Celebrities in the American Media Essays -- Celebrity

American Media: The Bliss of the Public or the Bane of Celebrities? Throughout history, the media has caught some of the most horrific scenes on camera. While it is great that these events were documented, one cannot help but wonder how much is too much when prying into the lives of public figures. Even celebrities need a time to grieve; yet that time seems limited when they are constantly being harassed by men with cameras trying to give the best account of the situation. Since the introduction of the television, and possibly before, news broadcasters have been concerned with one objective— relaying the most interesting and informative report of the breaking story, regardless of the effects of their curiosity. In most cases of tragedy, the media coverage makes the situation worse. There is a photograph by Elliott Erwitt of Jackie Kennedy at President Kennedy’s funeral, which really embodies the effects of broadcasting tragedies. In the picture, Mrs. Kennedy’s face seems frozen in a state of disbelief and grief as a man behind her stands unaffected with a microphone around his ear. Millions of Americans sat in front of their TV sets watching the funeral, and through all of this Mrs. Kennedy was barely able to relax and reflect since it was her duty to plan the whole procession. After the funeral, she still could not find the time to grieve. Because she was the first lady, Jackie Kennedy had an obligation to the public so â€Å"even under the greatest stress imaginable [the] widow was receiving the guests who had come to her husband’s funeral† (Mayo, 84). By being the wife of a public figure, she too feels the stress of being a celebrity. The media, as well as the members of the public have forced her to remain active... ... without creating a rivalry between them or false pretences against them. In an age when media is such a big part of Americans’ lives, it is necessary to take into account the effects that the stories will have on the people in them. Works Cited Baughman, Cynthia. Women on Ice: Feminist Responses to Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan Spectacle. New York, New York: Routledge, 1995. Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink. New York, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005. Mayo, John B. Bulletin From Dallas: The President Is Dead. New York, New York: Exposition Press, 1967. Semple, Robert B., ed. Four Days in November. New York, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2003. Triplett, William. â€Å"Alive†. American Journalism Review. October 1994. Questia. Questia Online Library. University of Miami. 28 September 2006. .

Prevention for HIV/AIDS :: Diseases Health Medical Essays

Prevention for HIV/AIDS Although anti-viral therapy exists to support people coping with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS, the AIDS epidemic is not over. Though it is not prevalent in the Untied States, 2.1 million people died of AIDS by 1999. Half a million children under the age of fifteen are HIV positive, mostly infected through mother-to-child transmission or sexual assault (2). Ninety percent of HIV infections occur the developing countries, leaving the poor and struggling to cope with the epidemic (3). Heterosexual infection is the most common form of infection in Africa and Asia, especially in women. Elsewhere, infection through sex with a bisexual or drug infected partner, drug injection with dirty needles, blood transfusion and heterosexual sex are typical (2). Overall, the primary forms of transmission occur through unprotected sexual behavior, sharing needles, home tattooing, and through birth, from mother to child (5). An infectious disease, HIV must enter the blood stream of a person for transmission. It enters through bodily fluid, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. The disease infects cells in the body, especially CD4 cells, a type of white blood cells. Also known as T-cells, CD4 cells are crucial in maintaining the human immune system in protection from infectious diseases (5). By destroying the white blood cells, HIV causes a sever breakdown of the body's immune system, leaving the body vulnerable, fragile and unable to protect against any disease they are exposed to. When the immune system becomes severely damaged AIDS is diagnosed by the contraction of specific diseases such as tuberculosis and toxoplasmosis (5). Once diagnosed with AIDS, the virus never leaves the body, leaving the immune system to deteriorate until it is unable to fight off the diseases anymore, letting them take over the body. Major research and pharmaceutical companies continue to place precedence on the search for a vaccine or cure; it is estimated that it will take another ten to fifteen years to find a cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS. Methods for HIV prevention need to be a priority in medical research; prevention is the first step to slowing an epidemic, and an interest in vaginal microbicides, a new form of female prevention, could result in having them on the market in a third of the time it would take to discover a vaccine (1).

