Mail on Sunday

Welcome to You

Most of the time, there's really no one I'd like to swap lives with. But now and again, someone comes along and I think, 'Ooh, I wouldn't half mind having her life.' Plum Sykes is one such. I mean, just look at the girl.

The Harsh Truth Behind the Care of the Elderly ; Your Say

Hospital care of older people is a cause for shame - which is why the government has just announced new measures to ensure they are treated with dignity. And not before time, if your response to our recent interview with Harriet Yeo, whose mother died after a routine operation, is anything to go by I am an 'old school' nurse. We were trained to make sure that continence, hydration, nutrition, hygiene, mobility and pressure areas were monitored for all patients. The sister in charge of the war...

Dedicated Illustrator of Fashion ; From the Age of Eight David Downton Knew What He Wanted to Do: Draw. A Renowned Fashion Illustrator, He Counts Supermodel Linda Evangelista and Performer Dita von Teese Among His Subjects. And Now He has Won the Artist's Accolade of a Retrospective

David Downton is the first to admit he leads a double life. A couple of weeks ago he kissed his wife and two children good night and boarded a jet for Los Angeles with another woman on his mind. 'The thought occurred that I might be having a midlife crisis,' says the 47-year-old British illustrator. 'It certainly felt surreal to be flying 6,000 miles, first class, to sketch a stripper in a corset.' But this wasn't just a stripper: this was Dita Von Teese, the world-famous burlesque dancer (an...

The Alien World of Planet Marriage ; First Person: Getting Engaged Is Like Moving to Another Planet, Discovers Jemima Lewis. But the Natives Are Friendly - Sometimes Overwhelmingly So

Call me slow on the uptake, but I had no idea that getting engaged would be sodifferent. There used to be a sci-fi series on television called Stargate, about a magic portal that was unearthed from some Egyptian remains. It didn't look like much a big metal ring with a watery substance undulating inside, a bit like staring into the bowl of a public lavatory but in fact it was an interplanetary wormhole.

An Ex-Drunk Bounces Back ; High Sobriety: In the First of a New Column, Former Wine Writer and Recovering Alcoholic Alice King Talks About Life Without Alcohol

I am at a wedding, laughing with other guests in the stylish marquee. I raise my glass of sparkling water and toast the bride and groom. Just over a year ago, I would not have believed this possible. Not the wedding, though this has been a whirlwind romance.