As a certificated resident of the Westminster village, it’s strange watching the party conference season from afar. But I’m getting used to being removed from the big political events of the year. Hey, I was the political correspondent who managed to miss the entire general election – the ‘most exciting in decades’. Why? Well I achieved something far more important than a political scoop – I had a baby.

My beautiful son Charlie arrived 10 days before the election. He weighed a rather eye-watering nine pounds. Let’s just say it wasn’t an easy delivery. But my husband and I formed a perfect coalition, with me doing all the hard work. Eventually, Charles Stanley Whiting arrived 16 days late.

The trauma of his birth is why I thought that, at 10 weeks old, Charlie should visit a cranial osteopath. Friends had told me that this treatment is supposed to help realign the body from the head to the bottom of the spine. It’s recommended for babies delivered using ventouse and forceps, so I decided to give it a go.

When I arrived at the health centre, I was greeted by a woman who can best be described as an ‘ageing hippy’. We followed her down to the basement and into a room furnished with large scatter cushions and candles… very new age. (more…)