Blake Coleridge Swift :: essays papers

The Symbolism of Christ William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Jonathan Swift were very different writes but are bound by basic Christian beliefs. In their writings there are strong references to Christ and symbolic images of Him. Blake writes "The Lamb" as a symbolic representative of Christ. Coleridge uses many form of religious symbolism in his poem "The Rhime of the Ancient Mariner", but the thing that stands out the most is how the albatross represents Christ. Swift writes in "Gulliver's Travels", of a man named Pedro de Mendez who is a savior to Gulliver. These three authors show us how Christian views and Jesus are a part of life not just in the Bible but also in current society. Blake uses our questions about faith to emphasize the importance of Christ in our lives. Blake emphasizes the connection of which the child is naturally aware, when he writes, "I, a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by his name"(p.1289). The tone, however, is the genuine simplicity of a child's speech. The first verse is a series of questions addressed to the lamb, which represents Jesus. The second stanza begins with the child being able to answer those questions. Blake writes, "Little Lamb, I'll tell thee"(p.1289). Meaning that the child understands Christ being the savior. These questions are asked purely for the satisfaction that it gives the child in answering and to show the child's understanding of God. Blake shows Christ in a way that is innocent like the child. Blake writes this poem using the example of the lamb found in nature to represent Christ and uses the child to represent man trying to understand God. Blake uses the lamb to represent Christ in nature in the same way that Coleridge uses the albatross to represent Christ in nature. Coleridge uses religious and natural symbolism, which correspond with one another and play the most important roles in this poem. Although there are many different interpretations of this poem, one idea that has remained common throughout the poem is that of the religious symbolism present. Especially that of Christ and his ability to save, which was present throughout this poem. The symbolism is that of the albatross. The albatross saves the Mariner for bad weather and keeps the sailors in

A White Girls Burden

â€Å"A white girls Burden†, written Amy Finnegan is an article about a social movement, which happened in 2012, this is most commonly referred to as Kony 2012. This movement was started by a group of 3 regular Californian guys who had typical lives who were motivated to started an organization on this situation which is called invisible children, which was first formed in 2003. The video titled â€Å"Kony 2012† is 30 minutes long and quickly made an appearance on many social networks and newspapers across North America, â€Å"sparking wide spread concern about the lords resistance army (LRA) war in central Africa†.Finnegan, 2013). Once this video became viral thousands of people became moved about this issue and started to help fundraise thousands of dollars to help the cause from all ages of people. â€Å"Invisible children mobilizes predominantly young, privileged, evangelical Christian, female Americans to participate in a unique form of† non-wave-maki ng activism† (Finnegan, 2013). Aside from fundraising people were also reaching out to all the contacts and sources they had to further raise the awareness of the war in Africa. Soon after the video was released invisible children had already raised 1 million dollars after a week.The founders of the organization â€Å"invisible children† all had faith and were into religion, however they did not want to mix religion and business. Invisible children made a social movement unlike many others, through social medial and non-violent actions. â€Å"Distinct from activism that seeks to make social change by engaging institutions through civil disobedience or public protests, invisible children promotes legal, institutional forms of engagement. † (Finnegan, 2013). Some major events that invisible children has achieved is hosted the largest lobby day ever about an African issue in U.S history, they have also successfully gained several minutes of unscheduled airtime with Oprah to raise awareness about this conflict. In â€Å"less than an year, of the lords resistance army disarmament and northern Uganda recovery act, at a bipartisan piece of legislation that mandated that the Obama administration provide funds for the northern Uganda recovery and transitional Justice initiatives, and eventually send 100 military advisors to the region in October 2011† (Finnegan, 2013). Invisible children have also being contacted by George Clooney, and other popular films like Blood Diamond.However there are 3 ain problems discussed in this article regarding invisible children, firstly the media seemed to misrepresent Uganda and what one knows about it. Secondly, † invisible children also promoted policies that are highly controversial† and lastly † Americans shallow an ill-informed understanding of Africa, and a distorted picture of their own role in social change. † (Finnegan, 2013). Invisible children have focused on gaining the att ention on young people because these types of people are the future and are becoming more passionate and involved in stories and issues similar to this concern all around the world.Mobilizing young people to become active on these issues is very important and very effective to changing the world, young people are more socially active online and do participate in other subjects such as invisible children and stopping Joseph Kony. This issue is still going on but has gotten better; problems like this cannot be solved overnight but throughout the past 2 years have made a significant ditterence and will continue to get better. Because ot the generous donations and support a lot has been done regarding this issue and has led others to become aware of different problems, situations, organizations, and groups around the world.

