‘Is having personal demons like having a personal trainer?’ asked my husband, casting aside a newspaper magazine to the peril of his glass of whisky. (It survived, briefly.)
He might well ask, for these ‘personal demons’ have been having quite an outing in the newspapers recently. Anne Diamond, according to a so-called friend quoted in the Daily Mirror, ‘like most people has her demons – if she has issues with work or family, she eats and drinks’. Indeed, she ‘balloons’. I like, or rather don’t like, ‘has issues with’.
According to the same newspaper, Robin Williams ‘has been tortured by personal demons’ including cocaine, which he wittily remarked was God’s way of telling you you’ve got too much money. Another person who has a ‘tortured mind’, in the words of the introduction to Mary Ann Sieghart’s article about him in the Times, is Gordon Brown.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in