Category: News

Every ring tells a year. Every curve tells a story. Every flame brings the wood back to life.”

I love finding interesting pieces, the more gnarly the better. Some pieces of wood are simply beautiful. Others tell a story that spans generations.

This particular handcrafted candle holder began as a remarkable piece of ancient cherry burl—wood so old that parts of it have taken on an almost fossilized character. Weathered by time and shaped by nature, the burl developed the dramatic grain, rich color, and natural contours that make it impossible to duplicate. I’ve had it gracing my home for a few years and now it’s time to offer it to a new home.

Rather than forcing the wood into a manufactured form, the design embraces what nature created. Every edge, curve, knot, and hollow remains a part of the finished piece, preserving the history written into the grain over decades.

Three hand-drilled candle sockets transform the burl into both a functional centerpiece and a sculptural work of art. The warm amber tones of the cherry wood are complemented by subtle turquoise inlay, adding a quiet touch of color that highlights the wood’s organic beauty without overwhelming it.

And to highlight the pitting I’ve filled those spots with some jade colored epoxy, which brings them out as little gems in this charming old burl.

Whether displayed on a dining table, mantel, or entryway, the candle holder invites moments of calm. As the candlelight flickers across the polished surface, it reveals new details in the burl’s intricate figure—details that can only be created by time.

No two burls are ever alike, making this a truly one-of-a-kind creation. It is a reminder that some of nature’s finest works cannot be rushed, replicated, or mass-produced.

This is more than a candle holder. It is a piece of ancient wood given a second life—a celebration of craftsmanship, patience, and the enduring beauty found in nature.

A campaign that began with authority and ended in supremacy.

As Australian captain Sophie Molineux held aloft the ICC T20 World Cup trophy once again—a record 7th title in the tournament’s 10 year history—the real winner was, yet again, women’s sport. The highly professional and polished Australian team began this campaign with authority, unbeaten en route to Lords, and ended in supremacy. And whilst I was glued to my screen in admiration and adoration of the quality of play today, what took my breath away off the pitch was once again the magnificent crowds supporting women’s sport.  

It was just a year ago when I wrote about the triumphant Lionesses and their fabulous success in the FIFA Women’s Euros. Soon after that the world watched England Roses capture a magnificent Rugby World Cup title in front of record crowds at Twickenham. The ICC Women’s T20 tournament continued that wave  of energetic support these past few weeks, showing up in, once again, record crowds. The final at Lords on a glorious summer afternoon was sold out as 28,887 enthusiastic cricket fans (total tournament figures were 270,000) packed in to watch England attempt to repeat the success of 2009 when they beat New Zealand to become champions. Since then Australia has proved its dominance with now seven titles in this format; their performance has been nothing short of exemplary and text book cricket.  

When England failed to produce a score closer to 200, the writing was on the wall; to me their 150 was clearly not enough to stop Australia’s charge despite a gallant effort by their captain Nat Sciver-Brunt; not out on 58. The Player of the Match, Player of the Series and second leading run scorer of the tournament, Australia’s Beth Mooney, achieved her 64 runs with such authority and dominance it looked like she was enjoying a leisurely session in the nets. 

England’s Dani Wyatt-Hodge had her own show for a while as the Leading Run Scorer on 302 with 105 against Sri Lanka and 89 facing New Zealand, both wonderful to watch.

I could easily write detailed accounts about each of the games in this tournament that began on June 12 when England faced Sri Lanka at Edgbaston and continued unbeaten on its journey to Lords. There is so much to take away from this series that will linger forever in my memory.  And while I have seen so many memorable performances with bat and ball in my long life there is one image that is now firmly imprinted in my mind that I can recall it at any time. 

If you have watched South African Captain Laura Wolfvaart’s cover drive you will feel the vibe. Text book perfection that every aspiring batter aims for and all cricket fans admire. I have become one of Laura’s many fans and, call me obsessive, but I can watch her at the crease on constant replay. It is glorious to behold and when she wasn’t able to find her true form in this tournament I felt especially sorry that her that the team fell short in the semis against England. They had showed what a strong side they are with notable performances by Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba, and Tazmin Brits who was the highest run scorer with 114 against The Netherlands. 

