Off I went yesterday to John Lewis at Bluewater. It was like being called home to the mothership, as various lovely members of staff encouraged me to run my fingers through piles of cashmere jumpers and admire the burnish on the Mulberry handbags. Bliss! In fact, the lady in charge of handbags even asked me …
News from my lovely big brother, who I’m going to promote to US Correspondent (ok, he already has a very important day job, but surely he’d be crazy to turn down this unpaid, thankless extra workload?). Apparently there have been near-riots in the States over, of all things, yoga pants. Not actual pant pants, you …
It wasn’t until a friend said that she was getting highly stressed by Christmas, that I realised something. I really need to get stressed about Christmas! I’ve been coasting along in a bubble, doing other things, just vaguely pootling about as usual, while all the time Christmas has been lurking under the surface, just like …
I’m fascinated at how Hugh Grant is reinventing himself as a statesmanlike spokesman for those abused by the tabloids. He is doing a brilliant job, and comes over as intelligent, thoughtful and sincere. He is also an actor. An actor who has good reason not to want the press on his back – unless, of …
Just when you think you’ve got your children settled at school and you can forget all that application/interview/exam nonsense … they turn 16 and decide, off their own bats, to start the whole blimmin process off again. Or that’s what Child One is doing. On one hand, I applaud her industry, researching, downloading, filling in …
Feeling quite smug today as I’ve actually done the sensible thing for a change, and snapped up Delia’s christmas cake kit early from Waitrose, before its nationwide sell-out. In fact, my smugness levels are at risk of reaching previously unknown heights, as TL actually made the cake yesterday with his little ones. My goodness, Delia …
I love the news that the Radio Times is featuring a Sarah Lund knitting pattern to celebrate the return of The Killing, the Danish detective show which took over my life briefly this year. Lund, in charge of the investigation and lurching wildly from suspect to suspect, famously wore the same downtrodden, bobbly snowflake-patterned jumper …
I am indebted to my big brother for the news that companies have things called ‘escalation departments’. These are places where you can go when you don’t feel your enquiry or complaint is being handled properly. Does anyone ever feel their complaint is being handled in the right way? I know from my experience with …
A friend asked me casually last week if I’d like to go to the theatre. I said yeah, why not, and rocked up last night in my old jeans covered with icing sugar (baking catastrophe, don’t ask) to the Young Vic, to realise too late I’d got the hottest ticket in town – only the …
Poor old Frankie. I do feel sorry for him, even though he can’t sing and should never have got this far on the X Factor. It’s all very well for Simon Cowell to turn round now and say it’s entirely the boy’s fault that he’s had to leave, but it’s not really as simple …