David Beckham would be the last person to claim that culture is his speciality. But with London 2012 fast approaching, the list of top ten places to visit in the UK he has compiled for tourism agency VisitBritain is lacklustre to say the least. Despite having a host of cultural treats to choose from, he unimaginatively suggests taking a tour of Buckingham Palace, eating at Tony Lane’s Pie & Mash ...keep reading
“Have I ever been an embarrassing parent?” I asked my son the other day. “Quite often,” he muttered with feeling. He then proceeded to list everything I’d done to show him up, from the day I fell off a fairground roundabout (stone-cold sober, I hasten to add) to all the times I’d insisted on staying to watch him ride his bike at the skate park. I pretended I wasn’t with ...keep reading
The New Year has arrived with 85 mph winds lashing the country, driving rain and a clutch of ultra-depressing surveys. Why are we so addicted to surveys? The papers are full of them – and the crazier they sound the more column inches they get. Today’s batch is as eclectic as ever. So far I’ve clocked that only one in three of us bother with breakfast these days and more ...keep reading