We drove over to dinner last night with my friend Regine and her husband Jean-Claude. The children stayed with Norrie and Mary. The drive was beautiful; I am more and more taken with this region. We had the GPS plotter leading the way and when she said …

This morning I went for a run around the lake, not the whole way round, it is 18 kilometres, but for about 15 minutes. Suddenly it started pouring with rain. My instinct was to shriek and call a taxi. But then I thought; rain, there’s a novelty, let’s …

So we showed up at the airport last night at midnight, ready for our 2am flight to Geneva and our holiday. “Geneva?” said the young man at the Etihad counter. “There is no flight to Geneva tonight.” “Ha ha,” I said. “Very funny.” Sadly he wasn’t joking …

I remember being shocked in France when our childminder, among others, would tell the children things that were plainly not true in order to calm them down. So, for example, if I dropped them off before I was due to go off on a trip and they started cr …

Helena Frith Powell’s writing career began with the French Mistress column in The Sunday Times about living in France which she wrote for several years. She is also a regular contributor to the The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegra …

I was really heartened to read today that there is a beauty contest for victims of landmines called Miss Landmine. Not only does it raise awareness of this dreadful weapon (which costs about $15 but ruins a life in less than a second), but it also mean …

It is astonishing to think that in the year 2009 a woman can receive 40 lashes from a whip-wielding police officer for any offence. It is even more astounding when you realise her “crime” was to wear a pair of trousers. This is what may happen to the S …

….Leonardo and er, some girl at summer camp. Yes, he is a little sketchy on the details but, he is in love and engaged. “Why?” I asked him. “Mummy, you know I’m going to have dark hair when I grow up. She’s got dark curly hair. That’s the thing,” he …

It was a scene you seldom see. We got back last night from five heavenly days in Lebanon and I had actually LOST a kilo. When did you last lose weight on holiday (unless it was deepest India)? Exactly. Well I have the answer. You go on holiday with my …

I have just read a story on the BBC website that makes me want to throw up. An eight year old Liberian girl in Arizona was lured into a shed, attacked and gang-raped by four Liberian boys aged nine to 14. Her parents have disowned her, saying she has b …