Eventually published as: WHO'S WATCHING YOU? Marie Claire Magazine, February 2009 When you read about high magnitude stars like Gwynneth Paltrow or Catherine Zeta-Jones being stalked in the dead of night you might think to yourself: 'Thank God, it's not me!' Sadly, Marie-Claire reader, I have...
Are you young at heart or ancient in the ways of love? Shakespeare's seven ages of man infant, child, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon and mere oblivion were derived from the seven "planets" of medieval cosmology, each of which governed its own sphere of influence. This...
Published by The Independent Newspaper For most of us consummation is the peak of pleasure and devoutly to be wished. But many lovers are anxious they won't measure up to their partner's expectations. The worst cases of non-consummation end up in court because to this day...
PUBLISHED MARIE CLAIRE MAGAZINE as WHY FATHERS MURDER THEIR CHILDREN, SEPTEMBER 2008 On the night of November 27th, 2005, Gavin Hall woke his three-year old daughter Millie and gave her some antidepressant pills to swallow. He cuddled her close, and then he soaked a rag in...
Published by Marie Claire Magazine September 2008 In April 2008 the world was astonished to learn of the depraved behaviour of a father called Josef Fritzl who had just been arrested in the small town of Amstetten in Austria. The legal charges brought against him almost...
I'm 32 and still feel like I haven't found my direction in life. I constantly feel dissatisfied and can't recall the last time I was truly, deeply happy. I'm currently in a relationship with a lovely man but I'm increasingly at risk of sabotaging it...
Published 2007. My father belonged to the old school, stiff upper lip brigade of men who 'never complained, never explained'. I think it killed him. He went from being a hale countryman who walked the entire cliff paths of Cornwall one year to a frail heavy-breather...
Published The Times – November 4th 2006 Five main mental health charities have announced their support for an expansion of NHS psychotherapy. But is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy the best investment? An ideological struggle has broken out between two of our leading ‘happiness thinkers’ about whether the claims...
Commissioned by The Times A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL Turning 60 represents both a biological achievement and a psychological threat. On the one hand you realise you are a survivor. Several of your contemporaries will already be dead. Perhaps a lover with whom you once enjoyed the greatest...
Published the Times 23rd April 2005 Habemus papam! We have a new pope - a man of mature values ministering to a large flock who is joyfully feeding the faithful. Having served loyally for a decade behind the scenes to bring order out of mediocrity he is now...