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Home page › Destination Guides
Area Guides for Cottage Holidays in the UK and Ireland
Our area guides focus on popular areas for cottage holidays throughout the UK and Ireland. Find out about some of the most sought after destinations for self catering breaks in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The UK is a country that many like to visit from both home and abroad because of its beautiful green countryside, diverse landscape and rich history. All the countries within the UK boast interesting historical architecture of note and interest. Also, being an island, as well as having numerous rural regions, ranging from forest to agricultural land, the UK also has an interesting and varied coastline ranging from high jagged cliffs to golden sand beaches that many like to explore.
Top Tip: Read our Guides
Country Cottage Holidays in England Guide
Country Cottages Scotland Guide
Country Cottage Holidays Ireland Guide
Self-Catering and Country Cottage Holidays in Wales Guide
Britain's National Parks:
For divine countryside and unspoilt scenery, Britain's National Parks come highly recommended and our guide explains what makes these areas so special.
Sleep 6 people comfortably - cottages, pine lodges and assorted holiday accommodation for 6
Activities that many like to enjoy in the UK when taking cottage breaks include walking, cycling, fishing and golfing, to name just a few.
Do your research when planning your self catering holiday and check out what activities are available to enjoy in the area you plan to visit.
Britain's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Also very popular when it comes to country cottage holidays, are Britain's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Self-catering holidays in British Islands
Britain has a number of islands that are idyllic holiday destinations: The Channel islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, the Outer Hebrides. Read about:
Dog-friendly holidays in the Channel islands
Or read on for our summarised information on places to go and things to see in the different countries that make up the UK on a country cottage holiday.
Country Cottage Holidays in England:
England is a country known for idyllic English country cottage holidays. When people think of England many think of winding country lanes, pretty thatched cottages, rolling green hills and pretty historical villages. England has all of this and more. There are many beautiful coastal areas in England including the West Country in the South West of England with its traditional coastal resorts and seaside cottages to rent. Immensely popular because of its great coastline and beaches, may British people holiday in the West country, especially for family breaks. These can be in individual independent cottages or on pet friendly holiday parks. England also has an abundance of country houses and beautiful gardens to visit and a number of interesting forts and castles. In the North of England, the landscape has much in common with Scotland with mountainous areas and lakes.
Some of England's Top Recommended Destinations include:
The Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks in the north of England are some of the best loved hiking destinations. Most foreign tourists to Britain visit the city of York and Yorkshire, the largest county of England during their tour. You may perhaps be interested in a farmhouse stay for 8 people in the north west of England?
The south coast of England has rolling Downs and plenty of beaches. Each county, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset and Kent has a good number of seaside towns for cottage holidays. The British seaside holiday is adored and despised in equal measures. So many British people have simply not yet discovered our own superb home-grown beaches. We have stunning sandy beaches, remote beaches where the wildlife outnumbers people.
The South West of England, also known as the West Country, includes the counties of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset typically attract many British families who head there over the summer months, hoping to catch some sunshine.
Shakespeare Country and the nearby fabulous rolling countryside of the Cotswolds including towns such as Gloucester.
The vibrant city of London with its many sights and attractions. London has an astonishing array of museums, theatres, restaurants and galleries. If you are a culture vulture you should love what London has to offer. The London Eye with its bird's eye view of London is not to be missed. London's musicals are world famous and are another must-see attraction.
The tranquil New Forest with its wild ponies and forest trails is a great place for walkers and cyclists.
East Anglia which includes Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire including Cambridge
offers picture perfect sleepy villages and acres of beautiful countryside.
Wiltshire, home to the Wiltshire Downs and mystical Stonehenge has plenty of unspoilt countryside to discover as well as beautiful historical towns such as Salisbury.
The South West for beaches, coves and pretty villages. Also where you can find the amazing historical city of Bath
Home counties around London such as Buckinghamshire for short breaks.
There are so many beautiful parts of England to explore. We hope you find our guide useful and inspiring for cottage breaks in the UK, or read more about self catering holidays in England.
Read more about England in our country cottage holidays in England guide.
Undiscovered Destinations in England:
As well as the well known areas for cottage breaks in England, there are also some less well known areas such as Lincolnshire, Durham and Northumberland to name just a few. Taking a holiday in one of these counties that are off the beaten track can often be a good option if you want a peaceful relaxing break.
Self Catering Cottage Holidays in Scotland:
Scotland is a country known for its amazing landscape. Scotland is more sparsely populated than England, it's possible in Scotland to find beaches where you can walk all alone with just the seagulls for company. If you want to get away from it all and spend time in awe inspiring scenery think Scotland, the land of glens and lochs, eagles and salmon. The Highlands are particularly beautiful with stunning mountain scenery and fantastic wildlife watching opportunities.
The West Coast is known for beautiful lochs and coastal areas. Aberdeenshire is home to the whisky and castle trail. Each are in Scotland has its own charms. If you love nature spotting and want some time amongst really soulful scenery head for the Islands of Scotland for complete peace and tranquillity.
Read more about Scotland or take a look at our guides on popular destinations throughout Scotland.
Some of Scotland's Recommended Holiday Destinations include:
Highlands and Islands, home to the Cairngorms, eagles, deer and the scenic Isle of Skye.
Speyside with its castles and distilleries
Deeside , also known as Royal Deeside, and also Donside - the area around the granite city and oil capital, Aberdeen.
The amazing capital city of Edinburgh
Find out more about the stunning and interesting places in our visit Scotland guide.
Country Cottage Holidays in Ireland:
Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle on account of its beautiful green scenery. Ireland is not typically associated with country cottage holidays, the holiday homes in Ireland tend to be bungalows or converted crofters cottages. Ireland is a country steeped in mysticism and myth and known for its great musicians and the Irish in particular are known for their sense of 'Craic' and humour.
Read on for specific information on what each area of Ireland has to offer for self catering holidays.
Some of Ireland's Recommended Areas for Cottage Holidays include:
Country Cottage Holidays in Ireland
Self catering holidays in Northern Ireland - experience the magic of the Giant's causeway, the mountains of Mourne and Devenish island.
Ireland's lakelands - if you love being near Loughs and at the waters edge, read our guide on Ireland's water wonderland.
Ireland's South East
The South West of Ireland
Ireland's enchanting Mid West region of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary
Self-Catering Cottage Holidays in Wales
Wales is home to the amazing mountains and coastal areas of Snowdonia. Wales is a popular choice for country cottage holidays as Wales is very accessible from many parts of England. Wales attracts many ramblers and walkers who enjoy the beautiful countryside that Wales has to offer. The coastal areas of Wales including Pembrokeshire are known to be particularly beautiful and attract many keen birdwatchers. Some visit the North of Wales, some Mid Wales and some head for the South of Wales. Wherever in Wales you choose to explore we trust that you will enjoy this special cottage holiday destination.
Some of Wales's Top Destinations include:
The national park and mountain range of the Brecon Beacons
For county specific information on the different areas of Wales, see:
- Country Cottage Holidays in Wales
If you're still not sure where to go, take a look at our inspiration page or our advice on finding the best kind of cottage for you.
Top Related Relaxing Holidays Pages
» 1 bedroom cottage in the Cotswolds for 2 people
» 2 bedroom coastal cottages
» 18th century country cottage self catering holidays
» 1 bedroom self catering cottages Ireland - just for 2
» 5 bedroom pet-free holiday cottages with pools
» Scottish holiday cottages with availability in August
» Find and book a cottage in Wales that has some available dates in August
» Adults Only Self-Catering Cottages with a Hot Tub
» 1 Bedroom Cottages in Scotland
» 1 Bedroom Holiday Cottage Rentals with a Twin Bedroom
» 1 Bedroom Cottages with a King-Sized Bed
» 1 Bedroom Cottages with a Super-King Size Bed
» 10 Bedroom Plus Holiday Houses in England


