From today’s Daily Mail….I am a novelist! Finally! Novelist Helena Frith Powell writes, in her latest work, Love In A Warm Climate: ‘Johnny was tall, about six-foot-two, and well-built. But he had the most delicate hands, like a pianist’s – small wit …

Here are 10 key points you need to know if you are ever invited to an Arab wedding. 1. The music will be LOUD and I mean so loud you can barely talk. 2. The bride will appear extremely late (both to the pre-wedding party and the main event) 3. There wi …

….but were afraid to ask is in this excellent film: www.youtube.com/homeproject. Watch it, it is compelling and very scary. Added to which the filming is stunning. I am in Paris which has to be the most lovely city on earth. I came over the interview …

Although I lived here as a child and teenager, there is much I had forgotten. Here are some of the more remarkable things about this country. In the summer it gets light at 2 in the morning In the winter it gets dark at 2 in the afternoon Most people i …

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece for the Guardian’s book blog about how the literary heroes of our youth never change. For example, I was in love with Heathcliff and Darcy when I was 16 and I probably still will be when I’m 60. Spurred on by Ruper …

I am lucky that I am not one of millions of ordinary French people trying to get to and from work today. For me the commute is easy. Out of bed and down the stairs to my office. But all over the country people are stranded, delayed, inconvenienced and …

We have just come back from Venice where we were invited to the launch of a joint venture between the estate agents Savills and a local company called Views on Venice. We stayed in a penthouse apartment overlooking the Grand Canal. The weather was amaz …

I am getting ready to leave LA and head back home. I can’t wait to see them all, it seems I’ve been away for months. But there are things I will miss about LA. Driving around in my red convertible listening to 92.7 Jill FM for example. And just an asid …