Gene editing for achieving designer babies and for the elimination of disabling hereditary conditions has been talked of for years, but has become more of a reality with the announcement of a successful scientific experiment in gene correction. The implications give much food for thought.

Whether he lives or dies, Charlie Gard, the centre of world attention for most of his little life, will never know that he was the most famous baby in the world, for the saddest of reasons.

The 7^th Ray is about magic, about order, about ceremony and organisation, and about ritual – all descriptions that have different connotations depending on your viewpoint. Essentially, however, it is about rhythm.

Another Solstice is on its way, and already I look forward to the growing light that will come from this point, and the sign that Spring and new life are not so far away. This period, for me, of long nights and short days is one of hibernation, a chance to reflect on what has been and what is to come, a time to give thanks for the year gone by and to embrace the adventure of the unknown that lies ahead in this age of change.

Rumours about child abuse, and more, involving senior politicians in Westminster were rife even when I worked in the City of London as the interface between Parliament and the banking world. It was startling to be told by insiders, almost casually, who was doing what and how, and for it to be accepted as a veiled part of parliamentary life.

The report into child abuse in Rotherham has affected many people, far more than the victims, the criminals and the agencies who were involved in a longstanding culture of cruelty. The people of Rotherham more widely will feel shame as well as horror that so many children in their community suffered and were not heard, and they will know that the reputation of their town has been tarnished and that, however innocent, they have been touched by it.

The growing, shocking truth about the extent of child abuse in the world is like the discovery of a colony of plague-carrying rats living in your home – a reality you do not want to see but that you know you must confront.

Until recently, few people realised the extent of the tragedy that is child abduction.  A few names are remembered, like Madeleine McCann and Ben Needham, but it was the reaction to the finding of little Maria, believed to have been taken by a Roma couple, that revealed how many children may have been stolen from their real families. Thousands of people all over the world have claimed her in just a few days, and while some of them may be time-wasters, most of the parents who have contacted the Greek police have lost a blonde, blue-eyed daughter in the last few years – and want her back.