Williams Firepower Pinball Machine Game Backglass. Good condition backglass for a Firepower Pinball Machine. This is in VERY good shape for the age, see pics.
The item "Williams Firepower Pinball Machine Game Backglass 2" is in sale since Tuesday, September 18, 2018. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Arcade, Jukeboxes & Pinball\Pinball\Replacement Parts". The seller is "jkjeepers" and is located in Glenside, Pennsylvania. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Ukraine, Croatia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Bahamas.


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My Face Reveal
CaptainZac April 1, 2022, 11:46am #1
Today is finally the day!
All of you have been asking for a long time to see a face reveal of me, and after serious consideration, I have decided to go through with it.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the rest of the moderation team for all their work, and I appreciate all of you! Also, to the rest of the community, if you have any feedback about the WFC, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, @moderators, or @admins for feedback!
Now without further adieu, my face:
Face Reveal
HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY
geauxsaints April 1, 2022, 11:49am #2
Very funny, Zac.
BonaireDude April 1, 2022, 11:50am #3
Zac's face is just a JetBlue plane
what he be sounding like though
Ethan April 1, 2022, 11:54am #4
should have revealed it. but i have his face
Zach April 1, 2022, 12:01pm #5
BonaireDude:
Look at his YouTube channel.
BonaireDude April 1, 2022, 12:03pm #6
yes I know lol
Underrated ngl
JetSuperior5192 April 1, 2022, 1:10pm #7
WOOOWW.
DeltaDev13 April 1, 2022, 1:48pm #8
CaptainZac:
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the rest of the moderation team for all their work,
I hope this isn't an April fool's joke
23aidenh April 1, 2022, 1:57pm #9
We all should know this is an April Fools's prank because today is April 1st
nativetoalaska April 1, 2022, 1:57pm #10
No, today's March 32nd
DeltaDev13 April 1, 2022, 1:59pm #12
Haha, probably my favorite holiday in April too
Rolls April 1, 2022, 2:11pm #13
I'm just going to not look at your face.
PlanesAndGames April 1, 2022, 2:16pm #14
I thought it was a JBU plane…
CaptainZac April 1, 2022, 2:19pm #15
No, THAT part is not a joke
Maybe that's a joke…
Vamp April 1, 2022, 3:09pm #17
CMAS April 1, 2022, 3:13pm #18
This is an April fools joke
tunamkol April 1, 2022, 3:25pm #19
Are you sure? I am convinced this is what Zac looks like.
Austrian001 April 1, 2022, 6:58pm #20
I know how zac looks like.
TheGlobalAviator April 1, 2022, 7:07pm #21
This is totally not an April Fools' joke.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Corner is a seven-block collection of bars, restaurants, bookstores, and night spots on University Avenue in Charlottesville, Virginia, extending from 12 Street Southwest to Chancellor Street. located across the street from the University of Virginia. It is bounded by Graduate Charlottesville on the east and Bank of America on the west.

While the university is in session, The Corner is especially active at lunchtime, when faculty, staff, and students adjourn there for the midday meal. Patrons of the Corner's sidewalk cafés can be found spending time over a good book or simply sipping coffee and people watching. Of the 67 businesses in the district, all but sixteen are locally owned, though there has been an increase in chain stores recently. The Corner is encompassed by a Charlottesville historic district, limiting redevelopment and demolition.

As of 2000, The Corner had 26 restaurants, eleven bars, three coffee shops, one hotel, and one apartment building.

History
The district was originally a literal corner, where the university's main entrance intersected with Three Chopt Road (now Main Street), which was the major route between Staunton and Richmond. UVa was established at a distance of a mile from Charlottesville, and was its own town by the name of "University." A significant commercial district developed to serve the needs of university students and employees, with a railroad stop, a post office, restaurants and shops. As downtown Charlottesville developed, followed by the corridor of Route 29 North in the mid-1900s, the Corner district came to consist more of small shops and bars, losing its movie theater, post office, train depot, etc.

References

Further reading
 Barefoot, Coy. "The Corner: A History of Student Life at the University of Virginia." Howell Press Inc.; Charlottesville, VA; 2001. .

