Shores of Night

September is Suicide Awareness Month in the UK, spreading out about World Suicide Prevention Day on the 10th September ( https://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/our-campaig… . In 2015 6,639 people committed suicide in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Most of them were men between the ages of 21 and 49. 75% of the people who successfully took their lives were male, while 25% were women. This isn't to say that more men than women attempted to take their lives, but the methods men use tend to be far more extreme and, sadly, are far more likely to succeed. It's important that we don't confuse the number of successes (and it feels horrific to describe them that way) with the number of attempts In fact, the numbers of women making attempts while the male rate has largely remained the same. That being said, it's still true that half of all male deaths in the UK under the age of 49 are the result of suicide. 50%. That's a truly sobering figure. One person in fifteen wil...

Colleagues, Alumni, and Students, Members of the Public It is with great sadness that Grimalkin University reports the passing of Professor Hobbes, the Dean of the School of Mischief (formerly the Department of Dastardliness), published scholar and expert on many areas in his field as well as others. He passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon after a long period of illness and a troubling loss of appetite. While staff at Grimalkin did their best to care for him, by Sunday it was clearly too late. Hobbes joined the university in 2005 as a Doctoral Researcher specialising in his twin areas of study, charm and cajoling as a form of human control. His catademic career spanned over a decade and he was a much loved member of the faculty, adored by students, staff, and visiting academics alike. He was always curious, keen to add to and spread the sum of feline knowledge by visiting other schools and institutions, indeed he often needed no more invitation than an open door. Much note...