Soapbox

The Covid crisis has hit Bali hard and exposed something we knew to be a real possibility, an economy too dependent on a single sector. Bali’s economy was, and still is, 80-85% dependent directly or indirectly on tourism. Farmers, drivers and local shops are still dependent on tourists coming and eating, hiring buses and taxis […]

Jimmy Knowles, a friend of mine in Connecticut, is a sculptor and many years ago I watched in fascination as he used a crane to get a huge tree trunk into position then attacked it with a buzz–saw. “Are you serious?”I asked, “what are you doing?’” “Creating, my boy, creating!’ he said. He hacked a […]

Who do you identify with? So many people feel close to celebrities who somehow reinforce their feelings of who they are. This often happens with singers whose lyrics resonate with the challenges and transitions in people’s lives. They know every word on their albums and you can see them singing along at concerts . Others […]

Have you ever seen that great cartoon of the man proudly doing his own home decoration, setting himself high standards of quality and finish , carefully preparing his work tools and his schedule then finally starting on the “ piece de resistance” a magnificent wooden floor he has sanded and buffed, and now is varnishing… […]

There isn’t much talk about holidays going on at the moment as the entire world – well quite a lot of it – is actually stuck indoors, locked down or social distancing or whatever the local discipline is called.  But maybe many of those people are already beginning to get the urge, possibly stronger, a […]

Having shared his thoughts on preparing Bali for when travel re-opens again in his last article, “After Covid-19: What Next?“, Alistair Speirs shares another idea. With Bali empty right now, it gives the island an opportunity to reinvent itself when it welcomes visitors again. Now is the time to say, “Hey, who do we want […]

Semua krisis pasti berakhir. Biasanya, krisis yang terjadi malah menimbulkan krisis lainnya karena kemampuan kita untuk kembali pulih hampir sama dengan kemampuan kita untuk merencanakan, ujar Alistair Speirs, yang telah melalui berbagai krisis di Indonesia: mulai dari kerusuhan hingga gempa bumi, hingga resesi finansial dan tsunami. Seandainya kita mau jujur untuk membandingkan durasi dan program […]

Some background and some ideas from Alistair Speirs OBE, Managing Director of Phoenix Communications, who has spent many years in Post-crisis action and wants to make sure we do better this time around.  The crisis will end. They all do. And usually precipitate another because our ability to recover is pretty much equal to our […]

There has never been a better time to be a conscious of ‘wellness’ than now while we are facing a worldwide pandemic of a new and exceptionally virulent virus: COVID-19. While here in Bali we have been – up to now – less affected than many places, the simple fact is that no–one and nowhere […]

It’s funny how some people just can’t enjoy the delights of food and drink. They are only interested in the nutritional value, the calorific value, the balance, the origin and the composition of their food. “Sustenance” rather than food, just fuel to keep the body going, but increasingly fine-tuned to all the critical factors above: […]