UKH

What does this image tell us about the happy couple?

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

They are worried about the security of their books?

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

That someone has got a camera?

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Perhaps more interestingly, what does it say about you for asking?

In reply to FactorXXX:

I loathe the b*stard, and to me that photo shows that he has embarked on yet another dysfunctional relationship. He's looking at his child - who depends upon him for love and affection at this crucial stage - as though he is some distant relative - a less favoured grandchild, even.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

You've got issues.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

A strange looking photo of a man in a suit with a random woman and child rather than parents with child.

But then just seen less cropped image on TV - it was a video call with midwives and looks fairly natural for that context.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnson-carrie-symonds-...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

It tells me that the child is the spit of Michael Gove, and like Kerry Mucklowes' mother and Capt. Mainwarings' wife, the face will never be shown.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

While I'm not a fan of Boris, it seems a bit harsh to take it out on the kid, no? It's not his fault his parents didn't get hitched.

In reply to Jack B:

Christ, nothing I have said is in anyway derogatory of the child. I'm saddened by Johnson's body language, which doesn't - to me - look like that of an adoring father.

Which is a grim start in life for any child, irrespective of material wealth. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope so for the child's sake. But I'll take a bet that I'm not.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I hate explaining jokes but: I was taking the piss by interpreting your use of the word "bastard" literally.

In reply to Jack B:

Yes I just realised that! You didn't need to explain...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

A rather tense game of 'Guess Who' was underway as despite consulting the list of possibilities, which ran to two full sheets of A4, Boris, for the life of him, couldn't recall the latest ones name. 

In reply to FactorXXX:

A popular exercise during a buddhist retreat is to show attendees such a photo, and ask them to say how the subjects are feeling.

After that is finished, the next round involves changing the subject to "I", to say "I am feeling" all those things they have just identified, and reflect on that experience.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

That they're ink on blotting paper.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

That they want to put out a publicity photo

Signed, Profitofdoom, amateur psychologist

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Maybe a full picture showing they are on a live link to midwives gives a better understanding rather than cropped photos

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Well, at least he's actually acknowledged this one, and is in the same room...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I think it looks like the baby wants the security of it's mum. 

I dislike Boris Johnson too, but I don't know if much can be read into that picture.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I'm one! Its not really how psychology works in the real world though....

My thoughts were:

- He's punching above his weight. Although she's probably not a nice person.

- He has the look of someone who's never picked his own kid up!

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Junior seems to be holding his head up, I must have lost track of time somewhere, because I thought he'd be too young to have got to that stage.

Not sure if we can infer anything else.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

It doesn't say anything,  a snapshot in time with no context. You however come across as a bit of a bitter old duffer.

In reply to Gone for good:

OK. You don't think Mum clutching her child to herself is significant? Or Dad distancing himself, deliberately putting space between himself and his child, his right arm held to his chest; staring at the child like some sort of alien? If you've had children, do you have a photo like that? 

In my view that's a seriously dysfunctional grouping.  I may be wrong.

In reply to elsewhere:

Begs the question, where did Rob get the photo he used in his opening post?
Or, perhaps he was the one that cropped it to make it look totally different to the original?
Though no one would do such a thing surely? 🙄

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Have you seen elsewhere's reply to you at 1229?
It has a link as per the following:
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnson-carrie-symonds-...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward: He is disconnected from the child & parenting, just like the random uncle who lives in another part of the country.  He is looking at the child as if he hasn’t seen him for a while.  He could be checking out if the child is a mirror image of him (a photo just after the birth did show the child bears a remarkable likeness to his father).  This would pander to Boris’s narcissism.  Hopefully the child’s relationship with his mother will be loving & strong & will stem the rampant narcissism that inhabits Boris & Stan the grandad.

ps I’m not a psychologist, just fancied having a go at answering your question

In reply to Andy Hardy:

It is rather odd... That 11 week old premature baby is huge. What are they feeding it?