External links
 History of the Corner
 Exploring the Corner

University of Virginia
Geography of Charlottesville, Virginia
Tourist attractions in Charlottesville, Virginia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Follow Andrew Harvey on Twitter
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About Andrew Harvey
Andrew Harvey's Archive
BY Andrew Harvey 10:51PM 10/30/2016
Sounders rout Dallas with 3 goals in 8 minutes
Nelson Valdez scored another game-winner, and Nicolas Lodeiro torched FC Dallas's back line fort two more as Seattle seized the initiative in the Western Conference semifinals with a 3-0 win Sunday night.
Nelson Valdez scored his second goal of the playoffs Sunday, sparking a rout of FC Dallas in the first leg of the west semifinals. / Jane Gershovich, Seattle Sounders
Nelson Valdez scored his second consecutive game-winning goal and Nicolas Lodeiro added two more as the Sounders erupted in the second half, beating FC Dallas 3-0 at home in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday. All goals came in an eight-minute window in the second half where Seattle's offense could do no wrong.
The result puts Seattle on the front foot to advance to the Western Conference finals after the away leg of the match-up plays out Nov. 6 (6 p.m., FS1) in Frisco, TX. Because road goals are the first tiebreaker, a lone goal for Seattle on the road will require a 5-1 Dallas victory to advance past Seattle.
That kind of score line is far from impossible, but the Sounders have heavily tipped the scales in their favor.
Valdez's goal came in the 50th minute, when Joevin Jones sent in a cross from the left alley. Valdez outjumped Dallas center back Maynor Figueroa, heading the ball past Chris Seitz for his second goal in as many contests.
His game-winning goal in the knockout round against Sporting Kansas City Thursday gave him new confidence.
"When you have not been able to score a goal in a long time, and then you score, it's like a mountain coming off of me, and I feel the pressure relieved," Valdez said through an interpreter. "Now is the moment to continue to make goals and continue to play well."
The confidence is well-deserved. With two playoff goals in a week and one last year, Valdez is tied for Seattle's all-time postseason goals record (along with Clint Dempsey, Osvaldo Alonso and Eddie Johnson).
Five minutes after the first goal, Jones sent a long through ball to Jordan Morris on the left wing. Morris blazed down the field as defenders gave chase, cutting in toward goal before serving up a slow roller to Lodeiro, who finished it off with a tap as he arrived from the right side.
In the 58th minute, Lodeiro bagged a second goal when he sprinted onto another long ball from Jones and went one-on-one with Seitz, beating the Dallas keeper to the open side of the goal.
Interim head coach Brian Schmetzer said he was proud of his team's ability to adapt to the challenges presented by FC Dallas, who claimed the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup this season.
"In the second half, our team made the necessary adjustments, but then they also made the necessary plays," Schmetzer said. "When you're trying to win an MLS Cup, you have to make plays. Valdez, Lodeiro, Morris, Jones, they made plays. And you follow that up by (defender) Zach Scott coming on and making plays, Chad Marshall, (keeper) Stefan Frei, they made plays at their end as well."
Frei recorded three saves, anchored by a defensive unit that was quick to pounce on Dallas's furtive attack. FC Dallas looked to be taking a defensive stance, playing a conservative 5-3-2 formation that struggled to connect passes in the attacking half.
The ability to start Valdez at striker allowed Schmetzer to push Morris to the left wing, with Friberg playing an attacking center midfield role as Cristian Roldan dropped back to play defensive midfield alongside Osvaldo Alonso.
Earlier in the year, similar attempts to deploy Morris on the wing failed as the rookie was still adjusting to the style and pace of MLS play, and had difficulty connecting with his teammates. Now, the man who seems a certainty for Rookie of the Year displayed the composure he has developed, neatly slotting passes and distending Dallas's efforts to keep its back line together.
Schmetzer, never one to count his eggs before they and the basket are locked within a mountainside vault, reminded his team after the game that the job was only half-done.
"The talk after the game was 'we're not done, we're not finished,'" he said. "That will be repeated throughout the week, because Dallas is a very dangerous team. We're not taking anything for granted. We're going to make sure that we're going to work hard and smart throughout the week to prepare because we understand what's going to happen.
"If we come down there saying we've already won, that would be a big mistake."
Wounded, Dallas still presents a significant threat. The Sounders operated Sunday without center back Roman Torres due to lingering injuries from the Kansas City match. His status is unknown for the road rematch.
If Seattle's attack can capture and distill the essence of that eight-minute stretch, they will prove formidable for any foe on the way to a shot at the MLS Cup.
Follow Andrew Harvey on Twitter at @_andrew_harvey
Buggy White
Can we remove the "interim" tag from head coach Brian Schmetzer now?
Jessicaeandrews2
Google is paying 97$ per hour! Work for few hours and have longer with friends & family! !mj229d:
On tuesday I got a great new Land Rover Range Rover from having earned $8752 this last four weeks.. Its the most-financialy rewarding I've had.. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don't check it
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giannisee
What a satisfying game. Hope we can do more of the same in Dallas.
One of the biggest offensive tears I've seen the Sounders rip off in their MLS history.
And it's another example of why MLS needs to re-evaluate its playoff format. All four top seeds face goal deficits, and the Supporters Shield winner could go home even if they get a 3-1 win. Very unfair.
Howard Wells
obviously a fan of "Supporters Shield" being the be all and end all of American soccer. However, that is not the way our league has chosen to go. The USA has an historically based need to have a playoff. We pride ourselves in being different from the rest of the world. it won't change! Deal with it! Have your team plan on being great at the end of the season. If your management can't figure that out…..ask to join a league anywhere else in the world.
I have zero faith in ownership being willing to"settle" on Schmetzer. How will Lagerway justify his salary if he has to hire the fans' choice, the one who worked the miracle turnaround, the connection to Sounders' history!
Meganmgarcia
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*Shipping cost is not included, please provide the payable FedEx account while auto-creating purchase orders.
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β cytokine superfamily, the protein is secreted as a 25 kDa disulfide-linked dimer . Circulating GDF-15 levels are associated with cancers, cardiovascular and kidney diseases [2-4]. GDF-15 regulates food intake, energy expenditure and body weight in response to metabolic and toxin-induced stresses .
The following standard curve is provided for demonstration only. A standard curve should be generated for each set of sample assay.
The lowest level of human adiponectin that can be detected by this assay is 3.9 pg/ml.
Intra-assay Precision (Precision within an assay) <10%.
Inter-assay Precision (Precision between assays) <10%.
 Bootcov M. R., et al. (1997) PNAS; 94:11514-11519.
 Welsh J.B., et al. (2003) PNAS;100:3410-3415.
 Wang T. J, et al. (2012) Circulation 126; 1596– 1604.
 Nair V., et al. (2017) J.Am. Soc. Nephol. 28 2223-2240.
 Hsu J-Y, et al. (2017) Nature; 550: 255-259.


Enjoy this delicious preparation with a main meal or take it with you for a healthy snack in the late afternoon. Be sure to give it plenty of time to digest after eating!
Slice sweet potato into 1/2 inch or thinner slices.
Lay on a glass or stainless steel baking dish.
Drizzle ghee over each piece.
Spread small amount of arame on each piece of sweet potato.
Bake in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes stab easily.


