In a taxi somewhere on the streets of West London the cab driver turned to me and said "What continent has got six of the fastest growing economies in the world?"
"Well it's Asia isn't it!" I replied firmly.
And there an awkward silence...
At the moment I'm recording a brand new album for release later this year, while continuing to perform regularly for my fans. And this gives me some spare time to plan ahead as it's that time of year when as a mum I start to look forward to...
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We left Austin and the mania of SXSW with sore heads, dashed through an airport or two and found ourselves in the northwest, Portland, OR.
I took a little rest and stayed out of town with family and met the boys in Portland early on Monday. After...
Days after Beckham's ambassadorial arrival on British soil from Greece with the Olympic flame he announced that he felt his future was less likely to be in management but in coaching children. That the Olympics should be held in the East End where he was born, and grew up, marks...
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You might think logically that the Cannes film festival is all about films. It's not.
It's substantially about brands trying to hawk their names around the festival and ensure that they are associated with the most luxurious event of the year.
To be fair, even when the festival isn't...
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Yes comrades.
You might have guessed we've had a few days off. Back in London. Very nice it was too.
So... where were we? Santiago? Don't remember much about the gig. I'm sure it was stunning.
To be honest I was...
In 2009 I was asked to be one of the Orange Prize for Fiction judges. I loved it. Although my boyfriend groaned every time I opened another book, I revelled in it. As I charged through the 30 or so books I was sent over in a large...
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I said in my original blog about Cannes to expect the unexpected at the film festival. Well, who would have thought that Ronan Keating would be here for a film and that torrential rain would dampen the spirits of everyone at the festival - including Ronan?
"I...
I've interviewed a lot of celebrities from A to Z during the last decade and a half, but I've never experienced the feeling I had interviewing Keith Lemon on a balcony in Cannes overlooking the Croisette.
You see, with most interviews you're either talking to the actual...
Wasting my life on pop culture blogs and gossip sites, so you don't have to.
This week, another handful of fellas added their names to the growing pile of men who say John Travolta got gay with them. As potential showbiz scandals go, this is up there, if...
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This fortnight much of the music industry were excited about the announcement of a Prince Tour which begins on 22 May in Australia. The UK music industry was even more excited as he personally handpicked British songstress Delilah (real name Paloma Stoecker) to open his shows.
Whilst all eyes...
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It was a rather traumatic start to Day Two in Cannes. I wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep (already) or the early 8am trip to the cinema. But as I sat down to watch Jacques Audiard's Rust & Bone, I had no idea of the emotional wreck...
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Having only previously been a passenger in the fleet of green taxis that shuttle you around London, I was intrigued to see what it was like to be behind the wheel of an electric car.
First impressions of the Chevrolet Volt are that it's a car for someone who cares...
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Suddenly he lowers his voice and slows his speech, assuming stern ownership of our telephone conversation, like a grown up instructing a child. I've been frank with him, indicating that my delight at his recent casting as Cassius in Julius Caesar has been tempered by the fact that...
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"Does it itch?"
"How about when it gets longer?"
"Does it irritate your girlfriend?"
"Do you get food stuck in it?"; are most of the questions I get asked by friends and strangers alike. They are of course referring to my beard - Not...
I've been going to Cannes for more years than I care to remember and it's always fascinating when I return back home after 12 days of hell and champagne to hear what reports people have seen or read about this - the most iconic of festivals.
Some...
Yes comrades... so Lima? (that's in Peru by the way)
It's also the place where I wrote that song of mine called If I Had A Gun.
Nice place. Foggy. Stinks of dead fish!! Got a little bit wasted the first night on that drink 'pisco...
There's nothing more surreal than bullet-holes in a village setting.
In many ways, with its beaches and lush, green landscapes, Sierra Leone should be an ideal holiday destination. Unfortunately, the brutal civil war of 1991, which only ended 10 years ago, has taken its toll.
As I passed through the...
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What a whacky week of TV! And the biggest whack came with Britain's Got Talent blowing The Voice right out of the water as it ended the best ever series yet - with a dog winning the...
My, how hard it used to be to find a game of poker. You could call round all your friends to see who was available - but you needed a large pool of friends who knew how to play the game, and enough of them free on the right night....
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