The Critical Commentator

                                    Health Craze in USA Portait of an Old Woman ,  unknown artist Photo Credit: South Lanarkshire Council [CC BY-NC-ND] The American drugs regulator has warned against a health craze in which people are injected with blood plasma from teenagers in the hope of slowing the ageing process and tackling degenerative diseases.  Some clinics across the country claim that these plasma transfusions can treat memory loss, tackle dementia, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease and even help people with post-traumatic stress disorder. The cost? Ambrosia Medical, in San Francisco, offered transfusions of 1 litre of plasma for $8,000. However, there is almost no scientific evidence to suggest the procedure works in humans. In 2017, a clinical trial found that transfusions of young blood to 18 patients with Alzheimer’s did nothing to treat the disease. S...

                                        People An Oyster Supper ,  Horatio Henry Couldery (1832-1910) Photo Credit: Nottingham City Museums [CC BY-NC] Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel, died in February. He had a seven-year-old cat named Choupette. Apparently, it was Lagerfeld’s great love and it is said he would have married her if the law allowed.  He flew her everywhere by private jet, gave her diamond necklaces, allowed her to eat from Goyard plates at the table – she likes, “a little bit of caviar” – and hired on her behalf, an on-hand medical adviser, a bodyguard and two ladies in waiting, Francoise and Marjorie. “They play with her, they have to take care of her beautiful white hair, the beauty treatments for her eyes, and they entertain her,” Lagerfeld explained. ( Before his death, I might add. ) (Deborah Ross, The Times, 2019) Would I li...

                                                   Sport Scott Wisemantel, the England attack coach explained how they prepared their wing, Jonny May, for the game against Wales. Abstract Shapes , Madge Gill (1882-1961) Photo Credit: London Borough of Newham [CC BY]  “We periodise Jonny’s week as the Ferrari. So the Ferrari gets put in the garage, we put the covers on the Ferrari and give it a good grease and oil change and that is how we periodise Jonny’s week and it gives him a really good visual for his week. He is extremely detailed with his preparation.” (The Guardian, 2019) Mumbo jumbo. In the actual game the Ferrari got battered (concussed) and had to leave the field for repairs. Will May remember the “really good visual?” Time will tell. Abolishing Private Schools The Schoolmaster , Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) ...

                                                            Obituary                             The Obituary, in The Times , 2019, of the actor Albert Finney. The Order of Knighthood Conferred on Don Quixote by the Inn Keeper  Robert Smirke (1753-1845)  Photo Credit: Tate [CC BY-NC-ND] …What was undeniable, however, was that he was considerably less infatuated with fame and acclaim than some of his more ruthlessly ambitious peers… Finney twice turned down the Queen – or at least her government representatives – in declining a CBE in 1980 and a knighthood 20 years later. Finney remarked: “The ‘Sir’ thing perpetuates one of our diseases which is snobbery and helps to make us ‘quaint’ of which I’m not a great fan.” Nominated for an Oscar five times...

                             Designer Water Bottles Still Life with Bottles, Roderic O'Conor (1860-1940)  Photo Credit:Tate [CC BY-NC-ND] The designer water bottle has become the latest smug status symbol among the sun-saluting athleisure-loving set, dethroning the green juice and the underarm yoga mat…being spotted with single-use plastic on your person is a serious blot on your reputation. The reusable water bottle, however, has just the right message. I’m healthy-living, environmentally aware and on trend. For the right bottle, no price tag is too high. Julia Roberts prefers a S’well £55. …Even Evian, king of the disposable water bottle, has cottoned on. Last week it launched its reusable bottle…for £45… The British brand Chilly’s is expected to make £40 million this year from its brightly coloured steel flask bottles. With all this in mind it is not too soon to panic about what you wa...

                                                Iran Persian Encampment ,  Ovid Curtovitch (b.1855) Photo Credit: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum [CC BY-NC-ND] If you trip over a stone in the street you can be sure an Englishman put it there. If you look under a mullah’s beard, you will find the words “Made in Britain.” Iranian expressions, still in use, voicing suspicion of the UK’s past and present involvement in the country’s affairs.  The first expression was related by John Simpson on radio 4 Today 9.3.2019. The second comes from Drinking Arak off an Ayatollah’s Beard by Nicholas Jubber. * … In the past century the UK occupied the country for five years from 1941-46, and has overthrown Iran's leaders and installed new ones. It backed the Shah's own oppressive regime. And it secretly supplied Iraq's Saddam Hussein with weap...

    Collective Madness In soft and measured tones, Lady Hale announced the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that Boris Johnson had illegally suspended Parliament, with a kooky rhinestone spider brooch pinned to her left shoulder. A Face Covered with Spider Web , Madge Gill (1882-1961) Photo Credit: London Borough of Newham [CC BY] Immediately, people started posting spider emojis on social media, and debating what type of arachnid it might be. Within hours, the west London garment printing shop Balcony Shirts created a “Lady Hale Spider Brooch T-shirt” … In less than 48 hours, more than 6,500 had sold. … Dr Ameerah Khadaroo, a lecturer on the psychology of fashion at London College of Fashion had this to say: “As human beings, we tend to develop some form of identification with those who we perceive to be like us, or who share the same views as us … In doing so, we can be driven by strong emotions which, in turn, can influence us to search...

                                          Social Media and Public Health The Cheat Detected , Edward Bird (1772-1819) Photo Credit: Sir John Soane's Museum [CC BY-NC-ND] “Highly influential celebrities are letting down the very people who look up to them, by peddling products which are at best ineffective and at worst harmful.” Duncan Stephenson, the director of external affairs at The Royal Society for Public Health, accused celebrities and social media platforms of putting profits before consumers’ health. “There are so many bogus and snake-oil weight-loss products on the market today, which either have dubious evidence to back them up, or are a waste of money. It is shameful that major advertisers, leading celebrities – many of whom are role models for young people – together with advertisers and social media platforms are complicit in exploiting and potentially putting...