In reply to Tiggs:

I suspect you could be right, but all that comes from what we know, think we know and suspect about Johnson. The photo in and of itself could be telling us everything or nothing. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

 his right arm held to his chest; staring at the child like some sort of alien.

His right hand appears to be under the table near to his groin.What does that tell us about this couple. 

In reply to FactorXXX:

Is it normal to have 5 midwives?

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

In reply to Ciro:

Lies?

In reply to FactorXXX:

No you're correct, I wouldn't. My photo is lifted directly from the BBC.

In reply to Ciro:

Interesting observation.

In reply to MG:

I assume that they were talking to midwives in general at the hospital that helped deliver their baby and not the ones specific to their particular birth.
Unless of course you want to politicise the photo by saying that Boris as an upper class twit has more midwives at his disposal than the plebs he represents?

In reply to MG:

If you have a 24 hour labour its quite normal to get through a few shifts. And trainees sometimes tag along....

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Very little. It's a split second of time with a couple sitting in armchairs so it would be difficult to all be close. He may be just about to hold her hand, tickle the baby or pick it up, we just don't know.

I detest the bloke but you really are taking 2 + 2 and arriving at 100.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

That having a meeting with a midwife over zoom when you're both working from home isn't the best family photo. Probably one most parents would be spared the indignity of having a photo taken during, by press or otherwise. 

Unfortunately we demand to see the insides of number 10 then complain when they don't live up to some unfathomable expectation that our leaders should both be running the country 24/7 at the helm and be perfectly photogenic at inopportune moments. 

If they fail to live up to this, because life is real for all of us, then some sad ulcer will try to them psychoanalyse them in order to reinforce his own biases within the echo chamber of these forums. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Fair enough, allegation withdrawn.
Out of interest, what do you think now that you've seen the original photo?

In reply to FactorXXX:

He politicised it - man who won't say how many children the has but then uses staged shot of talking to midwives to try and show how nice he is and how supportive of the NHS.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Have you ever seen a man less comfortable in his own skin than Boris? Every image; jogging, zip lining, just stood outside number 10... the man looks to be in a constant state of Awkward. Hence it's difficult to read anything into his body language. Hardly necessary in any case. His character is writ large in his actions.

In reply to FactorXXX:

Genuinely, to me Johnson looks as though he is staring at a stranger, an alien who he is not connected with. And Symonds is holding the child very close, she doesn't seem to be having much to do with the weird looking bloke on her left either. 

Cod psychology I know, but you'd struggle to find a photo of, say, my grandchildren where there was so much distance between the parents and children. And I'd be anxious - for them - if there was. 

In reply to JohnBson:

'That having a meeting with a midwife over zoom when you're both working from home isn't the best family photo. Probably one most parents would be spared the indignity of having a photo taken during, by press or otherwise. '

Complete boll*x. 'Indignity' - a newborn child? Those sort of attitudes disappeared with Dickens. 

Johnson fought to become our great leader, and by some cosmic joke became so at a time of  two of the greatest peacetime crises to face us since at least 1910. If his  clearly displayed inadequacy for the task wasn't already bad enough, it's not likely to be improved  by strained domestic circumstances. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

With all that space, they would all try and squeeze in on a single chair?

In reply to deacondeacon:

I tend to agree.  We were at daughters house yesterday and if you'd taken 1000 snapshots throughout the day and picked two at random, they could have told a lot of different stories

Three loving generations in a room having a wonderful time, paying attention to each other and listening

or

Young child in distress while a callous family look absently at their phones and ignore her 

On the second one she was having a minor strop and was being purposefully ignored so as not to give in to her.  Was over in about a second but taken out of context you could have read a lot into it.

He's never going to appear on my list of favourite humans either, but this seems like an unfair shot

In reply to Stichtplate:

Yes, I thought something similar to Tiggs, then reminded myself how generally awkward he is, and that I could have some lurking preconceptions about him in the back of my mind. I do hope the boy develops a strong bond with his mum, though, given the erratic pattern of parenting Boris Johnson has shown so far, and of being unfaithful.

