There is a pot of jam that has been in my fridge a very long time. It’s delicious, Bonne Maman. It’s full flavoured, blue black, firm and smooth. Blackcurrant jelly. So why haven't I eaten it? The problem is the label. The label says it’s Gelée Framboises. There is no way this jam is made from raspberries. I know I should be able to ignore the label and simply enjoy the taste but instead I find I’m suspicious. I’m not really sure I can trust it. I’ve noticed the same [...]
Bullies have been on my mind lately. A few weeks ago we had the headline in the Guardian about a ‘bullying culture’ in universities. I work in this sector, so the story was both interesting and familiar and prompted me to a direct marketing campaign – I can help employers with this kind of problem. Next I conducted a mediation where both parties were complaining about being bullied by the other. This isn’t as unusual as it sounds. My job (successful in this case) was to help each party hear [...]
I heard a programme on the Radio 4 recently about humiliation. It told the story of a boy who grew up poor. His mum had found a fabulous jacket in a jumble sale, which the boy adored. All his friends wanted to know where he'd got it, so he'd made up a story about a rich uncle in the States. Then one day, fetching a ball from neighbouring flats, a kid shouted out why's that boy wearing my jacket? The kid's mother yelled back that she'd donated it to a [...]
Last night I went to the wrong film. A lapse of concentration at the ticket office meant that I saw a film call Won’t You Be My Neighbour instead of Three Identical Strangers. Kind of linked in broad idea, I guess, (if I am being kind to myself). Both documentaries, so at least the same genre. It's not as if I set of to see PS I love you and ended up in Mad Max Fury Road. I realised the mistake about ten minutes in. I felt disappointment and a [...]
