Letters: the problem with Ozempic
At your service Sir: National service is a contentious issue with many people including the Armed Forces themselves (‘Identity crisis’,…
The English lieutenant’s Frenchwoman: the tragic story of Adèle Hugo
Mark Bostridge’s obsession with Victor Hugo’s beautiful daughter almost rivals her own infatuation with Albert Pinson, the naval officer she pursued around the world
Dear Mary: how do I dodge a party to avoid an undesirable guest?
Q. I am on a long, jam-packed and much disrupted train journey to Scotland. In the carriage someone is working…
Why being anti-car is a luxury belief
It happened six years ago on a flight back from the United States. ‘Sir, I’m pleased to say you’ve been…
The Tories have failed us over debanking – again
On Saturday morning, when I was helping Caroline prepare for a lunch party, I got an urgent request for help…
Being asked to ‘bear with’ is unbearable
‘Bear with me,’ said my husband on the phone and then let out a loud roar. It was intended to…
My father vs the killer lion
Laikipia, Kenya This month, in broad daylight on our Kenyan farm, a lioness mauled one of my bull calves. Before…
Another election boost for Trump
Last Thursday evening a companionable London dinner party was just wrapping up when our hostess returned to the table brandishing…
Netanyahu thinks he’s Churchill, Israelis see Chamberlain
Aleading member of Israel’s wartime cabinet has threatened to resign should Benjamin Netanyahu fail to present a strategy for ending…
The 28-year-old who legitimised Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally – formerly the National Front – is expected to triumph for a third time running…
Scotland’s religious collapse
Last week, I had a drink with a Catholic priest friend who works with young people in custody. Inevitably, our…
The truth about Paul Hollywood
My husband and I are in New York, where everyone is talking about the approaching Trump-Biden debate. Well, I’ll be…
Would you dare to wear a Rolex?
‘London has become a jungle, right? Anyone with anything nice risks having it taken.’ Bobby, the manager of one of…
Have you had the school gate VAT chat?
Another day closer to the general election and I’m at my daughter’s prep school in Oxfordshire. As has come to…
Can the Tories survive Nigel Farage?
Nigel Farage had given less than a day’s notice, yet hundreds stood ready to welcome him on Tuesday morning on…
I’m a lifelong Tory. Should I vote Reform?
For more than 30 years, I have knocked on doors and dutifully recorded voting intentions. I’m sure every party has…
Sunak seemed the challenger; Starmer the establishment figure
I watched Tuesday night’s leaders’ election debate with fellow guests at a party to launch Conservative Revolution, a book to…
Who is allowed to play Richard III?
On Tuesday night I was body double/understudy for the brave, brainy, beautiful Rachel Riley, at a packed ‘support Israel’ evening.…
Portrait of the Week: Farage returns, Abbott reselected and Trump guilty
Home Nigel Farage took over leadership of the Reform party from Richard Tice and is standing for parliament in Clacton.…
Tourists are the new pariahs
Think of Majorca and what do you picture? Maybe it is elegant tapas bars in the Gothic quarter of Palma,…
How would Athenians have dealt with Donald Trump?
Has Humpty-Trumpty had a great fall, or a great bounce? That will depend on what the Great American Public thinks…
