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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Cursed by Fire and Water

John Elkington · 22 July 2010 · Leave a Comment

MH1 River fronds MH2 Skyscape 1 MH3 Skyscape 2 MH4 Skyscape 3: where Catholics prayed for generations, at some peril MH5 Garden buglerMH6 Chairs MH7 Damsel in repose MH8 Convocation MH9 Skyscape 4 MH10 Skyscape 5

We drove south to Midhurst in Sussex today, walking around the town and stumbling on the ruins of Cowdray House. I had known of its role in history in Tudor times – but had no idea that this is where it was. A wonderfully kept site, but a pretty tragic history at times, what with the fire that reduced the great house to ruins in 1793, and the death by drowning of an  heir around the same time. Not sure I believe the story of a curse laid upon the family during the dissolution of the monasteries, that they would be destroyed by fire and water, but it provides a neat hook on which to hang the tragedies.

Later in the afternoon, we arrived at the house where we were to stay, set in woodland, found with the good services of one of Alastair Sawday‘s invaluable guides, only to find the owners in turmoil, she having reacted badly to treatment with monoclonal antibodies. As they headed off to the hospital, we settled in. I had looked the place up on Google Earth and seen a huge quarry nearby, but there was no sense of it from the house itself – and the landscape around here is wonderful. Thank heavens they have declared it part of the country’s latest National Park, including, apparently, the sand ridge into which the quarry has been digging.

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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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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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