Play Writes Skills as A Dramatist Essay

Analysing A Scene from the play ‘A View from the Bridge’ Showing the P Play Writes Skills as A Dramatist   The paly which I analysis is by Arthur miller called â€Å"a view from the bridge†. In this play I analysed a scene which is the chair incident. In this essay I will be writing about what lead up to the chair incident. I will be also analysing the skill that Arthur Miller uses and write down its function.This play is set in America in 1960s. This play is about the Carbone family who brings two brothers who are Italian immigrants. There are six main characters, Eddie who is married to Beatrice, Catherine who is Eddies nice. The layer is Alfiera. The two immigrants are Marco and Rodolfo. At this time Italy was very poor and it was illegal for immigrants to come in America. Eddie helps his Italian cousins Marco and Rodolfo by smuggling them to America so they can provide for their family. When they by a ship they get jobs as longshoremen. Marco has a wife and two children and Rodolfo is single.  The events which led up to the chair incident is the boxing incident. This is where Eddie decides to teach Rodolfo boxing for self defence as he is to vulnerable. For example he says â€Å"I’ll teach you† to Rodolfo. This incident suggests that Eddie is trying to embarrass Rodolfo in front Catherine. This will make Catherine think that Rodolfo is nothing but a man mouse and Eddie is a man. Marco reacts to this by â€Å"rising† from his chair. This gives the audience the impression that Marco is going to do something to get his vengeance this builds up tension between Marco and Eddie as Marco is very protective over his brother Rodolfo. This leaves the audience feeling overwrought as they are wondering how Marco is going to get his vengeance. In the chair incident Marco gets his revenge for his brother. Firstly the atmosphere is tranquil; this is where Rodolfo and Catherine dance together. For example in directors notes is says â€Å"he took her hand; they go to the phonograph and start it.  This is when Marco decides to teach Eddie a lesson. Marco says â€Å"can you lift this chair†. Eddie thinks this is just a game but he doesn’t know what Marco’s ingenious plan is as he says â€Å"what do you mean† the gives us the impression that Eddie hasn’t got a clue of what Marco is planning. This is when a lot of tension and suspense builds up as it makes the audience aware of what Marco is planning. This also makes the audience think that Marcos plan must be vicious as he is ‘shy ‘. This implies that Marco is a very bashful and quiet person. Also the audience know that Marco is a person not to joke around with as Eddie says â€Å"nobody kids with Marco†. This gives the aud ience the impression that Marco is a very serious person. Eddie falls in Marcos trap when he lifts the chair. Eddie ‘grasps’ barely lifting the chair. This suggests that Eddie is struggling to lift the chair with straight with his arm. But Eddie does not give up ‘he tries again and again but fails’ this is what Marco wants Eddie to do. This gives us the impression that Eddie is putting all his effort to lift the chair and is trying vigorously to lift the chair. Also the audience now think he is weak and slow-witted for not realizing Marco plan. At this moment a lot of anxiety and tension is created. Marco then decides to lift the chair as it says in stage directions ‘with strain slowly raise the chair higher’. This symbolises that Marco is giving out a warning to Eddie. Marco raised the chair ‘higher’ then Eddie which indicate Marcos status and authority over Eddie as the height of the chair suggests that Marco has more status then Eddie.  There are many features of this scene that make this a climatic scene as in directors notes it says ‘Marco is face to face with Eddie a strike of tension gripping his eyes and jaws’ this is when Eddie finds out what Marco is happening to him. ‘Eddie grin vanishes as he absorbs his look’ this gives us the impression that Eddie feels apprehensive from the impact of the warning from Marco. This nail biting incident leaves the audience feeling perturbed as it makes them think of the various ways that Eddie can get his revenge and if he is going to do any think foolish.

