Melissa Kite

Melissa Kite writes The Spectator's Real life column.

Real life

25 February 2023 9:00 am

When we put the house on the market, my environmentally conscious neighbours disappeared on a holiday so long I asked…

My eight-year campaign to cancel my mobile phone contract

18 February 2023 9:00 am

The man in the phone shop greeted me with what I presume is a look specifically designed and reserved for…

Real life

11 February 2023 9:00 am

Driving through the road widening works at junction ten, I noticed a horse being ridden down a muddy passageway that…

Real life

4 February 2023 9:00 am

Real life

28 January 2023 9:00 am

‘No way am I having it now,’ said a friend, as she insisted on discussing the latest scare stories. And…

Real life

18 January 2023 10:00 pm

The nurse fixed me with a disapproving stare: ‘Why is there such a gap between these prescriptions?’ I had gone…

Real life

7 January 2023 9:00 am

Real life

17 December 2022 9:00 am

Real life

10 December 2022 9:00 am

‘Then I got taken hostage in Iran,’ said the lady sitting next to me in the hairdresser’s as she was…

Real life

3 December 2022 9:00 am

Real life

26 November 2022 9:00 am

‘Notice from your vets’ said the email subject. I clicked and there was a letter telling me that my vet…

Real life

19 November 2022 9:00 am

Real life

12 November 2022 9:00 am

With only five to ten more years to work out how to log in to my pension plan I need…

Real life

5 November 2022 9:00 am

Real life

29 October 2022 9:00 am

By the time I got through to someone at British Gas to complain about them holding £491 of my money…

Real life

22 October 2022 9:00 am

‘Excuse me, I’m looking for something to catch a mouse that won’t cause it any distress,’ said the young chap…

Real life

15 October 2022 9:00 am

‘I’d like my money back please’ was what I was waiting to tell British Gas, if they ever stopped the…

Real life

8 October 2022 9:00 am

A cleverly worded email has arrived from British Gas to explain why, despite the Prime Minister’s announcement, my gas and…

Real life

1 October 2022 9:00 am

The support group groupies have issued another ban. They have attempted to slap an exclusion order on another long-standing member,…

Real life

24 September 2022 9:00 am

The cyclist was on the wrong side of the road coming towards me head-on. It was a winding country lane…

Real life

17 September 2022 9:00 am

A lot has been going wrong lately in the support group I’ve been attending for more than 20 years. I…

Real life

10 September 2022 9:00 am

The ladies in the bank now wear badges telling you to Be Kind and not do anything that might upset…

Real life

3 September 2022 9:00 am

My favourite vet came to see Darcy and immediately put his finger on the problem. Dusk was falling when he…

Real life

27 August 2022 9:00 am

‘If you think about it, Frankie Dettori is to blame,’ said the builder boyfriend, because when things are really bad…