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Isabelle Seddon is a historian, author, theatre-lover, intrepid traveller, counsellor and volunteer. Isabelle has so many strings to her bow, driven by an innate desire to help people living on the edge of society. She is a member we admire for her boundless energy and enthusiasm for life.

I have been Principal of Brasenose College since 2015. It is small cohesive college founded in 1509 which is probably best known for PPE and law. We produced David Cameron, John Buchan and Michael Palin along with many others.

But, maybe you’re struggling with being a “Modern Elder”? I asked myself this question when I joined Airbnb as an in-house mentor to the young co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky. I was a long-time hotelier hired to help them become a global hospitality brand.

My prediction is that over the next five years or so, a number of our local high streets (which we have ignored – even despised – for at least two generations), will once again start to become the centre of local living – perhaps even becoming cool.

In a former professional existence, I was a BBC foreign affairs reporter. I spent a number of years in the Middle East, but upon returning to London I was again deployed to various international destinations to cover the news stories of the day.

When I was a little boy, I used to play with a desert helmet. It belonged to my Uncle Herby. He also gave me a picture book, which a comrade had written. It was about desert ant princes and princesses. When I was older, Herby, would play cricket with me.

Trust me, this isn’t what I had in mind. As the unofficial “godfather of the Slow Movement,” I’ve spent the last 15 years traveling the world to sing the praises of slowness. Urging people to reconnect with their inner tortoise. Calling for deceleration on a global scale.