Escape 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…

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Bearing 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…

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Another 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…

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Pastures 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…

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Oxbridge, 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”.…

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Spud-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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Learn. Extra. Words.

There’s a great cartoon depicting a therapist asking a patient (laid out, naturally, on a chaise longue) “So, if I understand it correctly, you’ve become so obsessed with Wordle that you can only use five letter words…?” To which the patient replies, “Quite right sadly…”. The conversation continues in a similar vein with the patient signing off with,…

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Support your local Sheriff

Forever on the search for new material for our readers, Insight attended a rather different ceremony last week. The occasion was the declaration of a nearby county’s new High Sheriff. If being familiar (literally) with the bearer of the title was one thing, understanding what a High Sheriff is or does is another.  It turns out that the Office…

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