Fastrack Company Essay

Fastrack was launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Titan. It was spun off as an independent brand of watches targeting the urban youth in 2005. Since then, it has carved a niche for itself with designs that were refreshingly different and affordable. During that time, Fastrack also extended its footprint into eye gear and in the last 4 years has quickly notched up the title of being the largest sunglass brand in the country. Fastrack has now chartered into newer categories – bags, belts, wallets and wrist bands – as part of its vision to become a complete fashion brand for the youth. With enough categories to fill up one cool store, Fastrack has ‘moved on’ to open its own stores for its young consumers. The store is positioned as a complete accessories destination with all Fastrack gear under one roof. The first store was opened in Pune in 2009. With a smart combination of edgy design and value pricing Titan’s Fastrack has managed to keep a firm grasp on the capricious youth market. Not many brands live by what they preach. Taglines are often born out of a creative team’s clever phrasing or a strategy team’s eye on a certain positioning. For Titan Industries’ Fastrack ‘Move on’ is a way of life. From a sub-brand with a fuzzy identity to a bonafide youth brand, Fastrack sure has moved on. The brand, which was conceived in 1998 as a flanker to fend off a competitor and insulate Titan from the fray, now contributes about 25 per cent to Titan Industries watch division’s profits, raking in close to Rs 500 crore. Initially called Titan Fastrack, it was meant to be a brand of cool watches; but it soon became clear that defining cool was far from easy. It started with funky packaging and then with steel bands to make the range look sharp. People into their first jobs were its targets. However, around the same time, Titan Industries was also contemporising the Titan range, with similar metals and communication. â€Å"Fastrack was then just a sub-brand of Titan. It was only in 2005-06 that the brand came into its own,† says Bijou Kurien, who left the company as chief operating officer in 2006, after 19 years with Titan Industries. He is now president (lifestyle) at Reliance Retail. Titan Industries had entered a joint venture with Timex Corporation, leading US fashion watch manufacturer, in 1992, which broke off in 1998. â€Å"Timex had been conceived as a young brand while Titan would focus on premium watch buyers. After the JV ended, there was an opportunity for Fastrack to be launched as the youth brand from Titan,† says Kurien. In 2004, another division called the Accessories and Licensing Business launched sunglasses under the brand name Fastrack. It had already been selling licensed eyewear by FCUK andTommy Hilfiger. But it was only in 2005 that Titan Industries took the decisive call to hive off Fastrack as a separate business unit. â€Å"In 2005, we saw the opportunity of bringing all the divisions under one umbrella,† says Ronnie Talati, vice-president and business head, Fastrack & New Brands. By then, there were all of 1,500 products carrying the Fastrack tag. The total turnover then was Rs 30 crore, from 1.5 lakh watches and 30,000-40,000 sunglasses being sold that year. Sunglasses accounted for about 25 per cent of the sales at that time. Making it happen Kurien recalls, â€Å"We started investing a lot more in the brand, we signed up John Abraham as the celebrity ambassador.† It started with defining the look (stress on design) and the price (introduced lower priced watches) of the products. The company put in place a separate distribution network for Fastrack rather than let the brand piggy ride on Titan’s network of stores and increased counter displays at all Titan showrooms. Then of course, there was the decision to enter other categories, inspired by its successful foray into sunglasses. â€Å"We weren’t willing to run out of options for the youth and wanted to move beyond being a watch brand,† says Kurien of Fastrack’s transition to a full-fledged youth brand. Titan put together dedicated teams for sourcing, marketing and sales for the products sold under the Fastrack umbrella. Talati says, â€Å"We even moved to a new office.