My parents' generation's benchmark was simple: Fat Equals Bad.

My parents both had Oxford degrees, they read important books, spoke foreign languages, drank real coffee and went to museums for pleasure. People like that don't have fat kids: they were cut out to be winners and winners don't have children who are overweight.

Despotism isn't nearly as bad as it's cracked up to be.

I don't think I've got the expertise with which to nit-pick, and I freely admit that my motivation to support charities has been emotional, rather than as a result of being particularly well informed as to how the money is used.

When popularity is your only goal, doing well in class is going to feature very low, if at all, on your priority list.

The real me now may not be thin but she's got the cake and, if she likes, can eat it too.

I spent my entire childhood living abroad because of my father's occupation, so we were on long-haul flights all the time.