I bet the organisers of the Henley Literary Festival could scarcely believe their luck. Of all the weeks to host their five-day event, they’d chosen the glorious last days of summer, when the sun shone, temperatures soared and we all bared our legs again. Sitting on the terrace at Bix Manor, a pretty country hotel two miles up the road from Henley (above), everything seemed right with the world. I ...keep reading
The first of my regular Friday book reviews. There’ll be a mix of paperbacks and hardbacks, old and new, grown-ups and children’s reads – so watch this space every Friday. Back in the 1980s Bella Pollen was one of Princess Diana’s favourite designers, famed for her sharply-cut jackets in jewel-bright colours. Then she decided fashion wasn’t for her and switched to writing novels instead. Over the years she’s written about ...keep reading