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.
Perched on a cliff top, Taormina dominates all around: valleys of almond, olive and cypress trees that sink into the dancing Ionian Sea. On clear days, the view ahead is of Italy’s tip, the peninsula of Calabria, and behind, the looming smoky presence of the majestic volcano Etna. There you stand with a truly momentous … Continued
Harry’s Bar in Venice became a national monument in 2001. What’s the secret? Harry himself has a simple recipe that keeps everyone, from the famous to the fabulous, coming back. There isn’t even a sign on the door. Unknowingly, I used to jog straight past it on my morning run from the Baglioni Hotel Luna … Continued
Worship at the Grill Jamie Oliver’s parents choose the Barbecoa for the view and their famous son’s food. It even charms a hardened pescatarian. Isn’t it a bit meaty for you?’ was the universal cry when I said I was going to Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa, an American-style charcoal grill — with me being a longtime … Continued
Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York belted out across the pub lounge on karaoke night… and a star was born. Standing alongside John Cox was stepson Harry Styles , then just nine and giving his first singing performance. The memory triggers proud and painful memories for John, who was to split up from Harry’s mum … Continued
Cape Town’s natural setting never stops changing and making its impact on mesmerised visitors as clouds sweep down the granite face of Table Mountain, Atlantic breakers crash on to soft beaches and the blazing African sun ignites towering palms and vivid hibiscus. Cape Town has soul. Africa’s most passionately creative city has become a playground … Continued
Heart-throb Harry Styles’ career is going in One Direction after he landed a role in a blockbuster war film. The singer, 22, beat hundreds of rivals, including several big-name actors, to get a debut part in Dunkirk, starring Tom Hardy. He wowed the movie’s casting director John Papsidera, who said: “It’s a great achievement for Harry … Continued
What to get a girl as a token of your love is a problem most chaps can relate to – but it’s even trickier when she’s Kate Moss. So, when the model’s toy boy lover Nikolai von Bismarck – rumoured to have been ditched because of his party lifestyle – saw this picture of Kate … Continued
Telly beauty Michelle Keegan is an all-action girl hooked on danger and adrenaline, her stunt double says. Lookalike Nadine Theron describes the petite actress as one tough cookie and reveals how the former Corrie star insisted on tackling her own stunts as they filmed BBC1 drama Our Girl 2. That included being winched up by … Continued