A good day for cut outs. Tools: Creativity and a good Eye Two No.11 XActo blades 110 lb. paper Cutting matt Graphite Eraser and a soft bristle brush estimated time: 1 hr. Concept a shape with a simple pattern, sketch lightly your design on cardstock/chipboard.
Lightly with graphite, design a pattern. Lines and shapes are endless, create one NOW.
Begin to cut out shapes.
Start in the center and gently erase graphite and brush off with bristle brush.
Never touch paper with fingers tips, this may smudge and smear your delicate work.
Be patient and keep your area clean.
Eyeing and improvising your work is key. Having a sharp No. 11 Xacto blade is a must. If your tip snaps, replace with a new blade immediately!
Add color paper, to emphasize cutout.
Congratulations you are finished and I hope you keep originality in mind.
pet me canine! feline guard.
marc jacob's , window display.
a true dive, oh my!


AR experiences in National heritage sites?
Could someone recommend National heritage sites (reachable within 1 hour from Edinburgh), which have used gamification, AR or VR or other interactive means to make visitors experience the history.
Hi @nuuluu The Battle of Bannockburn visitor centre is around 45 minutes from Edinburgh and offers an amazing hi-tech interactive experience. It's not to be missed. It totally brings the battle to life and you're fully immersed in medieval warfare. You also get to re-fight the battle to see if you can change history. Much to my disgust I led England to victory over Scotland when I visited. .


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Thomas Tuchel makes sense for Chelsea, and Christian Pulisic should be excited too
So Frank Lampard is out as Chelsea manager. And while the timing might seem strange — less than 24 hours before Lampard was fired on Monday, the Blues advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals — the decision to replace him, reportedly with Thomas Tuchel, wasn't. Not after the London club won just three of its last 10 Premier League games.
That's just how it goes at the sport's highest level, and at Chelsea in particular. Things change quick: Lampard was flirting with first place as recently as December, when just about everyone besides the manager himself was openly speculating that the Blues might even be a legitimate title contender after adding $300 million worth of new recruits during the summer transfer window to a squad that had finished a pleasantly surprising fourth in Lampard's debut season.
Tuchel, of course, knows all about the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately culture of the modern game. The German took Paris Saint-Germain to its first Champions League final last August and is considered one of the world's top young bench bosses, but that didn't stop PSG from sacking him last month and replacing him with Mauricio Pochettino, another universally respected up-and-comer who accomplished the same feat with Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 before he too was pink-slipped mere months later.
Tuchel's availability apparently was too tempting for famously impatient Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to pass up. Lampard's status as a club icon — he captained the Blues to their only Champions League title in 2012 — may even have bought him a few extra weeks. It was undoubtedly the reason Abramovich publicly commented on the news, something the Russian billionaire had never done after any of the 15 previous managerial changes since he assumed control of the club nearly two decades ago.
Thomas Tuchel is already familiar with Christian Pulisic, one of his best Chelsea players, from their time together at Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)
"This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him," Abramovich said as part of his statement.
Now, it's Tuchel's turn in the Prem's hottest seat. The 47-year-old is an ideal choice for Chelsea at this particular moment for a number of reasons, not least his familiarity with American star Christian Pulisic, whom he coached at Borussia Dortmund.
"For Christian I think the benefit is, if Tuchel is the coach, that he knows him very well," U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter, speaking Monday on a Zoom call with reporters, said in response to a question from Yahoo Sports. "He's coming in with a real good understanding of what Christian can do and his skill set. I think that's important. He also has seen Christian develop and improve over his time at Dortmund, and for Christian it's the familiarity with how he coaches, his coaching style, his communication style, and that's all helpful. There's not that uncomfortable period when you're getting to know the coach."
While the 21-year-old established himself as a consistent starter under Lampard in his second season after some early struggles, he has yet to rediscover the light-out form that made him one of the Premier League's most dangerous attackers at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. Tuchel gave a then-16-year-old Pulisic his professional debut at Dortmund. There's a level of trust there already, and the new coach figures to lean heavily on the U.S. men's national team frontman on and off the field at least in the early going — a responsibility that Pulisic will no doubt take seriously.
Abramovich will be hoping that Tuchel can also get a whole lot more out of his prized compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who have struggled mightily to adapt to the breakneck pace and physicality of the English game since moving from the Bundesliga. (Werner, who has scored just four times in 19 league matches, missed a penalty during Sunday's contest.)
Tuchel is only five years older than Lampard, but he boasts the sort of top-end experience that his predecessor quite obviously lacked when he was handed the Chelsea job after a single season at the helm of second-tier Derby County. He knows how to manage egos after coaching the likes of Neymar, Ángel Di María, Kylian Mbappé, Edinson Cavani and current Blues center back Thiago Silva in France. And he know he needs to win, and soon.
This isn't a long-term appointment. There's no such thing at Chelsea. After all, Abramovich sacked José Mourinho twice, the last time in 2015, not long after Mourinho won his third Premier League crown with the club. Tuchel's honeymoon will end eventually, too, perhaps in ugly fashion — he left both Dortmund and Paris after two years not because his teams imploded, but rather because he fell out with his bosses.
But in the "win right now" world we live in, Lampard's firing and Tuchel's hiring make plenty of sense. And in perhaps the most wide-open Premier League season ever, a few victories can thrust Chelsea right back into the mix — if not for silverware, then at least for one of four Champions League places. The mandate for Tuchel is clear. His clock is already ticking.
Super Bowl LV: Chiefs open as favorites over Brady, Bucs
Paylor: Super Bowl may define ceiling for Mahomes' career
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From GOAT QBs to COVID, five Super Bowl stories to watch
What's next for Joe Judge after unflattering report about Patriots assistant?
A recent report detailing the dysfunction in New England last season wasn't kind to Joe Judge. Will the Patriots assistant be back with the team next season, and if so, in what role? Our Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discussed on a new Patriots Talk Podcast.