† The first year of hiving off Fastrack as a separate busines s unit resulted in a 130 per cent increase in revenues, according to Talati. The brand now sells 3 million watches and 1 million sunglasses a year. Bags, belts and wallets are the latest in the range of accessories launched in 2010. These accessories together account for 40 per cent of Fastrack’s revenues on an average. The year 2005 also saw the brand beefing up its retail muscle. Stores with around 500 square feet of retail space each were added. These stores get half their revenues from accessories. Even though the bulk of Fastrack’s sales (60-70 per cent) still come from multi-brand outlets, the like for like growth in sales at the exclusive stores has been 100 per cent over the last year with a conversion rate of 75 per cent (the total walk-ins at the 63 stores stand at 3,000 per month). Streets near colleges and college towns such as Manipal have appeared on its store map along with high streets in metros and small cities such as Vizag and Kolhapur. Apart from Fastrack stores, each category is available in 1,000 to 3,000 multi-brand outlets. Marketing to the youth is no child’s play. Fastrack realised that when launching itself as an SBU (strategic business unit). It made the logo more energetic, removed the upfront mention of Titan (seen by youngsters as a serious brand) and stopped using the Mozart tune. Dheeraj Sinha, chief strategy officer at Bates 141, says youth brands need a single-minded effort rather than sit on the fence. â€Å"The biggest challenge to build a youth brand is to avoid the trap of defining the audience as between 25-35 years old,† says Sinha. â€Å"There are just too many young-looking brands that talk to them. A youth brand should bite the bullet and let go of such a wide definition. It should be able to exclude all other age groups and look at only young people, talk to them like a 20 year old and not a 35 year old. As a result, the brand might have to say and do things which might shock older generations,† he adds. According to Sinha, brands such as Fastrack, Virgin Mobile and Indian Killer Jeans have managed to stay rele vant to its target audience with edgy imagery. Having said that, Fastrack is now targeting a lower age group than when it started. Earlier the target audience was 25-35 year-olds while now the core group is 18-20 year old. â€Å"We are clear about our core target group. Our sense is that older people want to feel younger and the young want to feel older. We talk to people in their language,† says Ronnie Talati. The communication that followed in the wake of the rebranding in 2005 asked â€Å"How many you have?†. It referred to the urge for variety and constant change in accessories, including watches, among college students. It made way for the next campaign ‘Move On’ (to newer range of accessories) with couples swapping the watches and sunglasses they had gifted each other before breaking up. Next came the series featuring young icons, cricketer Virat Kohli and actor Genelia D’Souza. The campaign highlighted the range of bags Fastrack launched last year, taking a cheeky look at how young people flirted with the opposite gender. The current campaign, which features the same duo in racy ads in the next edition, gives us a take on why the world moved on to automatic contraptions such as auto-pilot, answering machines etc. Of the total ad budget of Rs 40 crore, Fastrack spends half on watches and the rest goes into sunglasses and the new accessories range. Rajiv Chatterjee, vice-president, Lowe Lintas, the agency handling the Fastrack account, says, â€Å"We were clear that we had to attract the young college-goers, and we knew that if we chased this objective, it could possibly get a few raised eyebrows from their parents. Both ‘How many†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘Move on’ refer to their habits in accessories and also their outlook towards attraction and desirability. We did not want to sound judgmental or tell them what to do. We have said, ‘It is ok’ in a conversational tone that has got the youth to relate to Fastrack.† Staying on top Fastrack has stuck to its pegs of design and variety. Design boundaries have been pushed with different straps (made of denim, metal and synthetic materials), hands of the watches and cases. Themes have spanned bikes, army, beaches, outdoor sports and hip-hop music. â€Å"We need to keep reinventing for the youth. Over the last five years, we have changed our brand ambassadors to keep it fresh. The audience’s attention span is less and hence, we refresh our collections as well,† points out Talati. Sinha adds, â€Å"Fastrack has consistently leveraged the potent insight of young people’s aversion to commitment, be it relationships, jobs or the accessories they flaunt. What has also helped them is the fact that a majority of the Indian youth does not have a penchant for international brands like they do in other countries. They would relate to an interesting brand that is real rather than hanker after a knockoff of an international brand.