Life
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22. Aftermath
The aftermath of a proper Nigerian party is stupor. The less said about that the better. In our case, after the exertions of the past day, most of this was spent in bed till the persistent calls from W resulted in a rushed attempt to get to the Atlanta History Museum. That done, the evening… Continue reading
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21. D-Day
And so to the main day. First order of business: breakfast, for which there were at least forty people spread out all over the cafe at the hotel – cousins, nephews, nieces and a fair few friends of the family all making up the lot. Nigerian weddings are a village affair after all. I shudder… Continue reading
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18. Comparisons
When a reasonably large number of (successful?) people gather, what one does, or has done for work inevitably comes up. Sometimes (as at school reunions perhaps) it is about blatant competition – who succeeded, who didn’t, who stayed mid – at others (such as family reunions) it masquerades as catching up. For my sins, I… Continue reading
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13. Half way there…
Source The spectre of being a mere ninety days away from turning forty-seven is chilling, primarily in the sense of causing me to pause, and wonder where all the time went. It seems like it was only yesterday when I was a young, bright chap starting my first day of proper work. If the Office… Continue reading
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5. Small chops
The train home for me passes through Feltham, home to perhaps one of the more visible Nigerian food spots in Surrey. Today on a whim, I opted for a pit stop, aiming to satisfy my cravings for some hot spicy food. Tucking in when I finally made it home, I felt transported to one of… Continue reading
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4. Music & Me: On Life in a Song
The Poets & Writers prompt, Music and Me had me thinking about how many of my memories of growing up are inextricably linked to music. One example which has stayed with me for a long time relates to the Mariah Carey / Whitney Houston duet When You Believe. Growing up as I did in a… Continue reading
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10,000 Hundred Friends
“Extreme” Reading, Cartoonised with Gemini I may be biased, but I am increasingly convinced that the most apt turns of phrase come from those who are yet to have the strictures of grammar and punctuation drilled into them. The most recent case in point was a conversation with L the Elder in which – walking… Continue reading
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Spring-ish
Out and about.. — It is perhaps something between wildly optimistic and foolhardy to call it for spring in the first week of March, but given the many days of sustained highs with temperatures north of 14C and nary a cloud in sight, one can be forgiven for snatching at these first nascent signs of… Continue reading
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On Being a Specialist in a World of Generalists…
Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash — One of the enduring memories of the past twenty years and some of work is getting hauled into my Supervisor’s office for a career chat. At the time I was twenty three, fresh off a year of national service , quite literally in the middle of nowhere, and two weeks into my first proper job.… Continue reading
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On Data and the Death of Expertise
Previously published on Substack in December 2021 — It seems to me that one of the defining trends of the past few years has been the death of expertise, occasioned by a deep distrust of experts and what they have come to represent, the entrenched gatekeepers (of knowledge in this case). Like all other such… Continue reading
