#27: Nairn a Ten-minute town

In the recent holiday period, Nairn has received a fair number of visitors.  Whilst the increase in people on the beach and in the town has brought some increased anxiety for some, it has been great to see so many families enjoying traditional time on the beach and in the sea.  An increasing number of these visitors are either dreaming of living in Nairn (recent comment overheard on the beach ‘imagine living here’ as reported on Nairn Rocks) or are visiting with property searches in mind. Scotland’s house prices reached record highs this month according to Rightmove which has seen its busiest month for sales in a decade. With home working now becoming the longer-term work mode for so many people there is an increase in interest for housing from those seeking a ‘lifestyle change.’  Unsurprisingly those from south of Birmingham and within the commuter belt of London are driving much of this interest. Do read my previous blog post #14 if you are thinking of moving to a remote corner of Scotland which outlines how our family decided on Nairn as our new home.

There are a variety of models emerging through the lockdown period which encourage us to maintain thinking about how we can live, work and shop locally.  In Melbourne, Australia they are developing 20-minute neighbourhoods, an article in the FT recently spoke about 15-minute cities.  We had a friend up visiting from Essex recently looking to retire to Nairn.  One of the common selling points we often find ourselves saying in support of Nairn is that ‘everything you could need is within ten minutes walk or cycle’.  As we all look to build on environmental progress towards carbon-neutral towns and cities it is likely that we are going to see a resurgence in ten-minute towns like Nairn.

What makes a good ten-minute town?  Services and quality of life within ten minutes from the home that doesn’t involve getting in a car.  For example, a good ten-minute town, like Nairn, would have:

• Healthcare facilities 

• Work and employment opportunities

• Schools and care homes

• Shops, pubs and restaurants

• Entertainment and sporting clubs

• Places of worship

• Pocket parks, blue spaces and green spaces linked as nature corridors across the town

• Bus and train stations and stops for accessing places further afield

In Nairn, you have all of these plus the fresh sea air and a sense of peace and quiet that can be quickly obtained from just a few minutes listening to the waves on the miles of sandy beaches.  But far from being the perfect place Nairn still has a lot to do to win a gold standard for the ten-minute town.  There is an investment needed in infrastructure which prioritises walking and cycling - an obvious missing business in the town is a bike hire & maintenance shop.  Whilst the river and beaches are stunning there could be more spaces for nature to move around the town through green corridors.  And there are too many High street shops empty which could become new social businesses or much-needed housing and multi-use sites.  Many of us have recently appreciated just how important the services and quality of life is local to home.  Ten-minute towns like Nairn just might start to flourish again.

#26: TEDx - Thinking Differently about Dementia - Neil Mapes

A few months ago I had the pleasure, whilst CEO of Dementia Adventure, of delivering a TEDx talk called Thinking Differently about Dementia.  It is a simple idea which I hope you will support me to spread. Dementia Adventure, an organisation I am extremely proud to have founded with Lucy Harding needs all of our ongoing support to enable more people with dementia to have both small and big experiences safely outdoors.  If you know someone with dementia in your friend or family network please share this TEDx talk with them, it is my personal and heartfelt explanation of how to think and act differently drawing on nature and the outdoors.

Please consider watching and sharing my TEDx talk here

Please consider supporting and sharing the work of Dementia Adventure.

Thank you for your support, stay safe and well :)

#25: Struggling to remain optimistic yet being positive

“I have found myself struggling to remain optimistic recently.”

“Me too, part of me has a long term sense of impending doom.”

“But I am positive about what we are doing just now to cope and adapt.”

This was the gist of the exchange between two social sector leaders today on a support call.  Both of them had made recent financial investments to expand their organisations in the next year.  Optimism and positivity have some important differences.  One can choose to act positively as a leader in the midst of various challenges.  Positive thinking or a positive mindset can enable us to remain solutions-focused and help our team of people take action with the belief that we can weather this storm and get through this.  

On the other hand, optimism and pessimism are often traits associated with our make up as human beings.  My friend and I are at opposite ends of this spectrum, where I would often describe myself as relentlessly optimistic, my friend is very much on the pessimistic side, often struggling to see how it could possibly work out in the long run.  “How will this all end”, he might say.  Or “I can see no future for us”.  But whilst organisations tend to favour and gravitate towards optimistic leaders they can be just as damaging, or successful, as pessimistic ones.  He is a great leader - and he will often fight harder to take positive action in order to make sure his pessimism doesn’t come true. 

