Nance

Today, scenes very familiar from days of yore, with flipchart paper covered in multi-coloured post-it notes in every direction and on every wall. Groups of people poring over the wording of indicators we will use to measure project success.

Nancy is one of the Kenyan participants at the workshop, an expert in food systems and sustainable agriculture. In the evening she treated me to pizza at a nearby restaurant and it was a wonderful change of scenery from the workshop venue. Apparently Bridgerton is a popular show in Kenya and Nancy asked whether the parading of young women in front of eligible bachelors is something that still happens in the UK. Without knowing the ins and outs of some circles, I suggested that today’s societal rituals effectively fulfil the same coupling up function, whether it be performed by posh people quaffing champagne and flirting in big hats at Ascot, or groups of mashed up lads buying shots of tequila for women in clubs in Sunderland.