† While Fastrack has successfully walked the marketing tightrope of speaking exclusively to teenagers, it has also walked the talk of a teen brand by keeping prices firmly in check. Its watches range between Rs 695 and Rs 3,500, sunglasses Rs 695-2,500, bags Rs 595-2,500 and belts Rs 195-1,095. Sinha says, â€Å"There has to be a sweet-spot of aspiration and affordability for the youth.† In effect, Fastrack has come to occupy the sub-Rs 1,500 slot in watches, with just 15-20 per cent of its range priced above it. By virtue of being a stylish but affordable brand in sunglasses, it has filled a gap between the RayBans of the world at the upper end and the unbranded flea-market bargains at the lower end. With bags, belts and wallets, it has eschewed leather goods for materials that help keep the costs low, weather rough use and also look good. Talati says, â€Å"We have kept a check on our costs by ensuring a lean team but one that means business. The average age in our office is 25-26 years. Having a young team helps us feel the youth’s pulse.† While Titan watches would have a strength of over 150 people, Fastrack has 60 people manning the var ious functions, with a brand manager for each category. At the retail front, only 10 stores are company-owned, the rest managed by franchisees. The production of the accessories is outsourced while watches are a mix of in-house and third-party manufacturing. Fastrack also ensures the materials used don’t add to the price of the products but lend themselves to innovative designs. Talati says the brand is the entry barrier for competition. â€Å"It will be difficult to beat the way youngsters relate to our brand,† he points out. â€Å"None of the other brands that operate in the accessories’ space are solely focused on accessories; accessories are just one part of a larger portfolio. So they end up concentrating more on their flagship products such as sports shoes, luggage etc. In contrast, we have separate ad budgets and teams to service these product categories.† Sinha points out a challenge for Fastrack: â€Å"The challenge for Fastrack is to sustain its message of Move On. It has taken one aspect and stuck to it for so long. But how long before its target audience finds it repetitive?† For its part, Fastrack is working on a new line of attack. Next up are helmets and fashion footwear. These could prove to be much more difficult to crack — with helmets offering little in terms of precedents and fashion footwear a problem of plenty. But then who said Fastrack was afraid of changing the rules of the game? Fastrack is a brand of watches from the house of Titan Industries Ltd which is the market leader in the watches category in India. Fastrack was launched in 1998 as a sub-brand of Titan. It was spun off as an independent brand of watches targeting the urban youth in 2005. Since then, it has infiltrated the lives of India’s youth with designs that were refreshingly different and affordable. During that time, Fastrack also jumped headlong into the sunglasses business and in the last 4 years has quickly notched up the title of being the largest sunglasses brand in the country. Fastrack has now pushed past the horizons into newer areas – bags, belts, wallets and wrist bands – as part of its mission to offer the youth everything they need to be cool! Executive Summary Moving over from outsourcing our social media initiative to an in-house program has allowed us to engage and really connect with our audience in typical Fastrack fashion and style. Having college-interns run this Fastrack initiative has been a great step in being able to speak the language of our customers/fans. The essence of the brand being communicated in real-time and in a manner that is acceptable and easily understood by our customers is our constant thought as we go through daily customer queries, feedback, comments, suggestions & brand announcements. Our initiative is focused around the experience we deliver to the fans and both current and potential, driving them toward a better, and more personalized connection with the brand. Background Fastrack is essentially a youth brand, and what better way to get in touch with our target audience of 15-25 year-olds (SEC A,B) than having a presence on the very platforms that they use daily? Social networking is a big part of today’s youth and we have made it a big part of us, extending all our online initiatives to incorporate our social networks and communities. With this step forward we worked on tapping the pulse of the youth by answering queries, getting feedback about the brand and our collections and campaigns, engagement, resolving complaints & doubts and interacting with ‘Fastrack Fans’ daily, 24/7.