So I am trying to embrace the unfamiliar waves of pessimism where I am struggling to remain optimistic - I am not sure it will be alright in the end.  I remain very much focused on thinking positively and taking positive action each day.  With that in mind, I am off running!  

Stay positive folks! 

#24: Streaking ahead: thoughts on daily repetition

Is there something that you do every day, without fail?  Every day?

A good friend of mine has had the same breakfast, day after day, for many years.  Steve Jobs was famous for wearing the same clothes and for daily repetition, particularly focused on removing unnecessary decisions - i.e. one less thing to worry about.  The prolific blogger Seth Godin publishes something every day and writes powerfully on the rationale and need for daily blogging and writing.  Looking back at my life it appears that I am a bit of a butterfly, attracted by the next flower.  Very rarely have I done the same thing day in day out, favouring instead the pursuit of variety and novelty.  But in recent weeks repetition of daily and weekly practices are slowly becoming the norm in my life.  Importantly, much to my surprise, I am noticing some significant benefits.

I started re-reading The Lydiard Way again about a month ago.  It is possibly one of the best running books ever written from one of the best running coaches.  The first time I read the book, about ten years ago when I got to the training schedules pages which recommended a 7 day a week running plan, even for beginners, I quietly shelved the book and carried on plodding around the fields three days a week. 

But with more time on my hands and having read the book again, I have started going out every day for a run.  I am only on day #22 of what runners describe as a ‘Streak’ - a term to describe running every day without fail, normally for one mile or more.  The most famous streak belongs to Ron Hill whose streak went on for pretty much a lifetime at 19,032 days!  But even at 22 days, I am already finding that my fitness has improved and mentally I am more robust as I know that each day, whatever happens, I will be able to get out and run.  I have had to make some adaptations like increasing yoga sessions, and stretching and massaging my legs in front of the TV, which can look a bit weird.  I have found that the cold water therapy associated with getting in the sea each week in North East Scotland is a perfect ice bath for reducing swollen muscles and joints from lots of mileage.  Rather than struggling to keep up the daily practice, which I previously felt would put too much pressure on myself to run, I now look forward to my run each day. You can follow me on Strava to see the gains I have made in the last three weeks.

It has got me thinking not only about our personal lives, sports and hobbies but the work we do.  Are there things in our work which are like the daily run?  Those tasks which are essentially good for us and good for our organisations but for whatever reason we procrastinate over or delay - possibly in favour of the shiny and bright new idea or novel way of working.  Big goals at work have to be broken down into smaller steps to make them more realistic and manageable.  What better way of achieving them than doing something small every day (a work equivalent to the daily mile) which moves you down the road towards your end goal?  

What could you do every day, that if you continued it day in day out, without fail would make you healthier and happier?  Maybe it is a daily walk or even just sitting outside for ten minutes before starting work.  Not only does daily repetition bring performance benefits, but it also takes away one more decision you need to make and keeps you on track towards living the life you really want.  I have been running 20 years now on and off and am really glad that I have started my running streak but wonder why I never did this before.

How can you streak ahead in life by doing the same thing every day?

#23: Time and Tide

I am in the extremely fortunate position of living near Nairn beach, arguably one of the best in Scotland.  During lockdown I have been making a point of taking a daily stroll down to the sea, just to watch the water.  Since moving to the coast I have become increasingly aware of and fascinated by the tide and its effect on my local beach - and its effect on me.  

Tides are part of our island narrative with perhaps the most well-known proverb being “time and tide wait for no man (or woman)” - meaning that when a favourable opportunity presents itself you would be wise to take it, in case you don’t get such a good chance again.  Looking back at your life - were there opportunities you wished you had jumped at?  Were there opportunities when the tide was high, the sun was shining and a light breeze blowing but for whatever reason, you decided to stay on the shore?  Maybe you were waiting for the conditions to be too perfect or were simply not feeling able or ready to confront the risks associated with the new opportunity.  When the time and tide are right it is important to take your opportunity.  Whilst there are many problems and challenges ahead of us all just now, there will also be opportunities and it is important that when they come we grab them with both hands.

