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Farmers Weakly
Farmers WeaklyThere’s an old joke about a group of procrastinators on a demonstration march. The cry goes up:“Whaddawe want?”“Procrastination…”“When do we want it?”“Er….later?” I was reminded of this as several thousand angry farmers descended on London last week, ostensibly to protest at the government’s change of policy on inheritance tax. Where previously, agricultural land was exempt from…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Secretaries
Lest anyone think our new-ish Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, is turning out to be a bit confrontational, spare a thought for the people of America, as Robert Kennedy Junior is appointed their new Secretary of US Health and Human Services (HHS). Following his announcements about shaking up the NHS with his Ten Year Plan, this week, Streeting chose the NHS Providers’…
Read MoreEscape from the Chateau
Insight has been indulging in a little schadenfreude this week, along with the red tops, Daily Mail and, significantly, the broadsheets. That a TV darling turns out, off-camera, to be a monstrous bully, pervert, drug addict or all three is nothing new. Think Clarkson, John Leslie, Frank Bough, Rolf Harris. It’s a long list. But, news…
Read MoreBearing prevention in mind
The start of this week brought us the sobering news that a record 420,000 children and young people in England are receiving treatment for mental health problems. It’s a crisis that we know has been complicated and exacerbated by Covid, and adults haven’t been immune either: research carried out by the charity Mind last year…
Read MoreAnother fine mess
There has been much confusing and conflicting information about food this week. Cancer Research UK projects that over 42 million UK adults “will be overweight by 2040”. This is hot on the heels of the government’s decision to kick its £100 million programme to tackle obesity into the long grass. Many may concur with Lord…
Read MorePastures new
Living on a farm meant that the year was punctuated by various events which defined a particular season. One such was the release of cows and calves from their winter quarters to a summer pasture. After four months’ wallowing in a gloomy barn, the normally docile beasts celebrated their freedom by charging around the field in a…
Read MoreOxbridge, Uxbridge and umbrage
Our local shop displays a greeting card that reads “Daddy – how will I know if someone’s a vegan?”, to which the dad replies, “Don’t worry… they’ll soon tell you…”. It’s a nice bit of dry British humour – unless you are an easily offended vegan. Try substituting vegan with “been to Oxford or Cambridge”.…
Read MoreSpud-u-like?
A business venture has taken Insight to Europe this week. It’s been a while. In the two years or so of contagion, travel constrictions and a general closing down of everything we took for granted, there’s been the odd sneaky trip to some Greek sunshine. But I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed the feeling…
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