Getting back to Normal

Yesterday I was doing a quick grocery shop to replenish the shelves after our trip. It seemed a terribly mundane activity after the week I have just had. In fact I think that you do need to be slightly schizophrenic to travel. One moment you are being exposed to bright minds, the next getting the bread and milk; or freezing at -15 degrees and then being blasted by temperatures of 30 deg as you get off the plane.

The World Economic Forum exceeded any expectations I might have had before I left. I was not sure about the “spouses’ programme” but I discovered that all the sessions were open to everyone with the proviso that, if they were full, partners/spouses might have to make way for participants. But that certainly did not happen at any sessions I attended. So no fondue- or chocolate-making sessions for me...

The rest of the week pretty much fulfilled the promise of my last blog. I have been stimulated and moved by talks on a variety of topics:  music, art, creativity; the future of museums in the digital age; the plight of girls around the world; and the challenges of doing business in Africa.

It is hard to settle down and be normal again after all this stimulation. I had an Oprah-style “aha” moment there at 4000 metres above sea level.  Writers like Henning Mankell and Elif Shafak made me realise why I want to write. Bear with me over the next few blogs and I will tell you more...