Adam Ant

On the Ropes on Radio 4 on a Tuesday can either be cringe or very good. Max Mosely was cringe. A self indulgent, selfish and self deceiving person (in addition to deceiving his wife of course). Not that I should be judging anyone, as a Christian but everything that came out of his mouth made me really sad, and mad.
Adam Ant, or Stuart Goddard, on the other hand made me feel sad but in a good way. He came across as a decent bloke really, who tried his best and cracked under the hard work and pressure from the record company, earning only 9% profits in the process...
Probably still a decent wage but seems awful whan you listen to what he went through as a result.
It tickled me when he referred to the mental institution he'd been in as a 'nut house', and was rebuked by John Humphries. After all, he'd been committed to the place so he can call it what he wants, in my view. What did annoy me was when JH called Bipolar disorder a disease, and SG did pick him up on that.

What was so sad about it all is that people like him can be very creative and productive, then they crack and are totally helpless in some awful situation they didn't want. They have to deal with the repercussions and stigma forever.
Mental illness is so misunderstood. It seems on the increase, maybe due to the pressures and pace of life. The mentally ill ae treated like cattle and forced to take medication that has awful side effects. It may have the desired effect in one way (stopping dangerous behaviour, keeping the patient quiet, lessening the 'nuisance' factor) but the long term health and wellbeing of the patient seem almost never to be taken into account. The description of what SG experienced sounds appalling and I know that it's not an isolated case. I hope he can acheive what he wants, and that is never to be in that vulnerable state again. Let's hope for a better future for all mentally ill people, and better treatment.

On a lighter note, one lunchtime this week, I saw a van with the logo advertising 'Photography at heights'. It had all kinds of equipment strapped to the top. You could only imagine the stuff they did, from mountain tops etc. Then the guy stepped out of the van carrying a little step ladder, all of 2 steps. He climbed to the very top of these and took a picture of a sign face in a car park. Just wish I'd had a discreet way of taking a photo.