Blog
Why does government refuse to regulate Botox?
While the government plans to regulate alternative and complementary therapists, should it not also offer a similar scheme for the treatment of Botox? The government has refused to regulate botox treatment, ignoring a recommendation from the Expert Working Group on...
Desperate Iraqis sell their children
Families are not only been ripped apart by death and destruction in war-torn Iraq, but have resorted to selling their children, according to this disturbing Aljazeera report. It is feared that children are being trafficked for the sex trade and the organ transplant...
Two portraits of a gay icon and mad arsonist
Whenever I visit one of my friends, my head instantly swivels in one direction - to the two fabulous drawings on each side of her fireplace. I find them so captivating. But then the subjects are two very extraordinary men. Full marks if you have identified them as the...
Divorce by text message
Would it have made any difference if Iqbal Abul Nasr had answered a missed phone call from her husband? Would he still have sent her a cruel text message stating: “I divorce you because you didn’t answer your husband.� I doubt it. In line with Shaira law, men do...
The magic of swans
There is something very magical about swans, particularly this time of the year when thousands of graceful Bewicks and Whoopers migrate from Arctic Russia and Iceland to spend the winter at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Welney, close to where I live. When two...
A generation of sickees
There are more young people under 35 unable to work because of stress and depression than on the dole, according to today's FT. The report says that more than half a million young Britons are officially too sick to work and claim incapacity benefits. This figure...
Twitter helps find missing girl
I use Twitter and think it is a great micro-blogging service. And now it has been credited with finding a missing runaway 16-year-old girl, Manessa Donovan, believed to have been with a 38-year-old man. This is what her family says: In truth, the search had stalled...
Sexism and the police force
I've no idea how many women firearms officers we have in our police force at the moment. Very few, it may seem, because "macho" endurance tests prevent them from promotion into specialist units. Cambs Chief Constable Julie Spence is president of the British...
Have you tried a detox plan?
I thought I would try it out to give my diet a good start - detox for a month. My version means no alcohol or caffeine for a month. Starting today. I have to make this commitment here to ensure I see it through. I have never taken such drastic measures before, but I...