“Our whole attitude and outlook will change” is one of the promises associated with working the Twelve Step Programme (specifically with working on Step IX: making amends to those we have harmed except when to do so would injure them or others).  Sadly, I commonly see it in operation in reverse.  When people relapse, their whole attitude and outlook changes back to the self-pity and blame they had before. 

She is no use to me as a future counsellor unless she challenges herself on her behaviour – after which, in due course, she will need to challenge patients.

The thought of another four years of Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London, or of Hillary Clinton capturing the White House, is simply too dreadful as would be the prospect of Gordon Brown winning a further term of office.  There will be no point in me running off to Australia if these dreadful events come to pass: there’s another wreaking Socialist in power over there.  But still, Berlusconi and Sarkozi are in power in Italy and France and Angela Merkel is sort-of in power in Germany so the world has not fallen apart completely – yet. 

He is very clever but there is one vital thing that he lacks.

These two friends of mine keep me sane.  They know how my mind works.

There are some conventions that are absolutely vital for the smooth functioning of society.  None more so than accepting that private conversations should be kept private.  Journalists sometimes believe that they have a duty to the public to tell what they know, whatever the circumstances that led to them knowing the information.  Duty be damned. “The public interest”, that journalists swear by, is no more than a euphemism for their own self-importance. 

I am myself a full member of the Medical Journalists Association but I am also a doctor. There are lots of things I know about lots of people – but I am saying nothing.  It irritates me when journalists of other kinds don’t respect that. 

I find it very disturbing when I get distracted.  Normally I am so deeply focussed upon what I am doing, concentrating on every detail, that I function very smoothly and I don’t get tired because I’m not stressed.  Sometimes, when I have something on my mind that is outside the sphere of my own control, I do my best to implement the Serenity Prayer and let go of the things I cannot change – but still find myself creaking at the edges.

My life is geared for smooth running and it doesn’t have much slack that I can take up when I need it.  I can cope with the demands of my work – nothing puts me off that – but when I do get distracted, I lose things such as my memory for names and I find that very distressing. 

Tonight I was disturbed by family concerns – nothing whatever to do with me directly but my family matters to me and therefore I was preoccupied by it – and came completely adrift when trying to introduce one longstanding friend to two others.   I completely forgot all three names and they had to introduce themselves to each other.  I felt a complete idiot.

Warren Mitchell, an old Labour socialist, says that he won’t change his act as Chairman Alf Garnett because of the reactions of a few bigots who laugh with him instead of at him.  I’m not at all sure that it’s just a few. 

I read right through all the names and all the lists and a few of the biographies in The Sunday Times Rich List.  The first change that I particularly noticed from last year was that I know personally fewer people in it.  The second change is that those whom I do know are more likely to have seen me in association with my addiction work than in my medical practice.  It would appear (as if we didn’t know that before) that being rich is not altogether good news.

Incidentally, I noticed that Richard Branson has lost £400 million this year.  That’s a bit careless.  It’s even more than I lost.

The man sitting next to Meg at the charity dinner bought something relatively insignificant for a huge amount of money in the auction.  I was surprised and gratified that, at the end of the evening, she came home with me.