the times | Friday August 7 2020 2GM 5
News
Michelle Obama has said that she has
“low-grade depression” because of the
pandemic, racial injustice and the “hy-
pocrisy” of the Trump administration.
The former first lady, who is 56, said
that she had been managing “emotion-
al highs and lows”.
“I know that I am dealing with some
form of low-grade depression,” she said
on her new podcast. “Not just because
of the quarantine but because of the ra-
cial strife, and just seeing this adminis-
tration, watching the hypocrisy of it,
day in day out, is dispiriting.”
Mrs Obama said that she had been
waking in the night “because I’m
worrying about something, or there’s a
heaviness”. Being “out of body and out
of mind” had affected her motivation to
A parish councillor was shot in the head
at his cottage in a Hampshire village
before the alleged gunman crashed and
died while fleeing on a motorbike.
James Nash, 42, was shot on Wednes-
day afternoon after being approached
on foot by a man who is thought to have
been known to him, in the grounds of
his home in Upper Enham, Hampshire.
The attacker was named last night as
Alex Sartain, 34, whose father runs a
local motorcycle repair business.
It is understood that Mr Nash’s wife
was assaulted before the man fled the
scene. He crashed three miles away,
with police in pursuit, and died at the
scene.
Hampshire police said last night that
a house in the nearby village of Enham
Alamein had been searched.
Mr Nash was taken to Southampton
General Hospital.
His wife, Sarah, a scientist with an
aerospace laboratory, specialising in
satellite technology,is understood to
senior police officer and that his
thoughts were with the family.
The suspect crashed the motorcycle
on the A343 near the village of Hurst-
bourne Tarrant.
Hampshire police said that, although
the investigation was still at an early
stage, there were no “outstanding
suspects”.
A local resident confirmed last nightthat the attack had been carried out by
Mr Sartain.
“Alex had a history of petty crime
over recent years and had got into
drugs, I think, too. Nobody can under-
stand why he has done what he has
done,” the villager told the Daily Mail.
Mr Nash, whose website features
wildlife paintings in oil, pastel and
watercolour, published his first child-
ren’s book, The Winter Wild: Long Tails
and Lantern Lights, in September.
According to his LinkedIn page, he
spent seven years at Airbus and eight at
GKN Aerospace.
Mr Nash describes himself on the
business network as “someone that can
be trusted to deliver to my commit-
ments, and believe that those include
individuals and teams as well as the
projects themselves”.
His wife, Dr Nash, works at a re-
search laboratory for RAL Space, as
part of the Science and TechnologyFacilities Council, in Didcot, Oxford-
shire. The lab carries out research in
science and engineering. Its specialist
areas include particle physics, nuclear
physics, space science and astronomy.
On a blog Mr Nash says he is “a natu-
ralist, first and foremost” devoted to the
conservation of our wild world”. The
site says that he is resident artist at the
Hawk Conservancy Trust in Andover.
His cottage is located on a country
lane next to the Enham Trust, a charity
that provides support and care for the
vulnerable and disabled.
Heath Gunn, the charity’s chairman,
said: “We are saddened by the events
that took place on Wednesday, and
our thoughts are with the individual
affected.”Alex Sartain, 34,
named as the
gunman, was said
to have a history
of petty crimewith lots of things. A few years
ago we had a fair and he was
asked, because he had a
tractor, to come and help
out.”
Kit Malthouse, the North
West Hampshire MP
and the minister for
policing, said that he
had been briefed by aJames Nash, a painter, parish councillor and children’s author, is thought to have
known his attacker. His wife, Sarah, an aerospace scientist, suffered minor injuriesAmerica’s troubles have given me depression, says Michelle Obama
exercise, she added. “I’ve gone
through those emotional highs
and lows that I think everybody
feels, where you just don’t feel
yourself, and sometimes...
there has been a week or so
where I had to surrender to
that, and not be so hard on
myself. One of the many
frustrating things to watch
in this pandemic is the
people who are not willing
to make the sacrifice even
of wearing a mask or stay-
ing at home, because they
don’t see the virus or it
didn’t impact them.”
In May the death of Ge-
orge Floyd, a black man, inpolice custody in Minneapolis prompt-
ed a national debate about race.
Mrs Obama said: “Waking up to
yet another story of a black man
or a black person somehow
being dehumanised, or killed,
or falsely accused of some-
thing, it is exhausting. And
it has led to a weight that
I haven’t felt in my life
in a while.”
The findings of a
Census Bureau survey
published in May sug-
gested that one in
three Americans had
symptoms of depres-
sion or anxiety, more
than three times the rate
when the survey was
conducted last year.
Since leaving theWhite House in 2017 Mrs Obama has
published a bestselling memoir and re-
leased a documentary on Netflix. A poll
of more than 42,000 people from 41
countries by YouGov in July last year
found that she was the world’s most-
admired woman.
Joe Biden, 77, the Democratic presi-
dential candidate and her husband’s
former vice-president, is eager for Mrs
Obama to lend him her star power. Her
impact may be blunted by the virtual
nature of the campaign, however. Some
Democrats have tried to persuade her
to put herself in the running for the
vice-presidency, although she has
shown no interest in seeking office.
Mrs Obama also discussed how she
had spent her time during the lock-
down with Mr Obama, 59, and their
daughters, Malia, 22, and Sasha, 19. She
said they spent time alone during theday but came together in the evening
for dinner and games. “Barack’s in his
office making calls, working on his
book. I’m in my room, the girls are on
their computers. But around five
o’clock, everybody comes out of their
nooks and we do an activity, like puzzles
have become big, just sitting and doing
these thousand-piece puzzles. The girls
are just into them, and we’re all sitting
on the floor around a table where the
puzzle is now permanently set up.”
Mr Obama’s memoir about his eight
years in the White House was planned
for release last year but is now expected
next year. He has been writing by hand
on legal pads, the same technique he
used for many White House speeches
and for his pre-presidential bestseller
Dreams from My Father.
US ‘has worst outbreak’, page 14
Podcast review, Times2 page 10Henry Zeffman Washington
Matthew Robinson
Suspect dies
in crash after
artist shot at
village home
John Simpson Crime Correspondent have been by his bedside. She had suf-
fered minor injuries.
At Mr Nash’s family home in
Sherborne, Dorset, his father, Peter,
told The Times that they had not been
updated on his condition or whether he
would pull through. He added, close to
tears: “I hope to God he does.”
Mr Nash’s mother, Gillian, was asked
whether she knew of anyone who
would wish him harm.
She said: “No. I hope that the police
will be looking at everything. I know
nothing.”
Firearms officers and detectives were
seen yesterday at Holly Tree Cottage,
where Mr Nash lives. The painter,
illustrator and children’s author is
said to be an active councillor and
closely involved with the com-
munity.
A middle-aged neighbour said:
“I know the guy that got shot. I
have spoken to him but I don’t
know him as a friend. He is a
lovely guy. He would do any-
thing for anyone. He helps out
FinkleyUpper
EnhamVictim shot
at Holly Tree
CottageAndoverEnham
Alamein250mASuspect left on
motorcycle and
crashed and died
three miles away
near Hurstbourne
TarrantHurstbourne
TarrantANDOVER ADVERTISER/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCYThe former first lady said
she had lost motivation