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How to Become a Resource Parent in California
By Alternative Family Services / July 2, 2021
Key Steps To Becoming a Foster or Fost-Adopt Parent in California Steps on How to Become a Resource Parent in California How to Become a Resource Parent in California –…
What Makes the AFS San Francisco Emergency Placement Program Unique?
By Alternative Family Services / June 29, 2021
AFS partners with the City and County of San Francisco to run their Emergency Placement Program (EPP) that provides 24/7 on-call emergency care to San Francisco County children and teens 18 years…
How to Support the Education Needs of Transition Age Youth
As compared to other young adults, transition age youth (TAY) who have or will soon emancipate from foster care face enormous challenges, including how to pursue their educational needs. Many…
35 Foster Youth Homelessness Statistics You Should Know
By Alternative Family Services / May 25, 2021
Here are some key foster youth homelessness statistics that reflects upon youth in foster care who experience homelessness. National Foster Youth Homelessness Statistics 1. In the first four years after…
How Foster Care Works From Start To Finish
Here is an overview of how the foster care process works here in California, highlighting the main steps of foster care from removal to reunification, adoption, long-term care or emancipation.…
Foster Youth Education in California: What You Need to Know
Today, the state of foster youth education in the United States, including in California, is substandard. But, there are ways all of us can help children and youth in foster care get the education they deserve. By investing…


