for me were (1) having a bottle of National Trust Viceroy Pale Ale for lunch and (2)  pausing by the beehives and watching the bees buzz in and out. Later, I rescued a bee that looked as if it was on LSD, but failed to rescue another this evening in our kitchen. Couldn’t initially work out where the frantic buzzing was coming from, then saw that a fatal drama was playing out over my head, with a large spider stabbing a bee and wrapping it in silk. A mummification that was slightly different to that in my mind when I was pondering the Egyptian head on a Sissinghurst flower pot today.

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Introduction

I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

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About

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements.

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john@johnelkington.com  |  +44 203 701 7550 | Twitter: @volansjohn

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