Why write a biography? It only pins you down. Suffice to say I was born in Africa. And already that’s seeing the world without its skin. My father was the local gynaecologist. My mother was born in Strasbourg. My grandmother lived with us. In many ways I loved my childhood but not in others. I would have been cheating myself if I hadn’t left to study English literature in Britain. Before that I was lucky enough to live in Paris on the threshold of womanhood, in the spring, on my own, and of course that stays with you forever. We ate well and cheaply and I learnt to love wine and got engaged. At Edinburgh I got a First class MA Honours and the Janet Christie Bequest to study abroad. So we drove to Florence and lived in an old farmhouse for 8 months, learning Italian, studying at the British Institute.
In the slipstream of your life you imagine you’ll be a great writer, another Virginia Woolf, have the perfect family, be the best mother. So many impossible aims. I ended up being a journalist. A mother to one daughter. A lover. As a journalist I did quite a lot of good in the beginning. Campaigning stories, saving a horribly mistreated lioness in Italy, seals in the Hebrides, premature babies at Dulwich hospital in need of incubators, endangered leatherback turtles in Tobago. I have done a lot of travel articles, restaurant and hotel reviews, and many years of exciting seat-of-the pants Showbiz stories, travelling with Freddie Mercury, Rod Steward, Spandau Ballet, interviewing Angelina Jolie, Leonardo di Caprio, Bono, Jude Law. Now I’m writing a novel set in Venice and its working title is Behind the Mirror. With a novel, which takes years to write, you’re not the same person at the end of the book as you were at the beginning. The story has changed, the characters are deeper, but you have changed with them. You fall in love with all of them. I’m nearly ready to say goodbye to them and let them stand on their own.
Il Melograno is one of Italy’s hidden treasures in the sun-soaked province of Puglia. The solid white-washed masseria is set around a large square, with giant cacti, glazed urns and ancient olive trees. Furnished with antiques, richly coloured rugs, and valued paintings, it exudes a cool airy elegance. I loved the indoor and outdoor pools, … Continued
The cousin of a Jewish man killed in the Hyper Cacher terrorist attack in Paris one year ago revealed last week that the family was “dreading the anniversary”, after his brutal murder split them in two. Rachel Bourlier, whose first cousin Yohan Cohen, a part-time student, was shot dead by gunman Amedy Coulibaly in the … Continued
After walking the winding streets of Puglia’s exquisite Baroque town, Lecce, there’s only one restaurant to go to for authentic Leccese food. The casual, bustly Alle due Corti is so faithful to the cooking of the Salento, south eastern part of Puglia, that even the menu is in dialect. In fact Rosalba de Carlo, who … Continued
Israel is the one country in the world Islamic State fears, according to the only Western journalist allowed entry into territory controlled by the terror group. The claim from German reporter Jürgen Todenhöfer, a former member of the German Parliament, came after he spent 10 extraordinary days behind enemy lines in Iraq and Syria, accompanied … Continued
He is the hardman of British cinema, known for roles in Scum and Sexy Beast, but Ray Winstone is now so burly that his body double has to wear a fat suit under his armour. The news filtered out from the set of Winstone’s latest venture, the biblical drama Of Kings and Prophets, which is … Continued
If you want to reach the top as a woman in the police, get a house husband. Britain’s most senior female officer has revealed that she was able to getto the summit only because her partner, formerly a police officer too, stayed at home. In her firstinterview, Lynne Owens — who takes over as head … Continued
Berlin plays havoc with your emotions. The brutalities in its recent history are glaring everywhere. reminders, markers, memorials of the holocaust and the subsequent terror of communism and the stasi, are spread among the stones of this intelligent, thinking city. There’s nothing dumbed down about Berlin. I found myself flipping from fascination to tears and … Continued
Jude Law’s French ex-lover today reveals how the Hollywood star walked into her life – by stepping out in front of her car on the school run. The actor waved Rachel Bourlier down, chatted her up through the window and then cheekily asked the stunned mum for her phone number in true Alfie style. It … Continued
