In defence of Carla Bruni

Carla BruniThere has been a lot of news coverage of the state visit of French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife Carla Bruni to the UK.

It just so happens that pictures of a nude Ms Bruni are being sold at auction to coincide with the visit and she she has also been accused of cashing in in other ways.

Now, clearly Carla Bruni is a model and there are bound to be pictures of her in various provocative poses, something that’s not exactly a surprise.

But I wish more people knew about her fantastic and burgeoning music career. Last year, she put out a beautiful album called Promises on which she puts famous poetry to music.

To give you an idea of how lovely and dreamy she sounds, this is I Felt My Life With Both My Hands, her version of the Emily Dickinson poem.

JK Rowling ‘close to suicide’

JK RowlingHarry Potter author JK Rowling has admitted she came close to committing suicide when she was struggling as a single mum in the days before the ‘boy wizard’ became a household name.

Now, obviously this story has been used to highlight how difficult life can be for single mums and that you should never give up hope, because things do get better.

What I find interesting about this is that JK has admitted this. She’s reputedly someone who shies away from the spotlight and rarely gives interviews, so it’s all the more of a surprise that she’d confess to something as ‘big’ as suicide.

The admission dovetails neatly with Mental Health Week and is a stark reminder that anyone can suffer from this sort of condition, no matter how rich or famous.

I know ‘mental health’ is still a dirty word to some people and to admit that you suffer from depression, suicidal thoughts or something similar is tantamount to weakness, but the sooner people get used to it being part of everyday life the better.

Why I shy away from religion

Jesus crucifixionIf proof were ever needed why religion is bad for you, look no further than the Philippines this Easter, as reports come in that dozens of people have ignored government warnings and have re-enacted the crucifixion of Jesus.

Yup, some people have seven-inch nails hammered into them to atone for their sins, as part of the Easter ‘celebrations’.

For starters, it beggars belief that the powers-that-be had to issue the alert in the first place, but at least 20 people did re-enact the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday, undergoing whipping and nailing.

What have these people done that they feel the need to go this far to atone?