They say Christmas is a time of good cheer don't they? 'Tis the season to be jolly and all that...? Well one giant drugs company Merck seems to have had its Christmas present about 4 weeks early. And it's a present worth millions and millions of pounds. Ahhhhh... isn't that nice? No, it's not. Not when it's left over 200 people emptyhanded... -------------------------------- Had a heart attack...? Hard luck! ------------------------------- ..

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I've had an idea for a trashy cable television programme... It's called, 'When health foods go BAD.' It could be presented by one of those disgraced exchildren's TV presenters who get caught taking drugs. Each week they'd show dramatic clips of people being ill from food the government and advertisers claimed was good for them. The presenter could end each programme saying, 'Is YOUR favourite health food next?' Okay, okay, it's a bad idea... ..

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In The Good Life Letter, I often like to take a stroll off the beaten track of conventional thought. I mean, if you wanted me to advise 8 glasses of water and bed rest for every ailment, you could just pick up the health pages of your daily tabloid, couldn't you? There'd be no need for me or my strange facts! So I hope you don't mind me taking you on a brief journey into a subject that makes sceptical scientists weep. And yet many people beli ..

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I know that Wales getting well and truly caned by England in the Six Nations rugby game last weekend shouldn't upset me so much... And I know I shouldn't take it out on a gang of school kids... But we all have our weaknesses don't we? So when my eldest son and his friends were playing football at the park, I got chatting to one of the their Dads... A Dad born and bred in London... A Dad who just couldn't help mention the game. A Dad who, fi ..

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At a wedding last year, I realised that my extended family were deliberately poisoning themselves. It was the morning after the reception, and we were gathered at my aunt Patricia's house, nursing hangovers and cups of coffee. As I slipped half a teaspoon of brown sugar into my cup, I was shocked to see that few were interested in my ancient method of sweetening a drink. Almost everyone over the age of 40 dug into their pockets or handbags...a ..

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There's something a little odd that happens to me when it gets cold and damp... I first noticed it two years ago, and couldn't quite figure out what I'd done. You see, BOTH of my thumbs started aching at the same time. It was nothing serious, just a deep, dull ache that flared up whenever I moved them. Like a dummy, I thought I'D done something... maybe in my sleep. Or, as my mind started racing like Columbo's, I thought Lara might have damag ..

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I knew there would be a flood of emails about this... The Honey Garlic and Vinegar capsules I mentioned in last Tuesday's Good Life Letter kicked up some interest. All three ingredients are well known as natural medicines... But all three combined? To lose weight? Most of you found this fascinating. Except for my old mate Alan, who also subscribes to my letter. He wrote an email from Hong Kong to say: 'Capsules for weight loss? Are you tryi ..

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In the olden days, I was an active person. I commuted to work, buzzed around a busy office, and played rugby at the weekends. These days I'm a bit porkier... a bit greyer... and it feels like somebody's attached hunks of lead to my feet. On the occasions when I guilttrip myself into going for a jog, I hobble through the streets like Jimmy Saville in the London marathon. 'It's not pretty,' says Lara. The problem is, since I became an independ ..

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I never knew apples could speak... But yesterday evening, at around 10 p.m., they called out to me. It was faint at first, but gradually their noise drowned out the sound of D.I. Frost trying to solve another murder. It was no good I had to go and find them. I followed their voices out of the living room, down the hall and into the kitchen. And there, in the fridge, I found a bowl of stewed apples crying EAT ME! So what else was there for ..

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This is awful. I have caught a bunch of terrible diseases... and I don't know whether I'll ever be able to cure them. Every night I wake up in a cold sweat, panicking about my problems. Lara has to stay up on nightwatch duty. And during the day, the kids take it in turns to bring me cups of herbal tea just to calm me down. What's wrong with me? Well... I have to tell you... EVERYTHING. I've got 'Social Anxiety Disorder'... 'Compulsive Writ ..

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