Health
Why must B&B guests give us advice?
‘You could mow all this lawn here and it would look a treat,’ said the arborist, returning from a stroll…
Must my fish and chips come with a side of geopolitics?
‘Our boys went to Lebanon and trained Hezbollah!’ shouted the drunk Irish lad in the fish and chip shop as…
Should we give weight loss jabs to children?
I have seen the future of food. And some of you won’t like it. On a research trip to the…
Speed traps are designed to make you fail
The builder boyfriend returned from a trip to London to inform me he was being done for speeding at 32mph,…
The £486 driving licence con
By changing the address on my driving licence, I was somehow signed up to something that began charging my credit…
Aren’t women wonderful?
The mole specialist was wearing a pink Chanel-looking suit and pink diamanté shoes. By mole specialist, I don’t mean someone…
In defence of benzos
In the latest series of The White Lotus – a moral fable about the narcissism and toxicity of the privileged…
Is it time to clean up my act?
I was having a drink in the Bishops’ Bar in the House of Lords last month when I was introduced…
I was convinced by the cholesterol sceptics
It’s never a good thing when your cardiologist sounds alarmed on the phone. Come in tomorrow, he said: we’ll get…
The highs and lows of Dry January
The first week of Dry January was relatively easy. Not falling asleep in front of the television was a pleasant…
How real is your ADHD?
Why does everyone suddenly seem to have ADHD? It’s a question that many of us working in mental health have…
A year to forget: good riddance to 2024
January. When the assisted dying bill comes in, I’ll be first in the queue. Non-stop nosebleeds, Covid-esque symptoms, leg cramps,…
Why didn’t I read the comments sooner?
I adhere to a pretty iron-clad rule: not only do I avoid the bumper cars of social media, but I…
Wild Wes: Streeting is causing trouble for Starmer
Avote on assisted dying was supposed to be one of the easiest reforms for Keir Starmer’s government. To many, including…
The appalling truth about London’s ambulance service
‘An old lady’s fallen down – quick! She’s bleeding. Come help.’ An elderly woman lay on the entrance steps of…
Is Wes Streeting the Hamlet of the health service?
Is Wes Streeting the Hamlet of the Health Service? Is this undoubtedly talented and thoughtful young Labour prince fatally irresolute…
What rats can teach us about the dangers of overcrowding
The peculiar career of John Bumpass Calhoun (1917-95), the psychologist, philosopher, economist, mathematician and sociologist who was nominated for the…
Whatever happened to Lionel Shriver?
For many readers, my absence from these pages may have gone unnoticed. Those few who’ve detected my disappearance might have…
The adult ADHD trap
I was on the bus recently and bored when I decided not to ignore but to answer one of those…
How much do we spend on workwear?
The first nimby Who coined the term ‘nimby’? — The expression, from ‘Not In My Backyard’, entered the political sphere…
The anxiety-inducing world of wellness tech
I first came across the Zoe programme when a bright yellow package arrived on my parents’ doorstep last year. My…
How would we handle an avian flu pandemic?
Concerns have been raised in recent months after an outbreak of avian flu caused by the virus H5N1 was detected…
Rishi’s smoking ban inspired me to light a cigarette
What has Rishi Sunak’s government achieved in its first year? The highlights include a renegotiated Brexit policy and setting more…
