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![]() Stefano HatfieldiNews |
This year’s festive season was far from merry for Britain’s high streets. Footfall was down for the second successive year by 2.2 per cent. Cost of...
As the season of resolutions begins, many of us will commit to some form of self-improvement. We pledge to exercise, eat better, or spend less time...
Childhood is brief and magical, a time when the impossible feels possible, and the world is full of wonder. For a fleeting moment, we believe in...
Presents are curious things. In theory, they mark our journeys, reflecting who we are, what we value, and our lives at a given moment. But all too...
When is enough actually enough? What is the point beyond which the cost/value equation is irrelevant and “things” simply cost too much to have any...
The tragic deaths of six tourists in Laos from methanol poisoning leave many parents wrestling with an age-old dilemma: how much freedom should we...
I had a big party for my 60th birthday this weekend, mostly because I’m just happy to be alive after my second heart attack earlier this year. As I...
“Sir, how do you feel about more than half your life being over?” If I wasn’t having an existential crisis about turning 60 this week, one of my...
I’ve been visiting close family in Boston, Massachusetts. It is akin to being wrapped in the flags of the USA and Italy: being fed, nourished,...
Last week brought yet another depressing set of headlines about the desultory provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities...
I heard the sad news about Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal cancer just after seeing my favourite play, Samuel Beckett’s thought-provoking Waiting For...
I have a guilty pleasure. Like many I profess to not caring about celebrities, but I am secretly obsessed with the Wagatha Christie saga. This...
My partner and I have been invited to a wedding in August 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, with 150 guests. For the happy couple, it’s still much cheaper...
When did you last go clubbing? If, like me, you’re more salt than pepper these days, you may adhere to the adage that “nothing good can happen to a...
Twice this week, I’ve had genuinely tense conversations with male colleagues at work. These otherwise “woke”, liberal teachers simply cannot...
Two months ago, I wrote a column imploring parents to help wean their children off their smartphone addiction over the summer holidays, as evidence...
It took an Irish icon to sum up the pointless row over the new England men’s football coach not singing the national anthem. Roy Keane nailed it: “...
It’s back to school for millions of children this week. Six weeks have barely seemed long enough to squeeze in a summer holiday – and those...
My ex-wife and I have only had one major disagreement in the 18 years since we separated. This adventurous woman and excellent mother refused to...
It is arguably the most stressful week of the year. There is scarcely a household in the country that doesn’t contain a teenager who is waiting...
Club football is back! All over the country, men and women will be donning a magnificent array of garish football shirts to demonstrate their proud...
It was our Olympic rowing great James Cracknell who said “gold is the only currency”. The double Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion,...
School’s out for summer across the UK, as of a few days ago. So I’m going to set some summer homework tasks, both for your children and yourselves....
I’m writing this from a bed in the coronary care unit of a major west London hospital. I’ve woken up in trepidation, but without pain or tightness...