Why do women stay with brutes?

Why do women stay with brutes?

I was astonished to read about the cruelty levelled by Sir Vidia Naipaul against the women who loved him – his Oxford educated wife Pat and mistress of 20 years Margaret Murray, for whom the attraction was merely sexual. I found John Carey’s review in...
French chic, where are the heels?

French chic, where are the heels?

The outfits were elegant and demure and deliberately understated to accommodate the renowned British reserve. But one thing stood out and disappointed me about Carla Sarkozy’s carefully planned wardrobe during her visit to the UK last week -where were the heels?...
What a difference a week makes

What a difference a week makes

Just before Easter I was ranked at just over 19,000 by Technorati, the internet search engine which tracks every blog in the world. In the last week, thanks to my hectic home and work schedule which resulted in light blogging, I dropped 10,000 places, but am still...
A literary weekend in Cambridge

A literary weekend in Cambridge

I’m attending a couple of meetings this morning, then heading off to Cambridge Wordfest for the rest of the day for some stimulation at this always exciting literary festival being held this weekend. It may not surprise you to learn that with my passion for...
Phoning home from the sky

Phoning home from the sky

There was a time you could go to the cinema and enjoy a film knowing everyone’s mobile phone was switched off. That is not the case any more. When my family and I this week went to see my husband’s starring role in The Other Boleyn Girl, somebody’s...