Mail on Sunday

In Which I Make a Confession ; Liz Jones's Diary

I think the reason I have been so mean to the Rock Star is that I'm not used to not being in control. I have always chosen boyfriends for their vulnerability. I had no sooner started going out with my future husband than I suggested he give up his job at the BBC and stay home to write a novel. No wonder he resented me. When I first started going out with Trevor, he of the high-waisted trousers and TCP for aftershave, he was living with his parents in Ealing. No wonder he jumped at the chance ...

Demented

Your Problems Answered

MY COUSIN NEEDS HELP, BUT SHE WON'T TALK TO ME My cousin, who is also my best friend, has had a nervous breakdown. She tried to kill herself, left her marriage and her job, and is now living with her parents. We are in our early 40s and have been friends since childhood, but now she hates me. She was having an affair with a married man who kept telling her he'd leave his wife and children for her, then never did. She swore me to secrecy as she was so ashamed - not even her parents knew. After...

Horoscopes

CAPRICORN 22 DEC-20 JAN Not only is this the start of a brand new year, but this week could turn out to be one of the most important weeks of your life. Within hours of Tuesday's Solar Eclipse, which falls in your birth sign - a marvellous omen of success - there is a brilliant alignment between Jupiter, planet of good fortune, and Uranus, planet of upheaval, encouraging you to express yourself in any way you see fit. Your words are sure to cause waves but that's good, because too many things...

Crossword

NO 1, 2 1 1 Pounds 325 TO BE WON

Reading Group

THIS MONTH'S CHOICE TRESPASS BY ROSE TREMAIN (Vintage, Pounds 7.99) If you've ever dreamt of buying an away-from-it-all place abroad, this unsettling novel will make you think again. The warning signs are clear from the start, when a ten-year-old girl wanders away from a school picnic in the Cevennes, a starkly beautiful part of southern France, and discovers something terrifying. We don't learn what it is until the end of the book, but in the intervening pages a sense of menace takes hold as...

'I Felt Giddy with Gratitude for Some Human Contact' ; a Self-Confessed Stressed-Out, Middle-Aged, High-Achieving but Unhappy 'Harridan' - and Still Feeling Lost and Lonely After Her Divorce - You Columnist Liz Jones Was Heading for Burnout. Then She Met the 'Superstar of the Therapy World'... Photographs Charlotte Murphy

The word 'retreat' has become very much devalued in recent years. Every hotel now seems to have a 'spa' in its basement. Even hairdressers offer 'holistic' treatments. In my pursuit, both professional and personal, for inner peace, a pain-free body and a line-free face, I seem to have tried every treatment going over the years. In India, I have been wrapped in cloths and steamed like a suet pudding while warm holy oil was dribbled on my forehead. I felt nothing but annoyance that my hair now ...

Josh Groban ; the Angelic Popera Star (Aka 'Hooligan Sex God') May Be Serious About Music - but He's Still Game for a Laugh... In a Taxi With...

We're waiting outside the Soho Hotel in Central London to pick up Josh Groban, and cabbie Richard wants to know who he is. 'He's a classically trained, angel-faced popera singer, a bit like Michael Buble,' I explain. 'Mum's favourite, sings in multiple languages and is huge all round the world.' The one thing I wasn't expecting of Josh, 29, is a closet comedian. But tickle my funnybone if he isn't as dry as a desert rat. 'Dry, ridiculous British humour is my favourite - back home in America I...

A New Leaf ; Time for the Goodness of Greens, Both Crisp and Comforting: Fine Friends in Winter with the Promise of a Distant Spring. Eat Up! Food

BAKED CHEESY SPINACH GNOCCHI SERVES 4

Where There's a Will... There's a Way to Stir Up Trouble ; Grieving for a Loved One Is Traumatic Enough, but How Are You Supposed to Feel If Discover That Your Dearly Departed has Cut You Off Without a Penny? Louisa Turner - Whose World Was Turned Upside Down On Reading Her Late Father's Will - Looks at Plight of the Disinherited

My father had a passion for paperwork, no more so than when it came to his finances. My parents' dining room had filing cabinets stuffed with everything from toaster receipts from the 1970s to current share listings. So when he died earlier this year, it was no surprise to find a file marked 'Will'. But what did come as a surprise - a shock that made me physically shake - was, on opening the document, to find that there was absolutely no mention of me. My younger sister and my mother, yes, bu...

'You Have to Be Grateful and Good and Work Your Hardest.' ; the Unrelentingly Upbeat Davina Mccall May Be the Most Successful Tv Presenter of Her Generation and, at 43, Still Well Ahead of the (Ever Younger) Competition, but, As She Confesses to Liz Jones, Boy, Does She Have to Work at It...

