If you’ve ever made chutney, you’ll know it takes a long time. Several hours of chopping, stirring and gentle simmering. And as I was stirring, I got to thinking about the skill of making the most of what we have.

It seems that everywhere there are leadership (and how NOT to do leadership) lessons to be learned right now. My professor at Lancaster University was fond of getting his leadership students to sit in a cold tent by themselves on a wind-swept hillside in northern England to learn about leadership.  Although that has a certain romance and drama to it, you can also do one of my favourite leadership development exercises of his in the comfort of your living room.  As long as you have a couple of hours of quiet time – tricky for many to achieve at the moment I know!

As much as I believe in education, these questions are not enough if we want to see lasting social change.

If we also believe in equity and justice, we need to ask, what sustained action do I need to take?

It’s a challenging question. But with so much knowledge and training available online, the relevance of bricks and mortar universities in higher education is increasingly coming into question. Why should people take out a major loan, or put themselves through exam stress when so much information is available from the comfort of your sofa via You Tube tutorials?

In recent months we’ve all been subject to lock downs, self-isolation or quarantines in one way, shape or form. And some still are. There is an immediate and devastating health crisis and it is critical that we heed the advice - or rules - so we can keep ourselves and each other safe. There are aspects of lockdown that some of us even welcome - Netflix, some nice wine and a tub of chocolate ice cream. But here’s the thing - in addition to COVID-19 it turns that long term isolation and ostracism is also really, really bad for your health.