I have been struggling this past week to get my head around the recent Germanwings aviation tragedy. The fact that a plane crashed with the loss of 150 lives is bad enough, but with detail now emerging about the likelihood of what happened that morning, I'm finding the awful truth of this incident really hard to engage with. It raises so many important issues, both professionally and personally. I have wanted to write about it before now, but I have felt a bit overwhelmed and

It's Halloween tonight - love it or hate it, this creepy festival is here to stay. It’s funny how it has changed and gathered momentum since I was younger (“when I were a lad…”). I really don’t remember it being such a big deal as it clearly has now become. In part I suspect this has something to do with our friends over the other side of the Atlantic – Halloween is HUGE in the States, and it is fair to say that their infectious energy for this festival has caught on here.

This morning, I was deeply saddened to read about the death of the US comedian and actor, Robin Williams, in an apparent suicide. I was aware that Williams has had his personal issues, but not to the extent that he would take his own life. It is probably true to say that the personality traits that made him famous in the first place have played a role in his decline, behaviour and frame of mind. This is a tragedy for his family, and he will be sorely missed by legions of f