You think you know Davina McCall from having seen her on your TV screen for the past decade or so, but in the flesh? Well, there isn't much flesh. She is trying on a tiny pair of skinny jeans, a size 10, and doing them up over her brown, muscular tummy. 'You see, I'm fat! Huge!' she says, faux struggling with the zipper. 'My tummy, post babies, is crepy.' I tell her she is being too harsh on herself. When she arrives for our photo shoot, she looks amazing, and I tell her so. 'I've just had my...

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin ; Need to Lose a Few Pounds? Well, Don't Rely On Hitting the Gym. New Research Reveals That Exercise Alone Does Next to Nothing for You When It Comes to Losing Weight. As Emma Johns Discovers, It's No Good Crunching Abs If You're Still Munching Crisps

My mum used to complain that she couldn't lose weight. Size 18 and a couple of stone heavier than ideal, she tried in vain for years to shed the extra pounds. Three times a week she headed to the gym, where she pounded the treadmill like a paratrooper. Most days she took the dog for a brisk, hour-long walk. She didn't eat unhealthily - the rest of us ate exactly the same meals, and did a fraction of the exercise she did. She ought to have been the slimmest of the bunch: that she remained over...

Heroines for Hard Times ; You Need to Be Brave to Start a Business During a Downturn, but, As Jo Craven Discovers, the Dunkirk Spirit of This Dynamic New Breed of Female Entrepreneur Is What Britain Needs to Pull the Economy Back Into the Black

We've all seen the headlines: the banks aren't lending, credit's truly crunched, and entrepreneurs are finding it tougher than ever to turn a great idea into a fledgling venture. But not these enterprising women. Undeterred by the 'r' word, they've rolled up their sleeves and founded exciting new businesses, convinced that when you start a company in a recession, there's only one way to go - and that's up. Actually, with government cuts poised to bite hard pretty soon, Downing Street's stated...

Super Swank ; From Trailer Park to Two-Time Oscar Winner, Hilary Swank Is a Woman with Determination and Drive - Which Makes Her Perfect, Says Martyn Palmer, for Her Latest Role, As a Working-Class Mother On a Mission

IT'S a crisp, bright afternoon in London's Soho and Hilary Swank is looking forward to a bracing walk and a little retail therapy. 'When we're done I'll have a stroll and shop around,' she smiles. 'The Brits are so ahead of the times with fashion - hopefully I'll find something to take home and nobody in LA will have it.' On screen, Ms Swank is often drawn towards the serious stuff, but it's a mistake to assume she doesn't know how to have fun. 'I think the way we dress can affect our moods a...

De Tox Cle Ver ; Make-Up Masterclass

THE BRIGHTENING CLEANSE Opt for cream or balm cleansers that are nourishing and deeply moisturising - perfect for harsh winter weather. Try the fabulous Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm (3, Pounds 30, from spacenk.co.uk). Use a warm muslin cloth to remove your cleanser and exfoliate at the same time - Liz Earle's are the best (Pounds 3.50 for two, lizearle.com). Wring out the muslin in warm water and hold against your face to allow the heat to open your ...

02.01.11 You.Co.Uk Contents

Twist and Pout ; Introducing the Cute Retro-Inspired Pieces That'll Be Wowing Your Wardrobe Any Time Soon Fashion

THIS PAGE LACE AND SILK DRESS, Pounds 1,450, and BOOTS, Pounds 760, both Louis Vuitton

'I Know What It's Like to Be the Outsider' ; Exclusive Interview

HILARY SWANK on her journey from trailer park to Tinseltown SAY YES TO EXCESS

Phyto Call ; Beauty News

Thinking about a New Year new you? Well, the good news is that the latest plant-based skin revitalisers have combined science with nature to powerful effect. Clever, high-tech methods of extracting potent plant molecules bring together the best of both worlds. The result? Effective, aromatic formulas. 'There are so many naturally occurring antioxidants and nutrients in plants that can't be replicated synthetically,' says Jessica Frankopan, co-founder of Green & Spring. Kristy Goodger of plant...

This Life

IN all the brouhaha that has surrounded the announcement of Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton, it's the snatched glimpses of their college days that most resonate with me. Just like them, my own 'for ever' relationship started in the cider-and-black- soaked haze of the first term of university, and just like them it survived the transition into the real world and almost a decade of opposing pressures to play the field/get married immediately. Imagining them pink-cheeked and clutch...