Every person in the UK who reads newspapers/ watches TV/ listens to the radio/ accesses any digital news must be aware of the tragic, appallingly mismanaged case of Ashya King and his family.The Prime Minister has commented in a personal capacity, and there has been near unanimous support for the family from across the media… Continue reading adding to the many comments about ashya king…
robin williams & other things
I woke and heard the news about the death of Robin Williams with a sinking heart. For me, and I am sure many other manic depressives, it was doubly distressing. Distressing not only on the individual level – the loss of an extremely talented man, the loss of a husband and father – but also… Continue reading robin williams & other things
wars
I turned on the radio this morning and was immediately reminded by radio 4 that it was the centenary of the start of WW1. Unwilling to hear the Establishment slant on the ‘commemorations’ (somewhere along the line it has sensibly been decreed that celebration is perhaps not the appropriate word) I switched to 5 Live,… Continue reading wars
relativity
I have felt silenced by the twin horrors on 17th July of Israel’s invasion and bombardment of Gaza, and the shooting down over Ukraine of the Malaysian Air plane. Hundreds of people have died in both situations, in Gaza mostly Palestinians, and in Ukraine mostly Dutch. The media of course have not been silent –… Continue reading relativity
history & humiliation
I had an interesting discussion last week about what blogs are about – the context was a challenge about writing about historical issues on my blog (‘losing a baby’). My challenger stated that blogs must be about contemporary matters, not that which is in the past. I think that she is wrong. The first online… Continue reading history & humiliation
Rolf Harris and other thoughts
The conviction of Rolf Harris yesterday seems to have hit a nerve in today’s society – more so than the earlier convictions coming out of ‘Operation Yewtree’. I think it is something to do with the fact that, in his own words, he came across as a ‘touchy, feely sort of person.’ Until yesterday those… Continue reading Rolf Harris and other thoughts
treating causes not symptoms
It is a good general principle to treat the cause rather than the symptom, although in modern medicine we seem to spend more and more times and money treating symptoms whilst acknowledging, but refusing to deal with, the causes. However what spurred me to write the previous post ‘losing a baby’ was listening to the… Continue reading treating causes not symptoms
losing a baby
I walk down the corridor and turn the corner – and stop. Outside the room stand an official looking woman and a uniformed policeman. What have I not been told? ‘Who are you? Why do you want to go into the room?’ The questions are blunt, and whilst not hostile, certainly not friendly. I feel… Continue reading losing a baby
British values?
Obama to send 300 military advisers into Iraq. Suarez claims winning goals are retribution. Gove’s British values defined. Worldwide numbers of refugees exceeds 50 million. MP tweets desire to punch (female) journalist. Private schools’ head start in sport. Pope says don’t legalise drugs; UK religious leaders unite on FGM Down and almost out – what… Continue reading British values?
the NHS & the welfare state
I read a tweet this morning ‘one question from my doctor saved my life’. I didn’t have time to follow up on it, but my immediate thought was ‘one hug from my psychiatrist saved my life’. Last night I was at a meeting of a local 38 degrees group that is concentrating on the NHS… Continue reading the NHS & the welfare state
crackedmirrors and angelpie 