The tides are also one of the few things in modern life which can not be reduced to ones and zeros.  The Natural Navigator, Tristan Gooley, has written widely about tides and tells us that “there is not a machine in the world that can accurately predict tides at a new location without the assistance of human observation.” In observing the tides at Nairn, there are very high tides where seaweed is washed up onto the golf course and very low tides where the sea disappears beyond the pier and lighthouse.  The beach can be full of sand one week and full of stones the next.  Seeing it every day, with a slower pace to life recently, I am finding great comfort in the regular nature of the tide.  Change happens every day.  The height of the tide and its direction of flow are determined by the Earth, moon, sun and time, fundamental forces in our universe.  As the sun starts setting ever northwards and the days continue to get longer at this latitude, I find great reassurance from feeling like a tiny pebble on the beach, waiting for the high tide to take me off on my next adventure.

#22: Green Hive receives Queen’s Award

I became the manager of Green Hive just a few weeks ago and am over the moon to share the news that our volunteers have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.  What a way to celebrate my first few weeks in the post! Regular readers of this blog will recall my previous blog post #13 which explained more about Green Hive in relation to #futureframeworks.

Green Hive receives the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. 

Green Hive is a local community hub supporting people to turn their ideas for Nairnshire’s community and environment into reality through a wide range of activities, delivering products and services which benefit the people and places of Nairnshire.

Green Hive is one of 21 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups in Scotland to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them. 

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. They include volunteer groups from across the UK, including a community shop in Cornwall, an environmental group in Swansea, a group working with refugees and vulnerable people in Stirling and a thriving community arts centre in County Down. 

Representatives of Green Hive will receive the award from George Asher, Lord Lieutenant of Nairnshire later this summer. Furthermore, two volunteers from Green Hive will attend a garden party at Holyroodhouse in July 2021, along with other Scottish recipients of this year’s Award. 

Simon Noble, Green Hive’s Chair of trustees, says: “On behalf of all of our wonderful and committed volunteers I want to share our delight and pride that our hard work has been recognised with this prestigious award.  I believe in the power of volunteering to create positive and lasting change and pay tribute to every single volunteer who has supported Green Hive and those volunteers yet to join us as we strive to do more.”  

Since starting at Green Hive I have been supporting our staff and volunteer team to develop:

• A new Green Hive website capable of receiving donations

• Launching the first stage of our online Green Hive Shop

• A new ten-year business plan

• Adapting our much loved environmental activities into home-based Green Hive Starter kits

• Developing a series of Webinars starting with our Highland Ocean Plastics Webinar on June 12th

• Preparing and planning to pilot the re-opening of our plastics upcycling workshop.

Do please show your support for our Green Hive Volunteers by checking out any of the links, liking and sharing this post.  Thank you!

#21: My top ten life changing books which help you find solutions to the real problems in your life and work

I am a slow reader and often don’t finish a book I have started if it doesn’t quite capture me but every now and then a book comes along which resonates and I read it from cover to cover. Often these books have been given to me as gifts or have come recommended from coaches and mentors and those people I admire and respect. There have been books which have led me to give up jobs and start new ventures. Books which have provoked adventure and journeys into new lands and books which have encouraged a journey into self. Books which made me believe I can change the world and books which contain the clues and tips to try and do just that.

If you are finding more time for reading here is my Top Ten List of the books which have all been pivotal and life-changing at different stages in my work over the last 20 years (listed Chronologically):

The Tipping Point - how little things can make a big difference by Malcolm Gladwell

How to be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson

Now discover your Strengths - how to develop your talents and those of the people you manage by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton

No regrets on Sunday - seven days can change your life by Dr Peter Hawkins

Wikinomics - how mass collaboration changes everything by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

Goal mapping - how to turn your dreams into realities by Brian Mayne

The four-hour workweek - escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich by Timothy Ferris

The Subtle art of not giving a f*ck - a counterintuitive approach to living a good life by Mark Manson

The 100-year life - living and working in the age of longevity by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott

What colour is your parachute - A practical manual for job hunters and career changers (2017 edition) by Richard N. Bolles

Life-changing reading?

If you have one of the books above, go get it off the shelf, dust it off and think of someone in your life who needs this book. Send it to them with a personal note. Receiving gifted books can be life-changing. If you have not yet read all of these books then choose one, even if the title might put you off, read the reviews, get yourself the book and see where it takes you.

Happy reading - I wonder what books would make your top ten life-changing reads?

