Category Archives: PERSONAL

HEALTH, PERSONAL

Q&A | Nicki Roest: I almost died from Wilson’s disease

Nicki Roest was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease, a rare and life-threatening liver condition, in 2016 and went on to have the year from hell. Having first experienced symptoms in 2014 while living in New Zealand, where she’s from, doctors concluded Nicki had “a viral thing” or fatty liver. Things seemed to level out, and she and her husband Tim continued with their plans to move to the UK. Two years later, by which point they were living in London, Nicki’s symptoms started presenting again.

After a number of appointments with doctors who seemed largely unconcerned – despite some test results she now knows should have raised red flags – Nicki finally went to A&E. She was immediately admitted to hospital, and things escalated quickly from there. She shares her story with Sarah. Continue →

PERSONAL, POLITICS

Oliver Chan: Jeremy Corbyn proved me wrong

On June 8 at 9:59pm, drinking with colleagues at an Islington pub and waiting for the exit polls, I at least felt a sense of consolation in Labour’s brilliantly-fought election campaign. One minute later, the room exploded with cheers and spilled pints as a generation of New Labour political thinking was upended like a clapped-out Mercedes during a street riot. Hopefully this means that fading political diva Tony Blair will stop appearing on TV every few months to remind us that he won three elections.

Continue →