Part Three Chapter I

Duplicity 7.25 A resolution should not deal with more than one subject †¦ Disregard of this rule usually leads to confused discussion and may lead to confused action †¦ Charles Arnold-Baker Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition I ‘†¦ ran out of here, screaming blue murder, calling her a Paki bitch – and now the paper's called for a comment, because she's †¦' Parminder heard the receptionist's voice, barely louder than a whisper, as she passed the door of the staff meeting room, which was ajar. One swift light step, and Parminder had pulled it open to reveal one of the receptionists and the practice nurse in close proximity. Both jumped and spun round. ‘Doct' Jawan – ‘ ‘You understand the confidentiality agreement you signed when you took this job, don't you, Karen?' The receptionist looked aghast. ‘Yeah, I – I wasn't – Laura already – I was coming to give you this note. The Yarvil and District Gazette's rang. Mrs Weedon's died and one of her granddaughters is saying – ‘ ‘And are those for me?' asked Parminder coldly, pointing at the patient records in Karen's hand. ‘Oh – yeah,' said Karen, flustered. ‘He wanted to see Dr Crawford, but – ‘ ‘You'd better get back to the front desk.' Parminder took the patient records and strode back out to reception, fuming. Once there, and facing the patients, she realized that she did not know whom to call, and glanced down at the folder in her hand. ‘Mr – Mr Mollison.' Howard heaved himself up, smiling, and walked towards her with his familiar rocking gait. Dislike rose like bile in Parminder's throat. She turned and walked back to her surgery, Howard following her. ‘All well with Parminder?' he asked, as he closed her door and settled himself, without invitation, on the patient's chair. It was his habitual greeting, but today it felt like a taunt. ‘What's the problem?' she asked brusquely. ‘Bit of an irritation,' he said. ‘Just here. Need a cream, or something.' He tugged his shirt out of his trousers and lifted it a few inches. Parminder saw an angry red patch of skin at the edge of the fold where his stomach spilt out over his upper legs. ‘You'll need to take your shirt off,' she said. ‘It's only here that's itching.' ‘I need to see the whole area.' He sighed and got to his feet. As he unbuttoned his shirt he said, ‘Did you get the agenda I sent through this morning?' ‘No, I haven't checked emails today.' This was a lie. Parminder had read his agenda and was furious about it, but this was not the moment to tell him so. She resented his trying to bring council business into her surgery, his way of reminding her that there was a place where she was his subordinate, even if here, in this room, she could order him to strip. ‘Could you, please – I need to look under †¦' He hoisted the great apron of flesh upwards; the upper legs of his trousers were revealed, and finally the waistband. With his arms full of his own fat he smiled down at her. She drew her chair nearer, her head level with his belt. An ugly scaly rash had spread in the hidden crease of Howard's belly: a bright scalded red, it stretched from one side to the other of his torso like a huge, smeared smile. A whiff of rotting meat reached her nostrils. ‘Intertrigo,' she said, ‘and lichen simplex there, where you've scratched. All right, you can put your shirt back on.' He dropped his belly and reached for his shirt, unfazed. ‘You'll see I've put the Bellchapel building on the agenda. It's generating a bit of press interest at the moment.' She was tapping something into the computer, and did not reply. ‘Yarvil and District Gazette,' Howard said. ‘I'm doing them an article. Both sides,' he said, buttoning up his shirt, ‘of the question.' She was trying not to listen to him, but the sound of the newspaper's name caused the knot in her stomach to tighten. ‘When did you last have your blood pressure done, Howard? I'm not seeing a test in the last six months.' ‘It'll be fine. I'm on medication for it.' ‘We should check, though. As you're here.' He sighed again, and laboriously rolled up his sleeve. ‘They'll be printing Barry's article before mine,' he said. ‘You know he sent them an article? About the Fields?' ‘Yes,' she said, against her own better judgement. ‘Haven't got a copy, have you? So I don't duplicate anything he's said?' Her fingers trembled a little on the cuff. It would not meet around Howard's arm. She unfastened it and got up to fetch a bigger one. ‘No,' she said, her back to him. ‘I never saw it.' He watched her work the pump, and observed the pressure dial with the indulgent smile of a man observing some pagan ritual. ‘Too high,' she told him, as the needle registered one hundred and seventy over a hundred. ‘I'm on pills for it,' he said, scratching where the cuff had been, and letting down his sleeve. ‘Dr Crawford seems happy.' She scanned the list of his medications onscreen. ‘You're on amlodipine and bendroflumethiazide for your blood pressure, yes? And simvastatin for your heart †¦ no beta-blocker †¦' ‘Because of my asthma,' said Howard, tweaking his sleeve straight. ‘†¦ right †¦ and aspirin.' She turned to face him. ‘Howard, your weight is the single biggest factor in all of your health problems. Have you ever been referred to the nutritionist?' ‘I've run a deli for thirty-five years,' he said, still smiling. ‘I don't need teaching about food.' ‘A few lifestyle changes could make a big difference. If you were able to lose †¦' With the ghost of a wink, he said comfortably, ‘Keep it simple. All I need is cream for the itch.' Venting her temper on the keyboard, Parminder banged out prescriptions for anti-fungal and steroid creams, and when they were printed, handed them to Howard without another word. ‘Thank you kindly,' he said, as he heaved himself out of the chair, ‘and a very good day to you.'