#20: Remembering travels around Peru

At the moment, travel of any sort, but particularly international travel, is a distant prospect at best. My daughter, aged 10, dreams of travelling the world - visiting the countries currently only available digitally during this worldwide lockdown. I very much hope she will be able to fulfil her dreams. Travel brings you randomly into contact with people, enables personal exploration of places and immerses you in cultures in a way that digital isn’t able to replace so attractively. There seems to me, no replacement for being there. At the weekend Suzi and I had a ‘dream’ camping trip in our back garden, imagining distant lands. Memories emerged of a very different time, a time nearly 20 years ago, when I was travelling around Peru. I share an excerpt here in case you, like me, are in need of some armchair inspiration for what your next journey may be, if and when the universe allows us to travel once more. By boat to Iquitos is an account of a river journey I made through the jungles of Peru in 2001. 

Vanessa at Iquitos

By boat to Iquitos

Tim and Agnes help me mount Vanessa. And it is more of a mount rather than a boarding as the metal cargo boat is still strewn with timber and rice waiting to be squeezed into the seemingly full cargo hold below. Timek and Agniewska are names that are too much of a mouthful for me and so they have become Tim and Agnes, which they seem happy with. It is interesting how people invariably want to shorten names. My brother is called Christian and the shortening of his name led to me being christened with the un-shortenable name of Neil. Tim and Agnes have managed to keep a space near to them but a Peruvian man asleep in his hammock separates me from them. Tim helps me bondage my beautiful rainbow hammock to the pipework and it turns out that the market stall man was right and had not ripped me off. I sit for the first time in my hammock sweating from the bustle and frantic rush to get here on time. Vanessa looks like she has had a hard life as her metal panels are covered with scratches and dents. She is stretched to bursting point with people all tying their hammocks to her pipework and finding space for their belongings where there seems to be none. Locals are selling virtually everything in huge buckets containing anything from toothpaste to watermelon. I buy a bowl and spoon as directed by the trader and add it to my food bag.

“Do you want to tie your backpack to ours?” Agnes asks. I look at their matching blue backpacks that are secured under chain and padlock to one of the uprights of the boat.

“I think it would be a good idea, it could easily get stolen,” says Tim.

“OK thanks,” and I tie the cords of my backpack to theirs, which would make removing it difficult. A wise precaution but not something I would have worried about straight away.

“We have found Peru to be quite a bad place for us,” starts Tim.

“Really?”

“Yes, we arrived at Lima airport and this man claiming to be undercover police asks us to go with him as there is much drugs and fake money in Peru.”

“Did you go with him?”

“Of course, in Poland when we were growing up if undercover police asked you to do anything you did it. So we went with him and he stole all our cash and left us halfway down the road from the airport.”

“Oh my God, what a nightmare.”

“Yes, it was not a nice introduction to Peru,” smiles Tim with a sense of humour about the whole event.

“Then we were in a restaurant and Tim put his camera down and turned for a few seconds and when he turned back it had been stolen.”

“They must have been watching you.”

“Yes I think so,” nods Agnes regretfully.

“The camera was very expensive and I had saved money for many months and had bought it from America,” says Tim still smiling.

“You have been very unlucky,” I say trying to console their losses.

“But Agniewska still has her camera so we are ok.” I look at her camera and it too looks expensive and an ideal stealable item. I am left feeling partly sorry for the Polish couple but cannot help thinking that they were asking for trouble flashing such expensive cameras about. It appears they have learnt a hard lesson.

“We are pretty full eh,” I say changing the subject.

“Yes, the captain says we leave at six,” says Tim.

“Six?”

“Yes, they are still loading the boat with cargo.”

“So I guess we relax and put our feet up for a bit,” I say laying back and swinging in my hammock. It feels great to swing, I have seen it done many times in films on TV but to swing in my own hammock aboard my riverboat to Iquitos feels great. We are squeezed in the length of the boat shoulder to shoulder and the motto seems to be: I swing you swing. So we all swing.

If you would like to read more about this two-month journey in Peru, you can read the rest of this chapter on My Medium blog or the whole book ‘From Dementia to Adventure’ which is available on the Books store on Google Play.

Happy armchair travelling - where will your next journey be?

#19: Knowing when it is over

Is the end nigh? Current times are characterised by great uncertainties, but don’t be tempted into inertia, being proactive can still make for a happy ending.

