Life's A Picnic

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

Is Madonna's marriage on the rocks?

Of course, marriage isn't the the be-all and end-all, but a failure is a failure

Now, kiddies, a quick sex lesson

What is extraordinary about cries for more sex education is the belief that teenagers are stupid

Face it, the right apprentice won

If you’re happy to work a 16-hour day and never see your children, you too can rule the universe

Our nasty squeeze on Fern and her band

Surely what a person chooses to do with their body is their business and nobody else’s, even if they are a public figure?

My happy about-face on Botox

Why don't women see the tragic neediness of wanting to look less like themselves and more like their teenage daughters?

A desperate generation driven to drink

Our boozing culture is largely an underclass one and it's time we both acknowledged the problem and stepped in to help

Neglected scandal of old age

The lack of decent care home provision for old age causes the children of the elderly acute emotional distress and guilt

Back off, boardroom bitches

There is nothing brave about grinding down your fellow woman just because you can.

They do vile differently in Austria

The Fritzl case, while perhaps uniquely monstrous, is the third of its kind in recent memory

We’re all fagged off with nanny

The smoking ban is killing social life and killing the businesses of those who try to provide it

Carla Bruni, a perfectly lovely predator

You wouldn’t want the world to be overrun with Brunis, but luckily there’s only one of her. And what a one she is

Wives suffer for the writer's art

Flattery, veneration, nice dinners and sex on tap are what make a happy union for men

David Cameron’s family gamble

If you’re fretting about your mortgage and the markets crashing, the Cameron Cheerios start to look a bit like an insult