Diseases

For some time now I've had the misfortune to be on the mailing list of a gentleman called John Mappin, who owns a hotel and restaurant called Camelot Castle in Cornwall.

I'm not really sure what he's all about, although I think there's a Scientology link somewhere along the line.

His castle isn't just a castle, apparently - it's also a 'luck machine' and he's written a frankly mind-boggling 'Magic Poem' on his website to prove the point. You can see it here if you really have nothing better to do.

Anyhow, I normally delete his unwanted emails with a quick tut and shake of the head, but his latest offering - which he kindly sent me many copies of - caught my eye because it claims newspapers can give you cancer.

Over to Mr Mappin to explain further:

"It is not provable yet, but there is considerable evidence that there is a direct link between over exposure to the negative news in the media and the precipitation of illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and many more common psychosomatic illnesses that today cause a considerable burden on individuals lives and society."

Well that's just great. It's one thing when I get the usual old comments about how we increase fear of crime, but it's quite another to be accused of spreading terminal diseases.

Truth be told I'm not sure why I'm giving him the publicity apart from the need to take a break for building our new website, which is certainly responsible for giving me a banging headache.