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.
The most elegant retreat in Bangkok is The Mandarin Oriental, not just one of the world’s most splendid hotels, but also a piece of history. Here Evelyn Waugh sat on the terrace writing Mad Dogs and Englishmen, John Le Carre finished The Honourable Schoolboy, and Somerset Maugham recovered from raging malaria in an airy bedroom. … Continued
Toronto’s like New York – only safer, friendlier and more cosmopolitan Winona Ryder stayed in my room, Clint Eastwood was down the hall and Brad and Angelina dropped in for afternoon tea. The cool, stylish Windsor Arms is the place to stay – and Toronto is the place to be. While cities in the United … Continued
The inner thoughts of former South African president Nelson Mandela were laid bare last week when a collection of his writing, jottings and letters from his long years of captivity on Robben Island were published in a new book, Conversations With Myself. Increasingly frail at 92, Mandela is revered around the globe for his warmth, … Continued
The summer sun stays late in southern Tuscany, and there’s nowhere more beautiful to stay there than Il Falconiere, outside the medieval hilltop town of Cortona. The hotel, made up of exquisitvely furnished 16th century villas, sits on a hillside with superb views over the countryside, two glorious pools, and the new stylish Thesan Etruscan … Continued
City built on goldmines sparkles again thanks to the World Cup I’ll be there, with an estimated one billion people, focused on Johannesburg from this weekend onwards as the World Cup opens and closes at Soweto’s giant stadium – Soccer City. In preparation, the city built on gold mines has started to sparkle again after … Continued
In her first full interview, Earl Spencer’s daughter Kitty remembers her father’s notorious speech, the divorce battle and the crash that nearly killed the Spencer family Ever since the untimely death of Princess Diana, the House of Windsor has, by common agreement, been a little short on glamour. Now all that is about to change. … Continued
Sharon Feinstein and her mum take in the delights of Cape Town with it’s top hotels, restaurants and, of course, breathtaking views – but also make time to pay their respects at Africa’s first Holocaust centre Cape Town glistens in that white sunshine that only exists under a big African sky. Wherever you turn there’s … Continued
Finds herself seduced by an Italian lifestyle that is as rich as it is simple it’s the secret lake which gives this part of Tuscany something special. Until now I had thought Italian lakes consisted of only the splendid Como or Maggiore in the north. But Italy’s oldest lake and its most ethereal is on … Continued