Like India, they started off the tournament strong and my heart was in their camp, while in reality the thunder of Australia had begun to stamp its authority from the start and it would have taken a braver pundit than me to bet against them. India though showed their own style of resistance with some glorious play from the likes of their stalwart captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma (5-10 against Pakistan) and Shree Charani whose 14 wickets was the most in the tournament.

The power play of the West Indies with some glorious hitting highlighted the contrasting styles in the sport. As new teams emerge we are treated to more of the strengths and talent that now abounds in the women’s game. And it was a treat to watch tournament rookies The Netherlands declare its credentials in the T20 game with some lovely cricket and they can truly be proud of their performances. 

I couldn’t help wondering if I was in the minority or majority as I watched in awe at the evolution of the Scottish team who only joined the T20 tournament in 2024. Credit must go to Allrounder Kathryn Bryce and her sister and Wicket-keeper/batter Sarah Bryce. Their leadership has produced a team that’s more than worthy of this stage and which has been building since their World Cup debut in 2003. 

Ireland too are no longer the poor relations in women’s cricket. They too have been quietly building their international squad and have a longer history than their neighbors. They will for sure have taken away valuable experiences on which to continue the growth of the game at home.

Twelve teams participated in this edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and with the emergence of teams like The Netherlands and Scotland, I’m excited to see how the game embraces other nations. It will be interesting too to watch the lesser experienced countries like the US develop their own teams in the fast growing sport. And how long before Canada joins its Commonwealth cousins who can teach them so much about the game. 

Speaking of Commonwealth teams, there was a poignant moment at the end of the New Zealand – England Group Stage game when the sport showed its appreciation to three of its greatest players: the White Ferns former captain and great all-rounders Sophie Devine, another former captain and all-rounder Suzie Bates, and their longest serving fast bowler Lea Tahuhu who said farewell to the game with a guard of honor from both teams. 

During these past few weeks I’ve enjoyed talking cricket with my local pharmacist, a normally reserved Indian women who immediately becomes animated at the chance of extolling the virtues of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma.  ‘It’s in our blood’ she says, and you don’t have to look any further than the Edgbaston ground for evidence of that as the local Indian community enthusiastically flew their flag. 

And as we watch flags from more nations join in this format of the game, expanding the participation and development of women’s cricket, I am left in awe once more at the growth of women’s sport – the investment, sponsorship, media coverage, the grass roots game and the mass of fans. We are on a roll and the future is indeed very bright.

Remember it wasn’t very long ago that someone said ‘no-one watches women’s sport.’ I’m enjoying proving them wrong at every turn. Cricket, just like football and rugby, has not just arrived, it has soundly established itself, and generations to come will look at women playing on the hallowed turf at Lords to a full house as perfectly normal. 

And finally, let’s also take a moment to recognize the inclusivity of the women’s game as we saw the England Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt carry her son Theo onto the pitch as her mascot with her wife Katherine Brunt watching from the boundary proving that women and cricket make the perfect partnership.

©️ Chris Stafford 2026

Sometimes changing lanes can be a risk because we can never be sure where the journey will take us.

Martin Luther King, Jr once famously said life’s most urgent question is what we are doing for others. He believed that a fundamental aspect of human existence is serving something, or someone, greater than oneself and that prioritizing community and acts of service are essential for personal fulfillment, and for the betterment of society. Glancing more frequently these days in the rear view mirror of my life, has given me pause to reflect more deliberately on my personal raison d’être.  To bring meaning to what has been a life of diversity and, at times, multidimensional, requires some introspection. And there was never any question that the overarching theme has consistently been one of passion with intention.

A childhood love of horses and sport, to an adulthood sculpted into phases of art and literature, summarizes the focus points that have proved to be my guiding light. As the saying goes; find something that you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life. In that regard I have chosen well. Each of those subjects has delivered on fulfillment and reward for both dedication and vision. 

However, on reflection, those first phases have been relatively more singular and self-centered, more driven towards ambitions and personal achievements. The aperture narrow with a fixed focal length. Then, at some indeterminate point in my journey, I pivoted. The urgency to get from A to B enveloped in a perpetual motion that once seemed vital, finally relaxed its grip. So deliberately and transitional yet ruthless in its intention. 