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06/29 – More Statesmanship, Less Leadership Please!
June 2019 / Feature Articles
Edward Kelly
Edward J Kelly
According to this model of adult development, less than 10% of our leaders have the developmental capacity to match the complexity of the issues they face, and that includes President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May. This mismatch, which gets resolved at the next stage in our or their development, looks more like statesmanship than leadership.
How much better off would we be to have statesmanship as our model of good leadership, rather than the more conventional, pragmatic and management orientated definition we have now? Such a more mature definition would start by asking, what is our vision and what contribution do we want to make, in its broadest sense? Vision for an organisation or a society is what intention is for us. It addresses the 'why' question; why are we doing what we are doing? Strategy comes next.
What structure or plan do we have to translate that vision into a reality? Then comes the implementation, the actual doing of what is required. Finally, there is the ongoing feedback, which tells us, whether we need to change what we are doing (single-loop), what and how we are doing it (double-loop) or what, how and why we are doing it (triple loop). More ethical, responsible, grown-up 'statesmanship as leadership' quite naturally integrates these four territories of experience (vision, strategy, implementation and feedback). Conventional leadership misses two of these; it confuses a strategy for a vision and responds to feedback by 'doubling up', we'll go on as we were because we said we would. Statesmanship transcends the doing to which it adds a vision to underpin it and an ongoing inquiry to ensure it remains on track.
In so many respects, it has never been a better time in history to be alive. Modernity has made us healthier, wealthier and living much longer. Modernity's gains however, have come at a cost. New issues have arisen that are global in origin and systemic in nature; globalisation, global climate change, global population expansion, global migration, human longevity, the threat of nuclear war, the disruptive impact of biotechnology and artificial intelligence and the absence of effective global governanceiii. None of these issues can be solved by nation states alone nor can they be fully appreciated from anything less than an Interdependent level of consciousness. Earlier stages simply don't get the interconnectedness of these things or if they do, they can't help but reduce them to their current level of consciousness. This doesn't show up in a lack of comprehension of the issues, but does show up in a lack of capacity to act in respect of them. Issues that are global and systemic in nature get reduced to what is local and personal and then we wonder why things aren't working out so well?
Unpalatable as it may seem, out of 18,000 surveys of leaders/managers/consultants in Europe and America over the past few decades, 34% profile at a Dependent level of consciousness (associated with Reactionary leadership), 56% at an Independent level of consciousness (associated with Pragmatic conventional leadership) and less than 10% at an Interdependent level of consciousness (associated with Transformative leadership). Why is this such a problem? Because the big issues we are facing are manifesting at a level of complexity beyond the capacity of our traditional and conventional leaders to respond. We experience this as a leadership crisis, but really it is a development crisis. Too many leaders in positions of power and influence are reducing complex interconnected issues to conventional pragmatic solutions when clearly more radical and transformative solutions are required (see figure 1).
Figure 1 Survey Results
Reactive, Pragmatic & Transformative Leadership
Stepping back a bit, what makes a leader's actions more Reactive, Pragmatic or Transformative? According to Adult Development Theoryiii there is a qualitative difference in mindset or worldview of someone operating from a Dependent, Independent or Interdependent level of consciousness. Our consciousness is ordinarily defined as our awareness or perception of something. "I wasn't conscious of that", we say, by which we mean there was something going on in reality that we weren't aware of. In that admission, we recognise the separation between us as the perceiver and what is being perceived. The perceived could be another person, event or situation outside of us, or an experience we are having internally or indeed some mix of both. Either way there is the 'who' that is doing the perceiving, which is us (our personality, background, knowledge, skill and experience), there is the 'how' we are perceiving it, our level of consciousness (i.e., the frame or tunnel through which we make meaning of it) and then there is the 'what' is being perceived, the experience itself (the event, situation or context we find ourselves in). Each of these is influencing the other, but they are also different. In looking through a developmental lens, we are focusing on the 'how', the frame or tunnel through which we make meaning of experience which in turn allows us to explore; 'how do we make sense or meaning of our experience (our consciousness), how does that evolve over time (our level of consciousness) and what impact does it have on our behaviour (our actions, on what we say and do)'?
According to this theory of adult development, there are seven possible stages in our development as adults with each successive one offering us a more expanded view of reality. For ease of use, these seven stages are reduced to three main levels of consciousness; Dependent (also known as a traditional level of consciousness), Independent (a conventional level of consciousness) and Interdependent (a post-conventional level of consciousness) (see table 1). What are the main differences? Very simply, a Dependent level of consciousness is mostly concerned with itself, an Independent level of consciousness with itself and others (our tribe, culture or society), an interdependent level of consciousness is concerned with itself, others and all of us (including the wider context and environment we share). Coming to an awareness of what level of consciousness we ordinarily operate from requires our ongoing observation and introspection. Models and methods of inquiry, such as the four-parameter development model used here, can be of assistance. The central questions are;
What 'perspective(s)' is/are motivating our actions? Are they coming from a subjective, objective or integrated perspective?
What awareness of 'time' is evident in our actions? Is there no awareness of time, a limited awareness of time (past and future) or a more integrated awareness of time (past, present, and future)?
How open are we to 'feedback' in our actions? Not open to feedback, open to feedback from others, or open to feedback from ourselves, others and the world around them (single, double or triple-loop)?
What does our action say about how we use our 'power' and influence? Is it a more unilateral use of power, bilateral or mutually transforming? (See table 1).
When this model is applied in leadership seminars, participants easily align the four capacities in a leader's actions (perspectives, timeframe, feedback, and power) to their stage of development. This in turn enables them to see how their level of consciousness is showing up in their behaviour and whether it is more Reactive, Pragmatic or Transformative. Reactive leadership for instance operates from a Dependent level of consciousness (known by the stages Opportunist, Diplomat and Expert, see Appendix 1) and has a 'capacity' for perspective-taking that is subjective, a timeframe that is immediate, where there is no obvious openness to feedback and that uses its power and influence unilaterally. Pragmatic leadership operates from an Independent level of consciousness (known by the stages Achiever and Redefining) and has a 'capacity' for perspective-taking that is pragmatic, a timeframe that is two-dimensional, an openness to feedback that extends to others and the world around them and that uses its power and influence bilaterally. Transformative leadership operates from an Interdependent level of consciousness (known by the stages Transforming and Alchemical) and has a 'capacity' for perspective taking that is integrated, a timeframe that is three dimensional, an openness to feedback to oneself, others and the world around them (triple-loop) and a use of power and influence that is mutually transforming, of oneself, others and situation one finds oneself in. The model is also illustrated in figure 2 following.
Four Development Variables over Three Levels of Consciousness
Trump, May & Mandela
Trump, May, Mandela
Applying this four-parameter model of development to the leadership behaviour of Donald Trump, Theresa May and Nelson Mandela, is one operating from a Dependent level of consciousness, another from an Independent level and still another from an Interdependent level or put another way, is one more Reactive, another more Pragmatic and still another more Transformative? At least according to the model, it is clear that Trump is operating from a Dependent or traditional level of consciousness which is associated with Reactive Leadership, May from an Independent or conventional level of consciousness associated with Pragmatic Leadership and Mandela from an Interdependent or post-conventional level of consciousness associated with Transformative Leadership. These are not however behavioural choices as their behaviour is emanating from the sense or meaning they ascribe to their experience and that in turn becomes the frame or tunnel through which their experience of reality is being processed. We or they might intellectually want to operate from a later stage of development, from say an Interdependent level of consciousness, but then in-action and under pressure, we and they automatically revert to whatever level of consciousness we/they ordinarily operate from.
With Donald Trump, for example, he has said, "I will build a great wall and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words". In this example, he exhibits a 'capacity' for perspective taking that is subjective, a timeframe that is immediate, no obvious openness to feedback and a use of power that is unilateral. This is consistent with someone who is framing their meaning from a Dependent level of consciousness (Opportunist, Diplomat, Expert), which underpins Reactive leadership.
With Theresa May she has said, "I do want us to have a customs agreement with the EU. Whether that means we must reach a completely new customs agreement, become an associate member of the customers union in some way, or remain a signatory to some elements of it, I hold no preconceived position". May's actions indicate a capacity for perspective taking that is objective, a timeframe that is two-dimensional, an openness to feedback that extends to others and the world around her and a use of power and influence that is bilateral. This is consistent with someone who is framing their meaning from an Independent level of consciousness (Achiever, Redefining), which in turn is associated with Pragmatic conventional leadership.
