Good Friday – put at risk by an act of folly ++ Truss, the ‘human hand grenade’

The Good Friday agreement – ‘one of the great achievements of the turn of the century’ – brought to an effective end nearly thirty years of violence in Northern Ireland. The UK attorney- general Suella Braverman is now accusing the EU of putting the peace process at risk by holding the Johnson government to the … Read more

Sigmund Freud – resolutely earth bound

Sigmund Freud’s thinking had a profound effect on the 20th Century, becoming embedded in literature and movies as well as across the psychological field. Credited as the founder of psychoanalysis, he had a professional partnership then disagreement with Jung with both going their separate ways as egos and theories clashed.  Both were ambitious men keen … Read more

Carl Jung – an influential thinker with glaring faults

Carl Jung left a profound mark on the 20th Century, imprinting his ideas and theories across a wide field of psychology, anthropology, archaeology, literature, alchemy, the paranormal and religious studies. He focused on individuation, the process of integrating the opposites, the conscious and unconscious, and left behind important concepts like archetypes, the collective unconscious, extraversion … Read more

Mother Teresa – putting suffering on a pedestal

Mother Teresa, a global icon of compassion with an empire of orphanages for the poorest of the poor, who pulled favours from presidents, attracted a celebrity following, and raised hundreds of millions a year in charitable donations, was never the exalted saint she appeared. She won the Nobel Peace Prize, was canonised after her death … Read more

Naomi Judd – a troubled family saga

Naomi Judd, the country singer, half of a successful duo with her daughter Wynonna, and mother also of actress and #MeToo activist Ashley Judd, has died. The family story is a  smorgasbord of talent, triumph, sexual abuse, broken relationships, drugs and mental illness. Naomi herself underwent years of psychiatric hospital treatments,   pharmaceutical drug poisoning, and … Read more