In the days when I used to wear make-up I would regularly apply concealer to the bags under my eyes to hide the fact that I wasn't getting a good night's sleep. One day it dawned on me that that was ridiculous, and probably my lack of vitality was giving it away anyway. Surely sorting out the underlying cause would be better, healthier in the long run and I could stop wearing make-up to make-up. As Grannie kept reminding me "it's not called beauty sleep for nothing".

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. During all those years since that day in Paris, when the Lady Mayoress with her Tricolor sash, amid the gilt pomp and huge vases of flowers, married Nick and me, we have been severely tested on our commitment to stand by each other, for each other "for better, for worse, in sickness and in health". We've turned our lives upside down leaving the security of careers behind us as we sallied forth into the unknown, ...

There's a wonderful story from the Way of Tea which directly challenged my approach to flower arranging, my appreciation of beauty and my attitude to simplicity. It goes like this. The Shogun heard through the grapevine that the front garden of Rikyu, the founder of the Way of Tea, was overflowing with Morning Glory flowers. Apparently it was a sight to behold. The Shogun thought that this was too good a sight to miss and therefore invited himself over for Tea early one morning to catch the flowers at their most beautiful and brilliant. Imagine his dismay when...

1. She is successful in her own right

2. She knows how to make a man feel as though he is the only man in the world

3. She knows how to...