Are you unsure if your work, project, business or relationship is over? Take a moment to reflect back on a time when you knew something was over and when it finished. Perhaps you knew, deep down, it was over some time ahead of it actually ending? Or maybe the end came like a hammer blow totally out of the blue? By reflecting on previous endings you can be better prepared this time around.

I like running marathons. Well, to put it more accurately, I enjoy signing up for marathons and I like the finish line. There are numerous hours of hard training and hard miles in the race itself that, to be honest, I don’t always enjoy. The finish line of the marathon is a definitive endpoint. The vast majority of people who sign up to run the London Marathon do indeed finish, regardless of their fitness or training regime. Knowing there is an endpoint to reach, after which you can stop and collect a medal, is enough to keep people going. Whilst running marathons can teach you a lot about yourself, not all situations in work and life have the neat ending we sometimes crave. Often the finish line is frustratingly hidden in the fog of daily life. Understandably there are fears and worries about the impending change.

I was talking with a shop owner the other day, in a retail business on the high street. Her business, like many, is on hold because her customers need close personal contact and interaction before purchasing her products. We were talking about if and when she would re-open again. “I really don’t know if I will have a business to go back to”, she said. So like our friend, if you are contemplating whether something is reaching an end, or whether to put fresh energy into it, try these steps:

1. Sitting it out. Try sitting still, calming and quietening the mind. Probably best to do this outdoors if you can, perhaps in the garden or on a balcony, or if you have a view out of the window.
2. Pose the question. Ask yourself out loud “Is this over?” And wait for an answer to come. Many times, with hindsight, people did intuitively know when something was over. Listening to your inner voice and your own intuition is as good a guide as any in uncertain times.
3. Don’t wait, do something. Whilst it is tempting to wait for the answer to become clear to us, or a magical lottery-winning solution to emerge, don't give in to inertia and do nothing. Be hopeful but be proactive, for example, plan your future framework, clarify your purpose and set new goals.
4. Write down what you need right now and in the future. Write down what you want now and in the future. Pay special attention to anything on both lists.
5. Accept where you are right now. Remind yourself you are doing the best with the information you have to hand.

In a way, my marathons are never really over. As soon as I finish one, briefly pausing to look at the medal, I am planning the next one. I often sign up for another one on the same day as finishing the one I’ve just run.

Runners at the start of another London Marathon in 2019

Times change, new information presents itself, a relationship flourishes again when you thought it had burnt out and new projects and business ideas emerge where you couldn’t see them before.

To a degree, there is a sense that nothing is really over, forever. Just different at different times.

#18: Finding Joy

I find myself seeking delight. Many of the places, people and activities that were previously a source of great pleasure have become distant, beyond reach. But both in my work and in my home life there is much joy to be found, despite the search for joy needing to be more proactive at the moment.

Finding joy in…

The blackbird hopping along the wall, turning its head to look at me as I rise from my seat.

A member of staff completing her first fundraising application for much needed charitable funds.

Sheepview introducing me to a different view of the Faroe Islands.

The first broad beans poking and seemingly struggling to get their heavy heads above the soil line.

Trustees at a virtual board meeting putting personal difficulties aside to focus on how our charity can best help local people.

My Mum, who is shielding, taking part in a digital nature walk with Nature 4 Health.

Hot strong coffee with the full warm sun on my face under the blossoming cherry tree.

Charity funders loosening their restrictions and trusting charities to put money to the best use in our communities.

Google photos reminding me of a family canal trip in Cambridgeshire three years ago.


The more I look the more I find, believe in joy and you are halfway there...


Milk and beer appearing on my doorstep from a kind neighbour.

Seeing the whole street banging pots and pans on a Thursday night.

My daughter being top of the Klingon league on Duolingo.

My son building a BMX through home deliveries.

My wife baking bread and the waft of it through the house.

Zoom calls with charity leaders, fraught and exhausted, but still finding time to support one another, share information and offer emotional and practical support.

In spending time with hundreds of families living with dementia over the years I am reminded not of the dementia, but of the moments of joy. June in her garden smelling her flowers, after taking over an hour supporting her to get dressed to make the short shuffle outdoors. Brian and I laughing our heads off in the toilet as I was doing my best to assist him with the most personal of care tasks. John holding my hand and not letting go for over 5 long minutes as we both sat in silence, no need for words.

Joy is there in different guises. Isolation and exhaustion are defeated by it. Try and find some today.