Modern manners

I wouldn't want to be a girl in the age of Tinder

14 February 2015 9:00 am

Romance is being killed off by the brutal marketplace of dating apps such as Tinder

My moment of mortification with Saint Joan Collins

14 February 2015 9:00 am

My time with Joan Collins was wonderful – except for one mortifying moment

Dear Mary: How can I stop my neighbour pacing the ceiling?

7 February 2015 9:00 am

Q. The woman who lives above me has insomnia and walks around all night. I’m also disturbed by her rather…

The Stonewall dinner left me with one question: why are volunteers so horrible to one another?

24 January 2015 9:00 am

I watched the video with some trepidation. Stonewall (the campaigning gay and lesbian equality organisation) had just sent me the…

Send in the clowns - how comedy ate British politics

24 January 2015 9:00 am

Why has politics turned into stand-up?

Why tomorrow’s parents won’t want their children to go to university

24 January 2015 9:00 am

Why being a graduate is about to lose its prestige

How to stop being scared of full stops

24 January 2015 9:00 am

Modern manners and the fear of the full stop

Dear Mary: How can I stop friends staying after a 21st?

24 January 2015 9:00 am

Q. A neighbour is hosting a party for his daughter’s 21st birthday. Adequate provision has been made for anyone who…

Quaglino’s, the vampire brasserie

24 January 2015 9:00 am

Quaglino’s is an ancient subterranean brasserie in St James’s, a district clinging to the 18th century with cadaverous fingers. It…

The rise of ‘living apart together’ – and why I’ve stopped doing it

17 January 2015 9:00 am

The rise of ‘living apart together’ – and why I’ve stopped doing it

David Sedaris was right: litter is a class issue

17 January 2015 9:00 am

David Sedaris is my new hero. Not because he’s such a funny writer, but because he’s obsessed with litter. He…

When did we become a nation of police informers?

10 January 2015 9:00 am

There’s a danger that in what follows your columnist may seem to be recommending an attitude. Please don’t think that.…

Dear Mary: How will Joan Collins introduce herself now she’s a dame?

10 January 2015 9:00 am

Q. We enjoyed the Christmas University Challenge series featuring mature graduates, some of whom were more in the public eye than…

The real reason there’s a queue outside the Cereal Killer Café

10 January 2015 9:00 am

The Cereal Killer Café is a temple to cereal on Brick Lane, east London. It serves only cereal — and also…

Dear Mary solves problems for Jim Broadbent, N.M. Gwynne, Jesse Norman and others

13 December 2014 9:00 am

Once again Mary has invited some of her favourite figures in the public eye to submit personal queries for her…

Dear Mary: Do I really have to take my shoes off indoors?

29 November 2014 9:00 am

Q. There has been a marked increase in the number of people who have pristine flooring and are so keen…

Richard Madeley’s diary: Forgetting Tom Conti’s name, and other harrowing experiences

22 November 2014 9:00 am

Oh God, it’s happened again. Another evening where I’m surrounded by people I know personally or have interviewed, and I…

Patriotism isn’t uncivilised - it’s what makes civilisation possible

22 November 2014 9:00 am

Is it racist to be patriotic? Is patriotism, by definition, small-minded and exclusive? When you strip away the onion layers…

Steve Jobs’s button phobia has shaped the modern world

22 November 2014 9:00 am

An irrational fear that has reshaped the technological world

Pity I’m a Celebrity’s token old guys

22 November 2014 9:00 am

I had thought that my days of being approached by reality show producers hoping to put together a cast of…

Revealed: the marriage gap between Britain's rich and poor

15 November 2014 9:00 am

Marriage has emerged as a serious – and perhaps surprising – social divide

The unexpected joys of working while pregnant

8 November 2014 9:00 am

‘You are like my cat.’ So I was told when eight-and-a-half months pregnant, just before going on maternity leave from…

Dear Mary: How can I stop my future son-in-law saying ‘must of’

8 November 2014 9:00 am

Q. My future son-in-law has been successfully house-trained in the use of upper-middle-class English over the years that he has…

The cult of 'mindfulness'

1 November 2014 9:00 am

Separating meditation from faith might not be as harmless as it seems

The fightback against wackiness starts here

1 November 2014 9:00 am

Forced, studenty wackiness has taken over our culture. It’s time to take a stand