The less secure friends I've known, or the ones who've had periods of deep insecurity, seem to be the ones from broken families. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I'd almost go as far as to say I loath him as well. But I dislike just as much the newspapers who take one snap capturing a split second and use it to support their story that they have just made up.

Take a thousand pictures of a celebrity couple over a two hour shopping trip or meal out and you will almost certainly get at least one where they are looking affectionately at each other. And you will almost certainly get one where one of them is looking at their phone and the other one is looking bored/glum.

What's the story of the day?

Early in the relationship? Print the happy one and some positive copy about how they have at last found love after their last heartbreak. Give the readers a warm glow.

Six months later when the readers are bored of that story? Take a similar set of pics and  print the unhappy one to back up the new story about their relationship being on the rocks and how miserable they are. Give the readers a chance to feel good that  their relationship is better than some rich celebrity couple.

In reply to mountain.martin:

These aren't your ordinary celebs and the photo wasn't taken by a pap - at a guess it was taken by an approved photographer and they will have selected the published photo themselves.

To me, it shows a rather dysfunctional, Chekhovian  grouping,  but apparently I'm reading too much into it so I won't go on.  But it DOES matter - people are dying unnecessarily because Johnson is making poor decisions and showing poor leadership. His personal life impacts us all.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I rather think you will...
As for the photo, are you still referring to the cropped Low Res one you originally posted?
If so, try looking at the proper photo again, as Boris almost looks like he might be smiling at his baby as opposed to your biased version:

In reply to FactorXXX:

'as Boris almost looks like he might be smiling at his baby'

And that's normal, is it? You are photographed with your newborn child and the best you can manage is to 'almost' smile at him?  

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Blimey Rob, I think you've done the seemingly impossible and got a considerable number of ukc forumites defending/supporting Johnson. 

Including me in this instance, and i think he is a tool of the highest order who has done immense harm to this country.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Yes, it's a bit of a grin as opposed to a wholesale big toothy smile - big deal.
Are you really that biased that you will micro analyse a photo to that extent?

In reply to mountain.martin:

I'm a bit surprised myself, tbh. I thought it a weird and sad photo, apparently I'm in a minority of one. Oh well. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Here's a thought.
Maybe it's because you're a bigot.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

It is kinda weird, but one doesn't know quite 'why' is what people are pointing out.

That's the problem with weirdness, it's multifaceted.  

Thinking about something else is bound to be healthier I reckon, like your own grandchildren or other positive things, my own Dad is something of an enigma to himself, but he's been helpful re 'think about something else' style advice (which is probably partly why he's a bit of an enigma to himself.)

In reply to FactorXXX:

I'm not sure about that. If he hated him for his beliefs I guess that would make him a bigot. 

If he hates him because of the harm he percieves he has done to to the country, I don't think that is bigotry.

Is it? 

Hoping I can continue to consider myself unbiggoted.

In reply to Timmd:

I wonder whether it's an age thing. When I was younger studying photos for evidence of body language was a big deal. Desmond Morris and others wrote best sellers about it; when my former partner showed a photo of our then family to her sister, her sister immediately remarked on the distance between us. That's why my OP was addressed to psychologists, but perhaps they don't study body language any more.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I've just awarded you your first Like for this OP. 

Forget psychoanalysis of photos: given the latest revelations about our so-called PM, regarding Russian meddling, we need to keep heaping abuse on him and his government and reminding people that this git is a danger to the country... As if his 'response' to Covid wasn't evidence enough already, FFS.

Keep up the good work Rob. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Seems to be more a specialism of certain newspapers but then that might be the age thing.

From my vague knowledge of psychology body language never came up. Could be relevant for a subset of the profession eg those working directly trying to understand a specific person but for many areas would be totally irrelevant.

