Month: September 2014

Up North

I’m so proud of my lovely Child One. She worked so hard and got brilliant A levels, and now she’s off to a fantastic university. How did the tiny girl who had such trouble reading ‘allosaurus’ in those Oxford Reading Tree Biff and Kipper books get so far? I sat pondering this miracle at the …

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The Misanthrope

If you were planning a great night out at the theatre today, you might well hesitate before choosing a French play that had its premier several centuries ago. After all, the Misanthrope by Moliere was first performed in 1666 – the year of the Great Fire of London. But a new English version, showcased at …

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MeTube

My teenage daughters – and even my nine-year-old stepdaughter – love those self-help videos you get on YouTube offering make-up tips. They are pretty much addicted to them. And, I admit, I’ve seen a fair few myself and find they’re usually helpful and often funny (intentionally or not). It struck me that there was no-one …

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Leaps of faith

Sponsored  Anyone who knows me, and many who don’t, will understand that the lure of chocolate is STRONG. And I mean STRONG. I eat it more or less incessantly, I often wear the colour and, for goodness sake, I’ve written a novel about it. So when Cadbury’s offered to send me a little gift, it …

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It’s not you, it’s us

The whole issue of Scottish independence is like being involved in a slow, bitter break-up – with someone you didn’t even know you were having a relationship with. At first, I felt pretty indifferent. Scotland was complaining again. So what else was new? But that’s when I assumed that Scotland was just having a tantrum, …

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It’s raining nudes

Am I the only person in the world who doesn’t have naked pictures of myself on my phone? Not that I think it is wrong to take nude pictures if you want to, or that it is ever right to hack and publish someone else’s pictures. But why would you want to pose in the …

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