The unhappy saga of Bishop Peter Ball has dragged Prince Charles into an unwelcome spotlight. Ball was cautioned in 1993 for indecent assault (which means he gave a clear admission of guilt) on much reduced charges after considerable establishment pressure; and finally pled guilty in 2015 to the abuse of 18 young men … Read more
Wilmer Valderrama was at Demi Lovato’s side in hospital after her overdose (see previous post) before she moved home to her family away from LA. They were an item for six years before splitting in 2016 and she evidently regards him as a solid friend. He’s an actor, producer, singer and television personality, … Read more
Scandale at the Elysee Palace for light relief from political angst and torment elsewhere. President Emmanuel Macron took the extraordinary step of denying that his disgraced security chief and bodyguard Alexandre Benalla was his lover or had access to nuclear codes as a jokey riposte to internet rumours. Benalla was sacked after a … Read more
Ellie Soutter, one of the UK’s best up and coming snowboarders, a medal winner last year and just selected for the Junior Championships in New Zealand has tragically committed suicide on her 18th birthday. Born 25 July 2000, she was a Sun Leo opposition Neptune, with two other oppositions in her chart of … Read more
Singer and actress Demi Lovato is in hospital after a suspected drug overdose. She has openly spoken of her struggles with depression, bulimia, self-harm, drug abuse and alcoholism. Born 20 August 1992 at 6 am (unverified) Albuquerque, New Mexico, her parents split when she was two and her musician father appeared to have … Read more
Olly Robbins, the civil servant leading the Brexit negotiations and answering directly to No 10 is now more firmly ensconced than ever as Theresa May takes over the reins. The assumption being she will be pushing for a soft Brexit with Davis and Johnson out of the Cabinet. Born 20 April 1975 he’s … Read more
Seymour Hersh, one of the giants of US journalism has published his memoirs ‘Reporter’ to generally rave reviews. John Le Carre talks of his ‘low cunning and tireless legwork, warmth and humanity.’ He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his exposé of the massacre in My Lai, Vietnam when US soldiers massacred 109 … Read more
Trump isn’t the only one agitated about Iran. Israel is watching with concern as Assad’s army, including troops of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, now wearing Syrian army uniform, are advancing towards the border with the Golan Heights. The assumption is that Assad doesn’t want a confrontation with Israel but Iran and Hezbollah who are … Read more
A spectacular Total Lunar Eclipse this Friday will be the longest-lasting of recent times and deep red. Known as a blood Moon, it gains its hue from the light of the sun behind behind bouncing off the earth and reflecting back onto the Moon’s surface. In ye olden days there were regarded as … Read more
‘Love and Ruin’ is a new novel about Martha Gellhorn, the writer and war correspondent, and her relationship with Ernest Hemingway which sparked up during the Spanish Civil War and led to a brief marriage (his fourth). She was a major figure in the 20th Century with an instinct for being at the … Read more