Real life
Whoosh! I was addicted from the first gallop to the heavenly, godlike, immortal speed
The young lad behind the counter of the betting shop looked at me askance. ‘This horse is 200–1.’ ‘Yes. I…
I rode my own racehorse and was changed for ever
‘The last owner who tried to ride his own horse got tanked,’ said the trainer, looking up at me as…
I rode my own racehorse and was changed for ever
‘The last owner who tried to ride his own horse got tanked,’ said the trainer, looking up at me as…
My nights with Hollywood film stars may be far behind me
At least two insurances are going to have to go, as I grapple with fear of penury, I have decided.…
Real life
At least two insurances are going to have to go, as I grapple with fear of penury, I have decided.…
Balham is about as close as you get, in 2015, to the 1950s
After pulling out of my flat sale and U-turning on the idea of moving to the Cotswolds, it took me…
Real life
After pulling out of my flat sale and U-turning on the idea of moving to the Cotswolds, it took me…
Have my bones fallen to bits like the Oxford professor said they would?
‘Are you afraid of falling over?’ asked the bored young radiologist, as he started filling out the forms. I had…
Real life
‘Are you afraid of falling over?’ asked the bored young radiologist, as he started filling out the forms. I had…
Exciting news: I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet but we may be expecting
Exciting news. We might be expecting. I say might because I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet. I thought about…
Real life
Exciting news. We might be expecting. I say might because I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet. I thought about…
Hell is dealing with police bureaucracy
‘Yes, you can report it, but it’s going to take ten minutes to go through the process,’ said the oppressively…
Real life
‘Yes, you can report it, but it’s going to take ten minutes to go through the process,’ said the oppressively…
Am I moving to the Cotswolds? Don't measure the curtains yet
On the basis that I might need a new boiler soon, I thought I had better sell the London flat…
Real life
On the basis that I might need a new boiler soon, I thought I had better sell the London flat…
From ponies to Jeremy Corbyn: Balham’s startingly posh militant left
If anyone wants to know why the Labour party is about to elect Jeremy Corbyn as its leader then they…
Real life
If anyone wants to know why the Labour party is about to elect Jeremy Corbyn as its leader then they…
My local hospital is ‘listening to its staff’ – but not, apparently, the patients
Surely it can be no coincidence that the road by which one enters St George’s Hospital, Tooting, is called Effort…
Real life
Surely it can be no coincidence that the road by which one enters St George’s Hospital, Tooting, is called Effort…
Just call me Miss Whiplash
The vet bill has been sitting on my desk for three weeks. All vet bills are cruel and unusual but…
Real life
The vet bill has been sitting on my desk for three weeks. All vet bills are cruel and unusual but…
I don’t do WhatsApp, and that’s final
‘No, I do not do WhatsApp.’ That’s pretty much all I ever seem to say to people nowadays. They ask…
Real life
‘No, I do not do WhatsApp.’ That’s pretty much all I ever seem to say to people nowadays. They ask…
Challenging parking tickets is my crack cocaine
‘Cydney, we are not moving to Cobham!’ I told the spaniel in my best outraged Margot Leadbetter voice. What a…
Real life
‘Cydney, we are not moving to Cobham!’ I told the spaniel in my best outraged Margot Leadbetter voice. What a…
