Dates – and other ingredients
Jewish Chronicle, 10 October 2014 Do Jewish men make the best lovers? Ha! I knew that would get your attention. But seriously, this is a question which we gentile women occasionally consider whilst having a good old chinwag about the male of the
Poe and Me
The London Magazine, February/March 2014 My introduction to Edgar Allan Poe came about courtesy of the 20-volume Book of Knowledge, an American children’s encyclopaedia which my father acquired for me and my brother Val in about 1961. We were a Hungarian
Unstinting love is the real key to a happy family life
27 October 2013 It was recently revealed that Dorset is the county with the highest proportion of married couples. Based on figures from the 2011 national census, it appears that, for some reason, fewer people get divorced there. This news delighted
Reverse Exodus
Jewish Chronicle, 9 August 2013 Daniel Barenboim, celebrated musical genius and Israeli citizen, has admitted that he feels more at ease in Germany than in Israel. He has famously been running the Berlin Staatskapelle orchestra since 1992 and lives in
I could teach you a thing or two about grandparenting, Charles
I could teach you a thing or two about grandparenting, Charles 19 May, 2013 Back in the Seventies when Prince Charles and I were young, I fancied him and sometimes imagined myself canoodling with him. I was delighted when, as
How my father’s death showed me I was not as ruthless as I thought
17 March 2013 My much-loved father died recently. He was 90, long widowed, and had been an invalid since his stroke five years ago. The death of an elderly parent is a rite of passage for the middle-aged. We know it’s
In Praise of In-laws
Reader's Digest, December 2012 In-laws have been the butt of jokes since the invention of the stand-up comic. But the laughs ring a little hollow to me. In my view, your spouse's relatives should be a prized part of your life. I
When Britain Froze
Daily Express, 30 November 2012 Fifty years ago this month Britain fell into the arctic grip of one of its bitterest winters on record. What became known as the Big Freeze began on 22 December 1962 and continued without let-up until
Spartacus’s Last Mission
Daily Express, 26 October 2012 His name alone can conjure up Hollywood’s golden age, when the stars really were stars. With his athletic physique, chiselled jaw and famously dimpled chin, Kirk Douglas was one of the silver screen’s most iconic action
The Dark Charm of Adolf Hitler
Daily Express, 29 September 2012 It is one of history’s great conundrums. How could Adolf Hitler, a figure so patently absurd - a megalomaniac with a comical moustache - have so enthralled millions that they slavishly followed him into the abyss
In Defence of a Maligned State
Jewish Chronicle, 28 September 2012 Hungary, the country of my birth, gets a fairly bad press in the anti-Semitism stakes. Naturally, the rise in recent years of the ultra-nationalist Jobbik Party - blatantly no friend to Jews or Gypsies - hasn’t
Bravest Animals of War
Daily Express, 18 September 2012 An award ceremony will take place next month at Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace. The award is for ‘conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while serving in military conflict’. It is being bestowed posthumously, as
The Jewish restaurant yards from Hitler’s ex-HQ
Jewish Chronicle, 7 September, 2012 Of all the cities in which a Holocaust-surviving Jew might choose to open a restaurant - a mere 15 years after the end of the Second World War - you’d think the least appealing option
The Freemale: Single and Happy
Daily Express, 23 August 2012 The second long-term relationship of my life has drawn to a close and I find I’m part of a social phenomenon – the growing number of women who are single in their, ahem, older years. There’s
Life After Hungary
The London Magazine, August/September 2012 They say a Hungarian can go into a revolving door behind you and come out in front, and it’s indisputable that the diaspora from this small central European nation has produced many world-class achievers. But
Soviet shame
Jewish Chronicle, 20 July 2012 Let’s give the Russians a little kicking, shall we? Lord knows they deserve it. Throughout the 20th century they blighted whole populations with the evils of communism, now they poison our world with their chief exports
Why Can’t All Schools Be Like This?
Daily Express, 12 June, 2012 We are at a girls’ secondary school in South London. The 6th formers on the health and social care course are practising their first-aid techniques. They have the use of a real ambulance, plus all the
More Friends Reunited…
Psychologies, June 2012 The reunion between long-lost friends is a remarkable social phenomenon of our time. It was kick-started by the advent of our new millennium, which many viewed as a turning point in their own lives as well as in
Selling up is hard to do
Sunday Times, 27 May, 2012 My partner Nick and I moved in together 11 years ago. After much searching we had finally found the proverbial dream house with everything we wanted: the plentiful space, the garden, the garage. What’s more, it
A Word From Our Sponsors
Business Life, May 2012 The association between business and sport in modern times is the most mutually advantageous relationship since Morecambe met Wise. Talented athletes striving to be the best desperately need sponsorship in order to devote their time and energy