Wedding

The struggle to book my wedding in Ireland

27 April 2024 9:00 am

‘How does anyone young and stupid manage to get married?’ I kept shouting at the builder boyfriend as I pummelled…

Credit: istockphoto.com

Clucking hell – hen parties are just awful

23 February 2019 9:00 am

‘Last fling before the ring.’ ‘Buy me a shot, I’m tying the knot.’ ‘Keep calm and bridesmaid on.’ If you…

The internal logic of the NHS makes it ruthlessly cold-hearted

30 June 2018 9:00 am

Gordon Brown, echoing Aneurin Bevan, says that the greatest gift that the NHS brings to people is ‘serenity’. He is…

Mary answers your problems: How can I stop guests from showing up early?

4 November 2017 9:00 am

Q. Twice in one week I have been found unready for my guests. Occasion one: in the garden, finishing my…

Low life

14 October 2017 9:00 am

Early on Friday morning I flew from the north of Iceland to Reykjavik, from Reykjavik to Heathrow, then I hopped…

Dear Mary: How can I angle for a wedding invitation?

30 April 2016 9:00 am

Q. How does one go about getting invited to a wedding? Two friends of mine from university, who I have…

Dear Mary: How can I teach my godson to write thank-you letters?

13 February 2016 9:00 am

Q. I recently rediscovered a wonderful 22-year-old godson. He came to shoot for the first time and was a marvellous…

My big embarrassing Greek royal wedding

4 July 2015 9:00 am

Tempus sure fugit, and how. Twenty years ago, on Saturday 1 July 1995, monarchs from around the world descended on…

Dear Mary: How to give a dinner party and still get an early night

25 April 2015 9:00 am

Q. I socialise in Shropshire every weekend and regularly give dinners which end at 2 a.m., but it’s a different matter…

Check yourself: have you succumbed to this corporate speak epidemic?

10 January 2015 9:00 am

Is there any cure for this piece of corporate speak?

Dear Mary: Can I ask for a lift on my friend’s private jet?

18 October 2014 9:00 am

Q. We have moved to the country and my husband often prefers me to drive — not because he wants to…

My ghosts of Athens; a shooting and a royal wedding

27 September 2014 9:00 am

Athens This grimy semi-Levantine ancient city has its beauty spots, with childhood memories indelibly attached. There is a turn-of-the-century apartment…

Glazed tiles, a barred window: it must be another morning in a police cell

30 August 2014 9:00 am

In my late twenties, it was not unusual for me to wake up in a police cell wearing a paper…