I have always regarded life as in stages; phases that transition sometimes with bells and whistles on the big occasions, other times mellifluously like merging into a party unnoticed. Just as friends and colleagues travel through our lives, each serving a purpose with no promise of forever.  The chapters of our autobiography might fit in to seasons, each representing a definable phase. 

The most significant transition for me happened in my thirties when I had to make the first major emotional and life-changing decision of my life.  I had to stop riding. The impact on me physically and psychologically cannot be understated. It’s still to this day hard to process. Fortunately at that time I was not relying on it for my livelihood but up until that point it defined who I was. Each day of my life was shaped by what I did with horses. I didn’t know who or what I would become without them.  But my body—specifically my back—could take no more of the hard knocks. My medical team had been sounding the alarm bells for some time and then finally the decision to stop riding was made for me. I collapsed on a winter’s morning onto a crisp hard frost. My body seized and all of a sudden I became a statue. I was immobilized for a long time. The pain, the tears, the wretched response that my body had was overwhelming. I wasn’t ready. I was too young. But I knew this was the moment that would change my raison d’être forever. 

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote thus far. The memories and emotional trauma of that time came flooding back. It was too much in the moment. Just as it had been then. At the time I felt like I had to anesthetize myself in order to process what was happening and how it would impact me. There have been a few occasions in my life where the challenge has been like an arrow to my heart. Not life threatening but life changing. With the passage of time I always hoped that distance and resilience would further toughen the shell that protected me. I became hardened, not allowing anyone, least of all myself from revisiting those times. But I’ve reached a moment now that comes with turning the pages of our life, armed with hindsight and fortitude.

I was lucky. When destiny took over the reins to my future I was also at a crossroads in my personal life that demanded decisions which became imperative and inevitable. After a life lived up to this point in the straight lane of heterosexuality, my heart and soul took charge and I was now steering my ship to change its course forever. I left my best friend, my husband and the stability of living a married life to explore my true self. At the same time my sporting career was, to use a cricketing metaphor, knocked for six. 

And with this came a moment to review my raison d’être.  

While some doors closed other opportunities presented themselves. I had already begun a second career of writing and consulting. My first book had just been published and I was working on a second. Meanwhile my journalism was expanding to reporting on sports extensively. I had become a photographer too. And alongside this I was doing one other thing that motivated me; and that was to improve training and education in the horse industry, to establish better conditions for a dedicated army of professionals. And so my passion was driven to offer my experience and expertise by traveling the UK and into the EU to commit to programs that changed the course of this profession, and by chance that expertise was called on for a number of other industries. I had met a purpose and need that I could service for the betterment of others. It was enormously satisfying to improve the lives of others in a way that was never accessible to my youth.

Meanwhile my media career was taking me far and wide to cover events around the world, writing, photographing, filming and then voice work, which led to more broadcasting both radio, TV and video. And then came podcasting, which was for me a culmination of a lifetime of knowledge and expertise. It was perfect. I loved radio work more than being on camera and storytelling was my lane. Beyond reporting on sporting events I loved the back stories. And everyone has a story. This was my chance to build a network for women’s sports—all sports—as well  the issues around sports that affected all women. And so the WiSP Sports Network was formed. Many thousands of episodes and several years later I decided that while sports was what I was programmed for, my interview skills, natural curiosity and dedication to elevating women’s voices, could take me outside the sport’s arena to my other passion: the arts. And so the AART podcast was born, which shares the life and career of women artists from all areas of the arts. 

I have been blessed with the chance to interview hundreds of brilliant and talented women in my career so it should not come as a surprise that this podcast has become so fulfilling. It is the perfect vehicle to elevate women, to bring them out from the shadow of their easel or camera, to spotlight their careers and share their stories, to bring their names to a wider audience and further appreciation of their talent. So that when we are asked to name artists we think of women just as much as men. This podcast is steering the course for women artists from all corners of the world and making sure their names are carved in history and their stories are told, most importantly, in their voice. 

The opportunity I have from this privileged position is another reason why my raison d’être has changed. The first half of my life was about me. The second half is about other.  I am doing what I was meant to do in ‘serving something, or someone, greater than oneself’ and it is immensely fulfilling.

©️Chris Stafford 2026