I don’t think anybody sets out to be an expert in grief, not even therapists unless they have suffered a personal loss and find themselves in the upheavals of grieving. Last week, I found myself thrown out of my usual coping wagon, which is never a guarantee to stay on the rails in the first …
Heading north is not in my general nature, as my southern instincts pulls me more on a southerly route, except occasionally it seems in September when cooler temperatures beckon my spirit. I am likewise pulled towards the sea as if I need the views and sea air for my well being and just pure enjoyment. The …
Up The Northern French and Belgium Coast Onto Holland Read More »
The sky was a glorious cerulean blue with nary a cloud in view for the Champagne harvest as I crouched in the hot sun trying to snip off a cluster of blue grapes without cutting my fingers! I was as proud as can be of filling up my basket with those hard to get to …
Let me introduce you to the lust filled dolphin Zafar, if you haven’t heard of him before. Zafar, a common bottlenose dolphin has been capturing the hearts of Bretons with his overly-friendly gestures, up until recently. Residents and tourists alike have both been delighted by his freestyle antics and acrobatics. He loves coming up to boats, …
Growing up? Do we ever achieve it in our lifetime? We often feel pressed to ask young children what they want to be when they grow up. I find children much more gifted in being able to answer than most adults. For children, the question rarely poses much contemplation. Most of them will only give it …
Growing Up; What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? Read More »
Paris is a wonderful polyglot of cultures. Little India forms an exotic splash of very colourful shops lining several streets in the northern part of the 10th arrondissement. Anytime I want to have the freshest of coconuts, the sweetest ripe mangoes, those strange looking vegetables, or Indian spices, I head that way. It is also …
One of the most debilitating mental illnesses is agoraphobia. Agora from Greek means “marketplace”, which is somewhat misleading as it more a phobia of being in any place, where people are congregated and other places as well! This is not the same as social phobia, which is entirely different. All agoraphobics have extremely high levels …
Paris has been baking hot this summer! This summer long heat wave hasn’t left yet! In the almost 20 years of living here, this has never happened! Paris is not equipped to handle this heat! I’m talking about summertime being consistently hot, which just doesn’t happen here! Sure, there are always a few really hot days …
The modern-day swindling of a 16-century château in Monflanquin and the financial extortion and ruin of an aristocratic family is one of the most unbelievably horrifying, yet psychologically fascinating, albeit tragic stories that I have ever read. The Védrine family, victims of the whole diabolical affair, were called the “reclus de Monflanquin” or reclusives of Monflanquin. …
Monflanquin, A True Twisted Machiavellian Plot That Swindled A Family’s Château Read More »
The father of modern surgery, Ambroise Paré, was an astonishing and awe-inspiring physician. He treated paupers as kings, yet was the surgeon of four kings of France. He challenged the medical community of his day and paved the way for surgeons to be finally recognized. He was born in 1510 to a family of modest …
As a sufferer of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, I always look forward to the summer solstice, because I invariably tend to feel better in the summer months. Seasonal variations of mood affect SAD but also Bipolar patients. For example, you can see more disturbance of mood in Bipolar patients in the spring and fall. Hypomania and …
I always enjoy going to Budapest, a two hour plus flight from Paris, for the foods and wines and other reasons. Last week, I wanted to go beyond to the pretty Lake Balaton area for an unusual thermal lake. Whereas my last two winter visits were so cold that the Danube had frozen into huge chunks …