Words that can hurt you truly badly and acutely can only come from someone who knows you very well: a confidant, a very close friend, or – most often – your spouse. While being close to someone has many obvious benefits, it also makes you exposed and vulnerable. This is the risk we must take and the price we must…
Questions have been asked of people aspiring to be our political representatives and leaders. Over the last few weeks, finding politicians giving straight answers has been virtually impossible. The “art” of deflection and avoidance has reached new heights (in their eyes) or new lows (for the rest of us). The obvious purpose of this is to curry favour with the…
Those who follow the European Football Championship have already heard a great selection of national anthems played before the kick-off and – most of the time – sung with great passion by the team’s supporters. In fact, the fans’ performance can be the sole impressive part of the game, as we saw at Scotland’s opening game against Germany. The peculiar…
How was the party? Yesterday was the king’s birthday. Did you know that? I only knew because it was shown in my digital calendar; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a clue. Although we live in a country called the United Kingdom and have a hereditary monarch as the head of state, we all know that his political power is pure…
“It’s not you, it’s me” is often used when a couple splits up. On the face of it, it’s intended to soften the blow as the acting party takes the blame. But in reality, it means: “It’s you, not me. You haven’t met my expectations and standards, or you have disappointed me one way or another.” Most people instinctively blame…