Modern manners
I wouldn't want to be a girl in the age of Tinder
Romance is being killed off by the brutal marketplace of dating apps such as Tinder
My moment of mortification with Saint Joan Collins
My time with Joan Collins was wonderful – except for one mortifying moment
Dear Mary: How can I stop my neighbour pacing the ceiling?
Q. The woman who lives above me has insomnia and walks around all night. I’m also disturbed by her rather…
The Stonewall dinner left me with one question: why are volunteers so horrible to one another?
I watched the video with some trepidation. Stonewall (the campaigning gay and lesbian equality organisation) had just sent me the…
Gagging order
Why has politics turned into stand-up?
Why tomorrow’s parents won’t want their children to go to university
Why being a graduate is about to lose its prestige
How to stop being scared of full stops
Modern manners and the fear of the full stop
Dear Mary: How can I stop friends staying after a 21st?
Q. A neighbour is hosting a party for his daughter’s 21st birthday. Adequate provision has been made for anyone who…
Quaglino’s, the vampire brasserie
Quaglino’s is an ancient subterranean brasserie in St James’s, a district clinging to the 18th century with cadaverous fingers. It…
The rise of ‘living apart together’ – and why I’ve stopped doing it
The rise of ‘living apart together’ – and why I’ve stopped doing it
David Sedaris was right: litter is a class issue
David Sedaris is my new hero. Not because he’s such a funny writer, but because he’s obsessed with litter. He…
When did we become a nation of police informers?
There’s a danger that in what follows your columnist may seem to be recommending an attitude. Please don’t think that.…
Dear Mary: How will Joan Collins introduce herself now she’s a dame?
Q. We enjoyed the Christmas University Challenge series featuring mature graduates, some of whom were more in the public eye than…
The real reason there’s a queue outside the Cereal Killer Café
The Cereal Killer Café is a temple to cereal on Brick Lane, east London. It serves only cereal — and also…
Dear Mary solves problems for Jim Broadbent, N.M. Gwynne, Jesse Norman and others
Once again Mary has invited some of her favourite figures in the public eye to submit personal queries for her…
Dear Mary: Do I really have to take my shoes off indoors?
Q. There has been a marked increase in the number of people who have pristine flooring and are so keen…
Richard Madeley’s diary: Forgetting Tom Conti’s name, and other harrowing experiences
Oh God, it’s happened again. Another evening where I’m surrounded by people I know personally or have interviewed, and I…
Patriotism isn’t uncivilised - it’s what makes civilisation possible
Is it racist to be patriotic? Is patriotism, by definition, small-minded and exclusive? When you strip away the onion layers…
Steve Jobs’s button phobia has shaped the modern world
An irrational fear that has reshaped the technological world
Pity I’m a Celebrity’s token old guys
I had thought that my days of being approached by reality show producers hoping to put together a cast of…
Revealed: the marriage gap between Britain's rich and poor
Marriage has emerged as a serious – and perhaps surprising – social divide
The unexpected joys of working while pregnant
‘You are like my cat.’ So I was told when eight-and-a-half months pregnant, just before going on maternity leave from…
Dear Mary: How can I stop my future son-in-law saying ‘must of’
Q. My future son-in-law has been successfully house-trained in the use of upper-middle-class English over the years that he has…
The cult of 'mindfulness'
Separating meditation from faith might not be as harmless as it seems
The fightback against wackiness starts here
Forced, studenty wackiness has taken over our culture. It’s time to take a stand
