Blog
Black Wednesday
They are both iconic British retail emporiums which failed to keep up with modern times and maintain their public appeal. But it's still a sad day, a very sad day, to learn that both Woolworths and MFI (whose furniture can we joke about now?) have gone into...
Families at war
I don't see there being any winners in the horrible court case between a mother and her author daughter, Constance Briscoe, who is a part-time judge. Constance described her very unhappy childhood in her book, Ugly, including how she was - allegedly - starved and...
Christmas, the credit crunch and alcoholism
I issued a press release this afternoon on behalf of a client, Veronica Callanan, a recovered alcoholic who now runs her own rehab clinic, and within seconds the deputy editor of Take5 magazine responded and said she "would love" to run Veronica's story. We...
Would you buy this Ronnie Kray painting?
I'm not an art expert. But I know I wouldn't want this amateurish looking stuff hanging in my lounge. It's being sold at auction next week. Not because it is a great work of art. But because it was painted by notorious gangland killer Ronnie Kray while serving...
The day I joined a pirate watch
As pirates are in the news at the moment, it reminded me of the time I joined a pirate watch when the ship I was sailing on passed near the Moroccan coast. While my cruise mates were busy topping up their tans or playing deck quoits, I joined the guard pictured here...
Migration figures take a dive
I remember collecting James from school one Friday afternoon when he was 11 and telling him I was taking him a mystery tour, that we were going somewhere really special. We stopped off at the chippie en route and James was bursting to know where we were heading,...
Should Baby P’s mother be allowed to have more kids?
I was totally shaken to see how gorgeous Baby P looked before he became a punch bag. Don't you just want to squeeze those chubby cheeks and bounce him on your lap, sing a nursery rhyme, clap hands and laugh together. That's what most mums would have done with this...
League tables and life
We are in the process of looking at secondary schools with James who takes his GCSEs next summer and then starts at sixth form college in Cambridge in September. There are two schools in particular we are visiting. One is regarded as the creme-de-la-creme, and many...
Seeking hot ideas on climate change
It's not just scientists and world leaders who are trying to tackle the threat of climate change. Financial Times readers - surely some of the brainiest on the planet - are being asked for their creative ideas too. I mentioned before how I am really impressed by...