Journal

I always keep an eye out for herons as I cycle across the Thames in the morning, but today – as I came in early – I didn’t see any.  Then as I was walking my bike past Kensington Palace, I happened to look through the fence guarding the garden – and there was a heron, sitting hunched in the herbaceous border.  Made me think that the opportunities are there, even in today’s crazy world, if you know where to look for them.  

Among the visitors to Bloomsbury Place today – in separate meetings – were UNEP, the Tallberg Foundation and Himanshu Parikh, who features as one of our Phoenix 50 and who has been hugely successful in getting water and sanitation to slum dwellers in India.  Then across to SustainAbility with Sam, for a session with the UK, US and Indian teams on The Phoenix Economy.  Otherwise, much of the day has been spent writing an article for the Ritz-Carlton magazine and helping get the Volans website ready for relaunch on Thursday.

Through a hornbeam

Elaine, Gaia, Hania and I drove down to Little Rissington today to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the family’s move to Hill House in 1959, on our return from Cyprus.  Seventeen of us, with all the children and grandchildren present.  A wonderful day in time, particularly when Tim unveiled the Hill House photograph album he had compiled – with inputs of images from all of us – for Pat.

Family group 1 Family group 2 Family group 3 Family group 4 Lydia Pat Pat, album and Tim Pat and Gray Caroline and photographer Reflections Gray and John Christina and Elaine We do the Beatles back catalogue

Our front garden Bluedgrass Magnolia Magnolia 2 Magnolia 3 Hole Phoenix Pagoda Tree Will and Elaine Dr Shirley Paintbox Will For Caroline 1 For Caroline 2 For Caroline 3 Rivulet Shadows   We drove across to Kew for lunch with Will (Rosenzweig), then took a long saunter around the Gardens in glorious sun.  One magnolia tree was a revelation.  Spent a fair time on the Princess of Wales Greenhouse, taking photographs for Caroline to paint, possibly.  A long time ago, when SustainAbility’s logo was a trigram (representing the triple bottom line) and a spiral (representing life, evolution and creativity), I took pictures of spirals everywhere I went.  Today there was only one.  But there was a phoenix, too, in the Japanese pavilion.  Then back to work on a slide presentation on the Phoenix Economy – which I plan to use at SustainAbility on Monday and then at the Skoll World Forum later in the week.

A glimpse of passion (taken by Sam)   I spoke at World Entrepreneurship Summit this morning, at Goodenough College.  Organised by Rebecca Harding and the World Entrepreneur Society.  Met some interesting folk, then walked back to the office for a busy day.  Glorious, sunny, blue sky.

The Phoenix 50 image   A very busy week at 2 Bloomsbury Place, with The Phoenix Economy finally off to the printers.  Am thrilled with how much progress we have made in the last week or two.  Then the week also saw a stream of visitors, a fair few of whom spent some time in the office – among them Carl Ganter of Circle of Blue, Kiva co-founder Jessica Jackley and Will Rosenzweig of Physic Ventures.  We also had a farewell lunch for Smita (Sircar), who has played such a vital role over the past year, particularly recently on the report – and is now moving to South Africa with her husband.  Then a visit to the British Museum with Will and Elaine to see the murals from the tomb of Nebamun and then dinner there.   Will, Sam and magnolia Carl and Jessica Ale and Carl British Museum 1 British Museum 2