Chill Out

Where are all the nosy parkers when you need them?

Where do we redirect your appetite for gossip? To the stars of reality TV shows or the girlfriends of footballers

Misery makes ugly reading

I don’t think misery lit is harmless. People who read these books should hang their heads in shame

Oh Dave, sex with you in cyberland is unreal

There is some pathos in hoping to form real-life relationships by wandering around a computer game wearing purple hair

Black and middle class: there’s a threat

A brown or black person who earns much more than you? That’s too much; that can’t be borne

How to save pots of money

In an extract from her book, India Knight explains how to say no to waste, save money - and look good while you are doing it

Pity the women within range of Brand and Ross

The Russell Brand-Jonathan Ross fallout is out of control. By all means apologise but why the the need for ritual disembowelling?

Sexism appears in Palin’s wardrobe

For women in the public eye, the whole business of dressing is fraught with pitfalls

We’ve been left at the mercy of our teenage children

Teenagers need, if anything, more support than small children from their parents but seldom get it

Faith in a child works wonders

When proud parents teach their children to parrot scientific formulae, it is of little benefit to the unwitting offspring

Be honest: we all love the sexist alpha male

Manly men behave in their retrograde way and are rewarded for it with popularity, success and hefty pay packets

Putt it away, you giggly golfing birdies

Is this what the role of modern spouse has boiled down to – fragrant appendage to talented man?

Funny thing is Brand let US off lightly

You do worry when Americans threaten physical harm to a comedian for joking about the President

What a relief, boom has turned to bust

Recession, falling house prices and rising fuel costs will provide a welcome break from our excessive spending habits

It’s true, ladies, you can’t have it all ...

...but that doesn’t mean it’s either work or family. You can have a lot of both

A working mother’s first job is to be our scapegoat

If we stopped working, our place wouldn't be in the home but in the trailer, or in a cardboard box

The daddy of marriage mysteries

The abduction of a girl by her father exposes the perils of relationships built on lies

There’s a lot to be said for ageing disgracefully

... just look at Mick Jagger, still swinging at 65 after a lifetime of hedonism

Teenagers trying out soft drugs isn’t so bad for them - or for us

The reality is that for the majority of young people the odd period of light recreational drug use does little harm

Paranoia has taken over child protection

It’s got to the point where a crying child can’t be comforted or hugged by an adult they don’t know

We’re all in the grip of knife fear ...

I don’t believe in turning the other cheek when you are physically aggressed. If someone hurts you for no reason, hurt them back