Long Live Libby Purves! For common sense, concise argument, compassion, and fun that sees you belly laugh through your day, she is your woman. Just remembering a few words of hers had me giggling like a loony Tescos.
Not having slept for eons may have had something to do with it. That and a new baby. Libby's guide on parenting was a godsend, laying down no rules but piling on the confidence. Everything I was doing was right. Libby convinced me.
Today in The Times she stresses: " A crying infant wants comfort and food so to hell with the book." In the befuddled world of new parenthood, that says it all. You need no more. Except a sense of humour and Libby shovels that on too. Piles it high, brilliantly.
Read her column. And her books. She is a gem and a brainbox, with a first from Oxford. One of the best in the writing business, she knows what she is talking about. If that sounds over the top, I make no apology, just read her and see if you don't feel the same.
Monday 19 March 2012
Thursday 15 March 2012
Sam Cameron Outshone by Michelle Obama
Sorry Sam Cam, Michelle Obama left you in her dust! She ran right over you! It was the frightful frock. One winner, one loser. Shame as both women seem to get on well, laughing naturally together as they share jokes, probably at the men's expense.
But at the state dinner at the White House Sam was so much the non-starter. Michelle looked stunning in a midnight blue number, showing off her lovely shoulders. Samantha Cameron, also in blue but this time more curtain than corset, went for high neck and total coverage.
She looked frumpy - quite difficult to manage in her case. Michelle was dazzlingly gorgeous, though tight underpinnings must have made the meal a challenge. Was this deliberate on Sam's part? She can do glam when she wants to, but would it have been good politics to outshine the President's wife? Perhaps not, though Michelle could probably take it. Just would rather see Sam wear something to show herself off, not a dress Maggie Thatcher would be seen in.
But at the state dinner at the White House Sam was so much the non-starter. Michelle looked stunning in a midnight blue number, showing off her lovely shoulders. Samantha Cameron, also in blue but this time more curtain than corset, went for high neck and total coverage.
She looked frumpy - quite difficult to manage in her case. Michelle was dazzlingly gorgeous, though tight underpinnings must have made the meal a challenge. Was this deliberate on Sam's part? She can do glam when she wants to, but would it have been good politics to outshine the President's wife? Perhaps not, though Michelle could probably take it. Just would rather see Sam wear something to show herself off, not a dress Maggie Thatcher would be seen in.
Monday 12 March 2012
Downs Won't Let You Disappear
Tom Bickerby is wondering if his son Alex will ever blend into the crowd. I can tell him now that he won't. Alex has Downs syndrome. Everyone is telling Tom that people with Downs are "the life and soul of the party," always laughing, always jolly, not a care in the world.
Tom is right to believe this cannot be true. Life with Downs Syndrome can be very miserable. My friend Carole had Downs. I met her when I was 17 and she was 22, though she behaved like an eight-year-old. Mostly she was happy as we cleared tables together, me to pay for driving lessons, her because her parents wanted to get her out into the world and a proper job.
Carole was an object of fun from the start in a cafe filled with teenagers. She laughed along with their jokes, most of them harmless but some sexual and cruel. She had Downs but she was not stupid, and when she finally understood she was hurt. In that she was the same as everyone else.
Where she differed was in being the most genuine human being I have ever known. She had absolutely no pretence. When she liked you, she liked you, when you hurt her it showed. The jokes stopped. People formed a real affection for Carole. Sadly her parents could not bear what had gone before and she left the job. We missed her. Of all the people I knew at that time, Carole is the one I remember best, not for being the life and soul but for her purity of spirit.
Tom is right to believe this cannot be true. Life with Downs Syndrome can be very miserable. My friend Carole had Downs. I met her when I was 17 and she was 22, though she behaved like an eight-year-old. Mostly she was happy as we cleared tables together, me to pay for driving lessons, her because her parents wanted to get her out into the world and a proper job.
Carole was an object of fun from the start in a cafe filled with teenagers. She laughed along with their jokes, most of them harmless but some sexual and cruel. She had Downs but she was not stupid, and when she finally understood she was hurt. In that she was the same as everyone else.
Where she differed was in being the most genuine human being I have ever known. She had absolutely no pretence. When she liked you, she liked you, when you hurt her it showed. The jokes stopped. People formed a real affection for Carole. Sadly her parents could not bear what had gone before and she left the job. We missed her. Of all the people I knew at that time, Carole is the one I remember best, not for being the life and soul but for her purity of spirit.
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