With Nelson Mandela he has said, "Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies". In Mandela's case, he illustrates a capacity for perspective taking that is integrated, a timeframe that is three dimensional, an openness to feedback from himself, others and the world around him (triple-loop) and a use of power that is mutually transforming, of himself, others and situation he finds himself in. This is consistent with someone who is framing their meaning from an Interdependent level of consciousness (Transforming, Alchemical), which in turn is associated with Transformative leadership.
Not sure Trump's actions align with Reactive leadership? In a recent Axios report, Trump displays his disdain for forward planning. Apparently inspired by Mike Tyson who liked to say, "everybody has a plan until they get punched in the nose", Trump added "we've just gotta fight every day and that's how we will win. We can plan all this stuff but it'll change. So let's not go through the effort"[1] By his own description he is reactionary. He has no particular vision for his Presidency, no strategy or timeframe within which to implement it and no consistent definition of what success is, "we've just gotta fight every day and that's how we will win". Developmentally, a reactive mindset is primed for action but in not being able to listen to others, and in overrating facts that it already agrees with, it places an unsustainable burden on its own reactions. This also makes such leaders very difficult to work with, reflected in Trump's case by the very high number of resignations or firings during his short presidency. It doesn't however mean that reactive leaders lack leadership competency, i.e., skills, knowledge, experience and ability to communicate with others, it just means their level of consciousness is limiting their capacity to see and experience more of what is actually going on in themselves, others and the world around them, particularly in themselves.
Not sure that May's actions align with Pragmatic conventional leadership? Writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper1, over two and a half years into the Bexit negotiations, May said that when she returns to Brussels, she will be "battling for Britain and Northern Ireland" and will seek a "pragmatic solution that delivers the Brexit that people voted for while ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland". Putting aside the "battling for Britain" language and whether it is necessary to use such confrontational terms with her EU 'partners', the fact that the majority of people in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU and whether the voters in the rest of UK were really all that clear about what Brexit they were voting for, May is by her own admission a pragmatist. Developmentally, a pragmatic mindset thrives in a conventional and ordered world but is much less comfortable in a rapidly changing one. Its strengths include; a strong sense of responsibility, a clear commitment to achieving an end result and a willingness to work with others to get things done. Its weaknesses, however, are that it fails to see how much of the objective world is created from its own internal map. In May's case, she doesn't have an vision for Brexit or at least not one that is her own. Recall that she voted to remain in the EU. What she has is a strategy, her red lines, which is no substitute for a vision. Having a vision enables us to truthfully answer the 'why' question, why are we doing what we are doing? Strategy comes after and focuses on the 'what' and 'how' questions, how are we going to implement this vision? When there is a discordance between these two, vision and strategy, as appears to be the case in May's situation, more strategy won't solve the problem.
Not sure that Mandela's actions align with transformative leadership? The example often given of Mandela's transformative leadership is the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final in South Africa. Mandela, as President, called on all South Africans to support the national team. With few exceptions however, rugby was played by the minority white population in South Africa. The majority non-white population didn't consider the rugby team to be 'their national team' at all. Risking the support of his followers and everything that he and they had fought for, Mandela single- handedly raised the bar for all around him. There are few more memorable moments in sport, so well captured in the film Invictus, than that of Mandela, wearing a South African Springbok jersey, handing the World Cup to Francois Pienaar, the Captain of the winning South African rugby team. In his actions, Mandela helped to unite the most divided of nations and provided a vision of hope for the future. He also demonstrated one of the most important aspects of Transformative leadership and that is a capacity to turn up in the present, free from past attachments and future projections, and respond to what is arising.
Warren Buffett and Jacinda Ardern
Conventional leaders may wonder whether all this inquiry and self-awareness is really necessary. Are there examples for instance of well-known business leaders or current political leaders who have developed themselves to an Interdependent level? Warren Buffett is one such example. In Buffet's case, there have been three major transformations in his career from Buffett the investor in the early years to Buffett the business leader in the mid-years to Buffett the elder statesman in more recent years. In each period, Buffett exhibits a very different kind of leadership behaviour; more Reactive in the Buffett the investor period, more Pragmatic in the Buffett the business leader period and more Transformative in the Buffett the elder statesman period. Each of these periods in his career are underpinned by a different level of consciousness; a Dependent level in the Buffett the investor period, an Independent level in Buffett the business leader period and an Interdependent level in Buffett the elder statesman period. Each of these in turn transcend and include the other so that Buffett is no less an investor because he became a business leader and no less an investor and business leader because he later became an elder statesman. It doesn't, however, work the other way around. The 'capacities' that Buffett developed as a leader/elder at the later stages were not available to him at the earlier stages. He was clearly the same person, with the same intelligence and temperament, but he hadn't developed himself to the point where his leadership was Transformative or would qualify for our definition of statesmanship.
Figure 3. Warren Buffett: Three Major Transformations
Crucially this kind of statesmanship is not determined by age alone. Age increases the chances that we will expand our consciousness, but it is no guarantee of it. Jacinda Ardern, for instance, New Zealand's Prime Minister, is only 38 years old and yet she has recently shown more statesmanlike leadership than many of her much older international colleagues. Her capacity to empathise rather than just sympathise with the Muslim community, to bring the rest of society with her as she took on gun control, so long seen in other countries as being too difficult to regulate, has inspired the world. Her Transformative leadership stands in stark contrast to the defensive and Pragmatic leadership of Therese May and the Reactive and incendiary leadership of Donald Trump. The difference is not one of personality or context though; it is one of development. Statesmanlike leaders like Jacinda Ardern, Warren Buffett and Nelson Mandela see and experience more of reality, in themselves, others and the world around them and are therefore more likely to lead in a timely, effective and sustainable manner.
The Elders and Buurtzorg
Also, it's not just individuals that can operate from a more expanded level of consciousness or awareness, organisations can too. For instance The Elders Climate Action group, a non-partisan movement of Elders in the US committed to changing national policy on climate, the B Team, a not-for-profit alliance of business leaders committed to helping the private sector redefine its responsibilities in the face of Climate Change and The Elders, a global network of experienced leaders set up by Nelson Mandela in 2007, are all exhibiting statesmanlike leadership in their actions. Take The Elders network, for instance, currently chaired by Mary Robinson. Their vision is for
a world where people live in peace, conscious of their common humanity and their shared responsibilities for each other, for the planet and for future generations.
We don't need to apply the four parameters of the development model to tell us how inclusive this kind of leadership will be, but if we did, we could see that their perspective-taking is integrated, their timeframe is multigenerational (three dimensional), their openness to feedback includes themselves, others and the world around them (triple-loop) and their use of power and influence is designed to be mutually transforming, of themselves, others and the situation they find themselves in, consistent that is, with an organisation framing its meaning from an Interdependent level of consciousness.
Another example is Buurtzorg, which stands for humanity above bureaucracy, an organisation that has transformed home care services in Holland. Started in 2006 by Jos de Blok and three others, Buurtzorg now employs 10,000 people. As described in an influential book by Frederick Laloux called Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness, their transformation has come from applying a new kind of organisational design that mimics how living systems work in nature. The technical term is autopoiesis, which refers to a system that is capable of replicating and maintaining itself. Such a system doesn't need a top-down leadership model as the people doing the work are in charge. As a challenge to conventional management theories of leadership, Buurtzorg has 10,000 employees and no managers.
Leadership in Buurtzorg is a concept, rather than a role, and is embedded in the structure of the organisational design itself. Everyone is a leader. How could that work? Well, by conventional measures it works very well; they are more profitable than their peer organisations, have a lower running cost, have higher client satisfaction and were voted the best place to work in Holland for five years in a row.
When we look through a developmental lens, such as the four-parameter development model used here, we gain new insights into how we are making sense or meaning of our experience (our consciousness), how that can evolve over time (our different levels of consciousness) and what impact our level of consciousness has on our behaviour. Using the model we engage in a first-person inquiry where we are the subject of our own research. Applied to others, such as Trump, May and Mandela, it shows that Trump is ordinarily operating from a Dependent (traditional) level of consciousness, Therese May from an Independent (conventional) level of consciousness and Nelson Mandela and others, Warren Buffett, Jacinda Ardern, Mary Robinson and Jos de Blok, from a Interdependent (post-conventional) level of consciousness. These different levels of consciousness in turn show up in the more Reactive behaviour of Donald Trump, the more Pragmatic behaviour of Therese May and the more Transformative behaviour of Nelson Mandela, Warren Buffett, Jacinda Ardern, Mary Robinson and Jos de Blok. It is clear from this inquiry how much our internal level of consciousness impacts our external behaviour.
