Uneasy Rider
The Guardian, 12 March 2003 It's a classic dilemma: your teenager is pestering you for a motorbike, so do you say yes? After her son's third crash, Monica Porter seriously regretted her decisions. But now she's not so sure It must be
Like Us or Leave Us
The Times, 12 February 2003 Britain should reject immigrants who dislike its tolerant, democratic values, says Monica Porter The government’s recent announcement that it aims to cut immigration figures by a whopping 50 per cent was music to my ears. Action at
Perfect Step-parent
The Times, 15 January 2003 Finding a partner who can co-exist with your offspring is a challenge. But it can be done, says Monica Porter, who has a few tips. When my partner Nick and I moved in together about 18 months
My, you’ve changed
Press Gazette, 8 November 2002 Anyone who has worked as a feature writer on a Fleet Street paper will know that the only way to survive in such a brutish environment is through a camaraderie with fellow scribes. Like front-line soldiers in a war zone,
Something Uncommon
Jewish Chronicle, 13 September 2002 Something uncommon in common When Nick met Monica… no, they didn’t make a film about it, but the parallels in their lives were dramatic enough. Monica Porter relates how she and her partner discovered their shared, heroic
Divorce
The Times, 17 July 2001 Divorce without conflict A US study says that children of parents with a long history of discord are harmed less by marital breakup than those whose parents separate suddenly. Monica Porter's experience is that the opposite is
Parking Ticket
Evening Standard, 2 November 2000 'How my £30 parking ticket turned into a legal bill for £303 and a visit from the bailiffs' MONICA PORTER thought she had paid her parking fine. Her credit card statement said so. But that didn't convince
Korea
Daily Telegraph, 24 June 2000 Korea: Wish Orwell was here Can Stalinism cope with tourism? Monica Porter peeks behind the last Iron Curtain For those who regret the demise of communism, if only because of the opportunities it afforded to visit places with
Filthy Jobs (2)
Evening Standard, 2 March 2000 worst jobs in London (cont.) MONICA PORTER concludes her profile of the Dirty Dozen they may be the worst jobs in London but there's no lack of enthusiasm, she reports Sink estate manager: 'My wife worries' Dan Hollas, 31,
Filthy Jobs (1)
Evening Standard, 1 March 2000 it's a filthy job
Dustman’s Treasure
Evening Standard, 4 October 1999 A dustman spent five years tracking down the owner of a small treasure trove that he found in the rubbish. But virtue did not bring its own reward
Unromantic Weekend
Evening Standard, 8 February 1999 A scream of a weekend Monica Porter was expecting a romantic break in Vienna with a smooth and seductive Hungarian businessman
Refugees!
Daily Mail, 24 November 1998 Why I, whose family fled death and terror, resent the use of this word to describe the illegal immigrants flocking into Britain today. LIKE any hardworking taxpayer in this country, I am angered and appalled by the
Masterspy
Daily Mail, 3 January 1998 Betrayal and a masterspy's son Kim Philby's son talks for the first time about life in the shadow of his traitor father's defection to Moscow JOHN PHILBY was an art student in the spring of 1963, taking the
Hollywood Childhood
Daily Mail, 24 October 1997 I smoked at four, drank beer at five and Martinis at six. We had no taboos THE BIZARRE HOLLYWOOD CHILDHOOD OF JAMES MASON'S SON EVEN by the outlandish standards of Hollywood, the short item which appeared in
Revolution
Daily Mail, 19 October 1996 For the first time TV brought revolution straight into British living rooms. But my father watched the slaughter with his own eyes. We had to escape FORTY years ago next week, in a brave but tragically doomed
Britishness
Daily Mail, 22 July 1995 Don't ever lose your Britishness After the row over teaching British culture in schools, a Hungarian-born writer argues that our children must never be allowed to forget the values that still make us great TWENTY-FIVE years ago
First Love
Daily Mail, 1 July 1995 My friend went off to bed. I headed for Georges's flat TO SOMEONE who'd just spent six years in the bland, boring suburbs of New York, there was no word more enticing than `Paris'. So the thought