Howard Elston, our Q/A guy answers the big questions that trouble our planet
TODAY:
Q:
How did politician Chris Huhne suddenly remember that he made his wife take his speeding points just before he was to go on trial?
A:
Our lawyer writes: As this is an active court case we have advised Howard not to answer.
But our office doctor writes: Memory is a strange thing. It is selective and geared to self preservation. A patient, who I shall call C, did not remember events for a decade. But when faced with a stern man on a bench with a white wig, a battalion of smart lawyers in black robes, an end of a career and the wrath of a nation, he was impelled suddenly to re-assess his atrophied values.
In the psychotraumatic field, this is known as telling the truth. Medically, It can have an effect on family, friends, the voting public and fellow workmates.