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.
Nursing a beer in a London bar, Laurence Fox smiles after finishing rehearsals for a new British film. The actor – best known for his role as Detective Sergeant Hathaway in hit ITV series Lewis – is hoping this new movie venture will help to heal the darkest six months of his life. The tall … Continued
There’s an exuberant air at Granger & Co in Kings Cross. They don’t take reservations, so people queue expectantly amid the buzz of the square, which makes the wait easier. The shape of the place is striking. Loosely based on an Italian railway station bar, it is beautifully set up with long glass walls, outer … Continued
Michelle Keegan is being eyed up by Hollywood directors. The former Coronation Street star’s storming performance in the upcoming new series of BBC military drama Our Girl has made the big studios take notice. Michelle, 29, who plays Corporal Georgie Lane, has come on to the radar of movie bosses visiting Cape Town, South Africa, where … Continued
When Venice’s only female gondolier, Alex Hai, rows through the meandering canals, she says she feels the buildings are moving away to give her space, everything is fluid and magic can happen at any moment. After 30 years of being on the water in her sleek black gondola, she describes Venice as divided between boat … Continued
IT looks like the Christmas ad battle is taking off already… Marks & Spencer has just finished filming its festive campaign – with a helicopter full of gift-wrapped surprises to help sleigh its rivals. Bosses used fake snow to turn a London square into a Christmas paradise – with families waking up to find the … Continued
The battle of the Christmas adverts is already hotting up – as Marks & Spencer films its festive offering in the middle of summer. The high street giant sprayed streets with fake snow to transform a London square into a winter wonderland. Our exclusive pictures show how they even brought in a helicopter packed with … Continued
Looks like Kate Moss is lining up her next husband after her toyboy love gave her a sparkler on a romantic trip to Venice. trip to Venice. Kate’s relationship with Count Nikolai von Bismarck, 29, was reported to be on the rocks. But now it looks as if they could get hitched when her divorce … Continued
The allure of Rome has cast a spell through the ages for its narrow streets, church domes, plundered treasures, and golden light. I was mesmerised, magically restored. My hotel of choice is the grand neo-Renaissance Regina Baglioni on the tree-lined Via Veneto, the glorious main drag of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. It has that special … Continued
