July 8th may go down as a landmark day in my life. A five-hour operation to remove a sizeable chunk of the right side of my body cannot go unnoticed and/or ignored. Now, weeks later, I’m feeling fine and continue to defy the expectations of every specialist I’ve seen. What I can say, though, is […]
Psychology
- Psychology
- ...
Sorry Mum, I Think Dad’s Had Sex With Someone Else Again
You learn a lot of things watching television and reading newspapers. I’ve just finished watching the first series of Doctor Foster, a BBC drama series featuring a rather elegant senior GP and her mug of a husband. She would have forgiven him having a sex affair with a twenty-three-year-old dumb blond – an affair that […]
- Internet
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Facebook – 50 Shades Of Grey (Disintegrating) Matter
I don’t want to judge millions of people who absolutely swear by Facebook. I’m not even arguing with those who get a kick out of insulting others they don’t even know. I suppose it’s my fault – I mistook a boy for a girl, and then criticised him because he posted a video saying that […]
- Psychology
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And What Was I Doing When I Was Fifteen?
It’s a legitimate question that I must ask myself before I reprimand my rebel son for the umpteenth time. What was I like, when I was fifteen? I reflect on this conundrum as soon as my son finished his dinner – in under ten minutes – half-hanging from the table chair, and having cursed the […]
Our Biggest Weakness Is To Think We Are Invincible
Weakness, is thinking of oneself as invincible. – Roberto Saviano Exactly one month ago, I started cancelling appointments at my dental practice, following advice from the Dutch dental association to only treat acute emergencies, and avoid patients who have been tested positive for the coronavirus or who present symptoms, like the plague. We are […]
- poetry
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Reflections (1) – Gazing Into A Mirror
Sitting opposite you, I have the unnerving impression of gazing into a mirror, Where the reflection of my face is conspicuously absent. We are so obviously different, you and I. But at the same time, we are mirror images. We have, dare I say, the same differences. We run away from the shadows belonging to […]
- Health
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Peleton Loses $1.5bn Because Feminists Hate Exercise Bikes
Here I go again, trying to find trouble where trouble is to be found. In the same way I will continue to defend Sint Nikolaas and Zwarte Piet as if my life depended on it, I’m going to defend the right of beautiful women to exercise in their own living room. Come on, have you […]
Virtual Reality – Why I’m Giving Up On Facebook
It is a cruel world sometimes and it makes no difference whether the world is virtual or not. Human perceptions, emotions and misunderstandings may have found new freedoms within the virtual reality of cyberspace but retain their potency within the confines of the human brain. The last event that tilted the balance in favour of […]
- Brexit
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The Day Theresa May Insulted My Identity
Never underestimate the power of words because their psychological impact can be quite disturbing. The day after the EU referendum I felt, like many, that my whole world had changed. Having been born in the UK where I obtained my professional qualification, moved to France in 1984 and living in the Netherlands since 1999, my […]
- Psychology
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Twitter And Fowl Language
Brexit instigator Arron Banks’ tweet where he jokingly writes that climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, is not exempt from a sailing accident whilst crossing the Atlantic on a “zero-emission” yacht, is yet another example of how public figures use Twitter to send the world messages that are both obnoxious and irrelevant. Banks insists that he […]