I think the most relevant bit is how despite his claims about his children being offlimits the newest suddenly becomes a nice handy PR advert.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I'm not getting "hands on father" vibes from that photo.

My caption competition entry would be "oh f**k I've gone and done it again, will I never learn?"

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:  this is going through Blojobs mind -‘what number are you then?’

In reply to Tiggs:

If we're going to turn this into a caption competition, how about "That small  person seems familiar - I'm sure it reminds me of someone I know...'

In reply to deacondeacon:

I agree.  A single snap can be very revealing or completely misleading.  Two photos taken seconds apart can give completely different impressions.

My (very low) opinion of him doesn't depend on a single moment - there's a lifetime of dishonesty and egotism to consider. 

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I assume she was then told why there was distance between you and moved on.

Luckily, it in no way played on your mind for several years developing an insecurity and affecting you every time you looked at a photo of another family.

Tell us about your childhood...

In reply to DancingOnRock:

Happy to do so if you're interested, but I don't know how your post connects with anything that's gone before.

In reply to MG:

Depends on the birth.  I had 3 obstetricians, 2 paediatricians & several midwives in the operating theatre when I delivered my son (not caesarean, just complicated) it was quiet on the delivery ward at 3.30 am.  Thank you NHS.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Feigning that you actually give care, your posts are onnanism for your leftist ego. Reinforcement of thy pathetic self in an echo chamber of ukc is the only adoration you crave. Is your dad Bojo?

In reply to JohnBson:

Whatever.

In reply to Tiggs:

Gosh, a friend's younger sister (midwife trained) who've I've known since she was born, helped a local lady to give birth while she was in South America on holiday with her boyfriend, they were just walking past the lady in the street. She found it intense, and he said he'd have run away given the choice. 

Being only ten or so years older than somebody makes the passage of time feel strange almost, from babyhood to adulthood the years seem to become squashed so they lose their significance.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Yes, I have a degree in Psychology. It tells us nothing.

Also it would be unethical for a psychologist to diagnose anything without proper consent and authority.

Also a lot of people here seem be confusing psychologists with psychiatrists...

In reply to Iamgregp:

One has an ology?

In reply to the mods, again :

my echo chamber has developed a persistent fault now. Every thread I go on is awash with competing views and opinions! 
 

Please can you sort this out urgently. Or I’ll be sadly forced to conclude that all this promotional material that I get from JohnBson, ClimberEd, et al about how good an echo chamber ukc is is just delusional nonsense.  

In reply to Iamgregp:

Yes, I realised that might be the case after I posted. Maybe I should have asked a novelists opinion. Or a journalists...

In reply to DancingOnRock:

Indeed!

The other differences are that a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialised in psychiatry, a psychologist may well be a doctor as they have a PhD or similar, but they aren't a medical doctor.

In summary:

Psychiatrist - Doctor

Clinical Psychologist - Doctor, but not that type of Doctor

Psychotherapist - Not any type of doctor, well they could be but you don't have to be.  Technically anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist in the uk.  It's not a protected status.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

You'd probably get a more interesting response!

I’m getting very concerned at the lack of sense of humour on UKC lately.

Forst my ‘tell us about your childhood’ comment received a downvote and a long reply  

Now my ‘you’ve got an ology’ comment seems to have gone completely over the head of an intelligent educated person.

Did no one spot either references? I give up  😂

In reply to DancingOnRock:

A reference to a 30 year old advert that wasn't that funny and distinctly un-PC even then? Going to have to do better than that I'm afraid.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

It would seem so. I’m off down the pub...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I remember that advert. What was un-pc about it?

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

I don't think you'd get away with it today. Pushy caricature Jewish mum fulfilling a stereotype. It's a bit cr*p.

In reply to DancingOnRock:

Yep, sorry proper went over my head!  I’m quite stupid really...

In reply to Rob Exile Ward: nah, you don’t need expert opinion