How likely is it that we will expand our level of consciousness our awareness over time? Despite an overarching evolutionary drive to expand our consciousness or awareness, there is no guarantee it will occur and no time limit within which it may happen. Each stage in our development is experienced through its own ego-tunnel and its attachment to a set of underlying beliefs, attitudes, assumptions and self-images, which like old friends, we are loath to give up and which unlike old friends we may not even be aware of. Kegan & Lahey (2009) describe this as an immunity to change where even in the face of our desire to change, our immunity fights against us. Rather perversely, it even thinks it is doing us a favour, i.e., protecting us. Most adults nonetheless make the transition from a Dependent (traditional) level of consciousness to an Independent (conventional) one, particularly where the wider culture and society is supportive. Far few adults make the later transition from an Independent (conventional) to Interdependent (post-conventional) level of consciousness, which is much harder and harder still because the wider culture and society is much less supportive. What does that mean anyway it wonders? It is however at this Interdependent or post-conventional level of consciousness that we begin to loose our sense of separateness and gain an experience of our true nature as interconnected beings.
While we may not ordinarily know what an Interdependent or post-conventional level of consciousness looks like though, we do know what it feels like to be in the presence of statesmanlike leadership. We instantly recognise the capacity for self-awareness on the part of the leader, that greater sense of connectedness with others and the obvious willingness to pursue outcomes that are beyond the personal ambition of the leader or the group they represent. Using this model we can identify such leaders by their relative capacity for perspective taking, awareness of time, openness to feedback and use of power. This doesn't deny the importance of the leader's personality, background, knowledge, skills and experience or the impact of the event, situation or context they find themselves in. It's more to say that there is another internal process going that is not related to the leader's personality or circumstances that has responsibility for determining 'how' the leader makes sense or meaning of their experience, internally and externally.
How necessary is it that we try and develop this kind of statesmanship like leadership? Given the unprecedented and complex nature of the global issues that leadership faces, and the equally complex social and organisational life that many of us are experiencing, was there ever a time when we were more in need of this kind of grown up, selfless, statesman-like leadership and less in need of the more conventional, pragmatic and management orientated leadership that we are currently subject too? This is what is being missed in leadership; we are all equal, we are just not all equally evolved. More evolved leaders literally see more of what is going on in reality, in themselves, others and the world around them and are therefore better placed to make more consciousness, timely and sustainable decisions that benefit all of us. So next time you see your leaders grappling with a complex issue, apply this simple model and ask yourself, what level of consciousness are they operating from and how is that impacting their actions? Then apply it yourself.
My particular thanks to Mary Kelly-Borgatta, Grady McGonigal, Grattan Donnelly, Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter, William Torbert, Harrie Bannon, Mary Stacey, Nick Owen and Barry O'Brien for their comments on this article.
1 Sunday Telegraph, 3/02/2019
ii There are many sources for these observations about the complexity of the world we currently live
ii Does climate change care that we have borders between countries? Will the internet cloud wait for 195 countries to decide on what access their citizens should have? Does biotechnology concern itself with the ethical issues that arise from the fusing of inorganic materials and organic materials in our bodies? Does artificial intelligence care about the millions of jobs and communities that will be affected by robotics? What also of the commercialisation of our personal data and the drive to hack our brains and emotions? Who is thinking about this and taking responsibility for governing it? Of even greater concern, however, is what happens when one or more of these issues come together, the lollapalooza effect, as Charlie Munger calls it? Are we not seeing this already with the rise of reactionary politics in the US, UK and across Europe?
iii Adult development theory, or as it is known in the literature as Constructive Developmental Theory (Kegan, 1980), is a family of development theories that look at how we grow and develop our consciousness as adults. The particular theory that influences my approach is known as Developmental Action Inquiry (Torbert et al, 2004) which outlines seven distinct stages of growth in the self, known as Opportunist, Diplomat, Expert, Achiever, Redefining, Transforming, and Alchemical. The four parameters of each stage perspectives, timeframe, feedback and use of power are described by me in my doctoral research, Kelly (2011).
Dr. Edward Kelly is the founder of The Third Act (www.thethirdact.ie). He is also a member of an international network of leadership facilitators known the Action Inquiry Fellowship. If you would like the author or one of his colleagues to conduct a leadership seminar in your organisation, please contact us at edward@thethirdact.ie
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Gemini ruled by the planet Mercury (messenger of the Gods) is also referred to as the child of the zodiac. They are generally charming, playful, witty and are often great communicators. These makes them easily the life of any party.
A Gemini man is often characterized by a dual personality which often makes him a walking contradiction. He can be sweet and warm one second then suddenly cranky and moody the next.
He might declare his loyalty to you one day only to run off with the hot gym babe the next day. Even you manage to catch his fancy, he will still wander off in his quest for the next new experience. Don't fret though, as long as he has you in his heart, he will tire and get back to you, so get used to it.
Geminis are also known to move from one interest to the next in their quest for new experiences and adventures. He is known to have a difficult time deciding making him prone to having multiple relationships at the same time. Most of which by the way he may not take seriously.
He is ruled by his intellectual side, hence, emotional expressions are not his forte unless he has prominent water signs in his chart. He can be sweet but do not expect serious declarations of love. Therefore, saying 'I love you's is not one of those things one can expect from a Gemini male. This makes it hard to know whether a Gemini man is in love or simply being his natural flirty self.
For women who are dating a Gemini man, here are a few ways to find out if he is in love with you. It is not an easy task to know what is really in his heart.
1. He prefers to spend more time with you.
A Gemini guy loves freedom and variety. He seldom stays in one place and with the same company for too long. Like a butterfly, he prefers to flit from one group of friends to another.
If he spends time with a particular girl more than usual, she must have something that keeps drawing him back. Perhaps he likes her company too much or he could be in love.
2. He communicates more often than usual.
He love intelligent women and would even go for someone who is not that physically attractive as long as he believes that the other person is mentally stimulating to him. Being a great communicator, think that it is an honor if he zeroes in on a girl because this means that she is interesting to him.
If he loves talking to a girl all the time, that can mean that apart from simply picking her brain, this Gemini has narrowed down his choices and she is on top of the list. Love is therefore not far behind.
If a Gemini were an object, he is a mobile phone. He simply loves talking all the time, he is often always engaged in an animated conversation whether in person or over the phone.
If a girl is on his speed dial and he constantly checks on her every so often, it definitely means he is more than interested.
Catching his eye is one thing, but capturing a Gemini's attention for long is a totally different matter. Consider yourself lucky if one particular Gem guy call or messages you more often than not.
A Gemini normally does not want to be restricted in his movements and he is also not the jealous kind. However, he can be possessive in his own way which can be a sign that he wants you all to himself.
If he asks about who you spend most of your time with or what you do on a regular basis, he is not simply engaging in small talk. Once he gets a little possessive that is a sure sign that you may mean more to him than he would like to admit.
5. He opens up and shows his emotional side.
Since a Gemini is ruled by his intellect, he would rather be caught dead than reveal his emotions. He would rather hide his feelings rather than appear vulnerable to a new person.
If he has no qualms showing his emotional side to you, consider that one foot in the door of this Gemini's heart. Him opening up to you could mean that he likes you enough to let you in and see his vulnerability.


Fishing is all about patience. Once you've cast your line, all you can do is wait for a bite.
Fishing is all about patience. Once you've cast your line, all you can do is wait for a bite. Sometimes that doesn't happen right away, and you're left wondering where all the fish have gone - but sometimes you'll get a bite on your line immediately. Once you feel that familiar tug on the line, it's Go Time. After you've hooked a fish, you drop the rod and reel to your waist. For smaller fish, you can usually just suspend it in the air and grab it by the belly.
Whatever your technique might be, no one can deny the glorious feeling of catching a fish. Whether it's going back in the water or on your dinner plate, it's a rewarding feeling. But what happens when you do all the hard work, reel in the fish, and get robbed of your reward? Well, the man in the clip below knows that feeling. After reeling in a little fish and bringing it close, someone comes out of nowhere and snags the fish straight off the line. He never saw it coming!
Watch it all unfold down below, and then leave us a comment letting us know your thoughts. Did you see that coming? Or were you as surprised as the fisherman? If you enjoyed the video, be sure to share it on Facebook!