Musing over a cranberry is not going to improve my mental health — Consider the cranberry. Smell the cranberry. Chew the cranberry. Feel better yet? Neither would I when first introduced to mindfulness in this way. Mindfulness is flavour of the month, but it’s awful. It offers no real solutions or proper coping strategies for emotional and mental distress. When you have real…

Love does not and should not come with a how-to manual — Twenty-seven years on from Bridget Jones’s Diary and according to the Office for National Statistics the single population of the UK stands at 35%. …

Depression is a battle of will, you do not always need to reach for the medicine cabinet — Any of you that have experienced depression will know the feeling drags you into a painful inertia. Even getting up seems like an impossible task and you can be reduced to floods of tears with next to no provocation. If you have not experienced depression yet there is a high…

Do you want to become a ‘Transmission Hacker’? — They call themselves ‘Transmission Hackers’. You can become a ‘human virus neutralising shield’ in the community and stealth deactivate the virus. UK based company Akhand Armour says they can help people become a human ‘Sanitising Shield’ in the community. In the same way as people can become ‘virus transmitters’, we…

Supposedly an exploration of puberty trauma. Sounds dark and intriguing, but is dull and disappointing. — Summer in the Shade possesses an intriguing title that is sadly not backed up by the lacklustre film itself. Grace (Niamh Walter) goes on holiday to Cornwall with her friend Asta (Nyobi Hendry) and her mum Kate (Rebecca Palmer), where she ‘comes of age’ in the most preposterous way possible. …

Elements sushi is serving up a taste of Japan at very reasonable prices in south London — Recently opened Elements sushi is a bargain find as far as Japanese food goes in London. The Bento boxes pictured come in at just over £15 per person and includes Miso soup. The meat is cooked to perfection (where cooking is required) and the duck is simply mouth watering. You…

New Bloomsbury Restaurant delivers a classy dining experience — Open for just two days now, the Riding House Bloomsbury is a classy new restaurant in Bloomsbury’s Brunswick Centre. A huge improvement on the well known Italian (whose name I shall not mention) that once stood there. However, this light, modern, classy décor comes with prices that you might expect…

So very far from the best British storytelling has to offer — The Bezonians starts off rough-and-ready and with what I hope is tongue-in-cheek humour, as the characterisations are so crass and machismo driven – although allegedly this is a crime thriller. Plato runs the Bezonians Social Club in North London, where generations of Cypriot immigrants have gambled away their savings supposedly. …

A Finnish romantic comedy to soothe the soul and leave you feeling more positive — Master Cheng is a truly sweet Finnish romantic comedy that may lighten your mood significantly if you are having a bad day. The story revolves around Master Cheng (Chu Pak Hong), his son Niu Niu (Lucas Hsuan) and Sirkka (Anna-Maija Tuokko). …