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.
EX-007 Pierce Brosnan will take part in some potentially heart-stopping steamy sex scenes with a Spanish beauty half his age in his next movie. Brosnan, 64, plays an American colonel with a dodgy ticker who falls for a Venetian Countess in wartime Italy. Maria Valverde, 31 – who appeared in Exodus: Gods And Kings – … Continued
FEW rock stars create a buzz quite like Bono and now he is set to take it to a whole new level – by keeping his own bees. The U2 singer and his wife Ali Hewson want to become self-sufficient by producing honey and growing fruit and veg at home in Co Dublin. On a … Continued
Actress Michelle Keegan is all smiles as she makes a big impression in Hollywood… well, at Universal Studios, at least. The star of Army drama Our Girl held hubby Mark Wright’s hand on a theme park trip in California, where he is a correspondent on TV entertainment show Extra. They have been househunting in LA … Continued
Our girl star Michelle Keegan is only following hors d’ouevres as she heads off alone after an LA lunch with hubby Mark Wright. And Michelle, 30, could be set to hang up her dog tags for good as she tries out a Hollywood posting to support Mark in his career. Our exclusive photos of the couple come … Continued
Bodyguard on dramatic intervention Daniel Craig’s bodyguard has told of the terrifying moment he wrestled a knife-wielding maniac away from Bond girl Monica Belucci. Muscular Mino Zangrando stepped in to protect the Italian actress while he was looking after her on a trip to Venice. The crazed fan ran towards Monica – who played an … Continued
Our Girl star and hubby to be together more in 2018 Michelle Keegan has a simple New Year’s resolution – to see more of her husband Mark Wright. Pals of the Our Girl actress say she is delighted they are reunited for Christmas after eight months apart. Mark has been in America trying to carve out … Continued
Frederick’s is in pedestrianised Camden Passage, a cobbled street with antique stalls and continental-style cafés. But when you step into the rather plush eatery, you’re suddenly in a more sedate, enclosed world. It’s discreet, the service is smooth, there are white tablecloths and properly spaced tables. Frederick’s is family-run, a local institution of 50-odd years, … Continued
CALL the Midwife’s Helen George is campaigning for real-life delivery nurses’ “amazing” work to be recognized. She told of their care when her baby Wren was born three weeks early in September. The actress, 33, revealed she had a liver disorder while pregnant with her daughter but added: “I wasn’t worried. I was surrounded by the most … Continued
