I do like the sound of Emily Sheffield, who as well as being the deputy editor of Vogue is Sam Cam’s sister. Like her, I’m still raging at the Brexit vote and am delighted that she’s written a column in The Spectator about the aftermath of the foolhardy decision taken by the electorate on June 24. My son is so appalled at the prospect of leaving the EU that virtually every family mealtime ...keep reading
Horses, dogs, David Cameron, Boris Johnson and that notorious Riders cover – all this and more featured in Jilly Cooper’s hilarious, hour-long conversation with Rachel Johnson at the Cheltenham Literature Festival yesterday. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than listening to wonderful Jilly. She is 78 now, a slim figure in a white trouser suit, a glass of white wine in her hand and ...keep reading
The government’s plans to give men the chance to take up to 50 weeks of paternity leave are mystifying. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is due to announce today that new mums and dads will be able to split the entitlement to take time off work after the birth of their child. Mr Clegg, who took an extended period of paternity leave when his first son was born, has criticised ...keep reading
The news that Conservative MP Louise Mensch is stepping down from her parliamentary seat will reignite the “can women have it all?” debate. I’ve long thought that the answer is probably “no,” and I reckon that Mensch, the mother of three young children, has decided the same. A hugely successful chick-lit author before winning the Corby and East Northamptonshire seat for the Tories in 2010, Mensch has had to juggle ...keep reading
I’m not David Cameron’s number one fan but I do feel a bit sorry for him and his wife Samantha right now. The papers are full of the day the couple left their eight year old daughter Nancy behind at a Buckinghamshire pub. Speaking of which, take a look at the brilliant Matt Pritchett’s cartoon in today’s Daily Telegraph. Actually loads of parents have made similar mistakes – me for ...keep reading
My English teacher at secondary school was a stickler for doing things by the book. She was called Miss Milner and she spent hours drumming letter-writing etiquette into my class. In fact she was so thorough that all these years later I’m certain none of us ever use “yours sincerely” when it should be “yours faithfully” – and vice versa. But after reading in today’s Mail on Sunday that texts ...keep reading
Travelling is an expensive, stressful business these days. Fuel costs are sky high, train fares prohibitively expensive and I was stunned when I drove to Manchester recently to find that using the M6 toll costs £5.50 each way. That seems an awful lot for just 27 miles of road… The news didn’t get any better this morning when I opened The Times to discover that David Cameron wants to kickstart ...keep reading
The Iron Lady should come with a health warning. Yes, Meryl Streep gives the performance of a lifetime as Lady Thatcher (all other contenders for the Oscar might as well give up now) but if one of your loved ones has dementia it’s a very tough film to watch. “That was a bit hard to cope with,” whispered my husband as he left the cinema at top speed. I looked ...keep reading
I love Twitter. It makes me laugh, recommends everything from books to blogs to recipes and keeps me up to date with the news on a minute by minute basis. The only drawback is that it’s so addictive that hours can fly by without getting a stroke of work done. Lots of writers say they have to switch it off altogether between nine and five-thirty. Otherwise they wouldn’t write a ...keep reading
Soon after the coalition government was formed David Cameron and Nick Clegg announced their intention to delay morning cabinet meetings so they could help with the school run. But in this week’s Grazia interview the PM said he doesn’t take his two school-aged children to school as much as he used to, though he does try and do it once a week. “…every morning there are priority meetings and phone ...keep reading