Hi °C | Lo °C 
Leo DiCaprio's Gatsby will reel you in
So, a couple of weeks after pre-judging Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby adaptation as shallow and ill-judged on the basis of its shiny fashion-tastic marketing, I can now confirm that, once more, I was wrong.
Angelina Jolie should forget the trolls, she's pure inspiration
I didn't think I'd write about Angelina Jolie this week. I didn't imagine there would be much debate about her frank, thoughtful and sensibly unsensational piece in the New York Times explaining why she'd chosen to have a cancer-preventative double mastectomy.
It's best not to toy with your kids' imagination
There are, I accept, some ways in which I am a manipulative nazi mother (small n). When it comes to guiding my children's reading, watching and listening choices, I exercise a cultural stranglehold which is unhealthy, unfair and may result in years of resentment.
Why Dave Allen was my lost love
I am too young to remember Dave Allen in his pomp, and though my folks always spoke of him with reverence, he had little impact on me growing up.
Victoria Beckham's new goal after shock loss
As the man world pauses this week, either to mourn the end of the greatest reign in football history or to declare that Alex Ferguson was never as good as Bill Shankly anyway, spare a thought for the nation's Fergie widows.
BNP is least of Farage's worries
How reassuring for local election voters in England to be told by UKIP leader Nigel Farage that his is the only UK party which expressly bans BNP members from joining. Though after rejoicing in this progressive stand, mightn't some wonder why Nigel's party are the only ones who need such a policy in the first place?
In the end, all that matters in life is being truly loved
Last week, just after the family had gazed with appropriate awe at Wordsworth's gravestone on a trip to his one-time home town of Grasmere in the Lake District, conversation turned to what we all wanted on our own stone (or 'cenotaph', as my ambitious nine-year-old daughter foresaw) when the dark night finally swallows us up.
Why shock at JLS split?
So, where were you when you heard the news that JLS had been shot? No, hang on, that's not right... that JLS had split up? While standing on a grassy knoll. Probably.
It's good to see a country with some politicians who have real feelings
It's not often we see politicians crying. Politicians tend to have tough hides.
You could count on Carol to get even
Pondering other women of note during the Thatcher years has inevitably seen the lemon-sucking beady-eyed stare of Joan Collins' Alexis Carrington in newspapers this week.
I hope Baz hasn't lost plot
The trailer for Baz Luhrmann's hotly anticipated The Great Gatsby sure looks pretty, but it concerns me that I see no hint of, um, the point of the book.
Now it's time for Piers to waltz away
There are many mysteries on contemporary television.
Thanks to Maggie for helping me find my kind of people
One of the first celebrities to pay tribute to Margaret Thatcher after the announcement of the ex-PM's death was none other than Geri Halliwell, the Union flag-festooned Girl Brittania herself.
Why Kim should just stay mum
You have to feel for Kim Kardashian. Yes, you read that right.
The Voice should be silenced
Having swooned for 600 words over the BBC, I feel it's my duty, in the interests of that BBC obsession – balance – to point out the true terribleness of The Voice.
She has her faults, but Auntie is still best in the world
Unlike the America that even the most humble of Stateside dwellers seem to assume has been blessed by God (I recently overheard two teenage girls in a Topshop changing room arguing about the coolness of their heritage.
Iain has the benefit of a free home
As I write, the online petition urging Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith to prove his claim he could live on £53 a week has garnered 365,000 signatures in a record-breaking two-and-a-half days.
See this movie if you want good vibes about Belfast
Today is an important Friday for many of us in Northern Ireland.
Sadly, film's grim world is real for many teens
Next week marks the transformation of a sweet-faced Disney princess into a gun toting, bum-grinding, drug-snorting gangster and I'm still pondering whether that's a good thing or not.
Why it's good to let Spongebob baby-sit the kids
So it turns out TV isn't bad for children after all. This'll be interesting.
In pictures: UK Soap Awards
New suspects in Maddie probe
In Pictures: North West 200
In Pictures: Balmoral Show
Nice-but-dull Kate's annoying baby bump pose
FHM's sexiest women - Kunis knocks Tulisa off her perch
Latest News
Last-ditch appeal over measles jabs new
Health chiefs are appealing to children still unprotected against measles to sign up to an in-school vaccination drive before it ends.
BAE fined for 'preventable tragedy' new
Defence giant BAE Systems has been ordered to pay almost £350,000 in fines and costs after a worker died when he was crushed by a 145-tonne metal press at one of its sites, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed.
Wales needs better weather: Jones new
Wales needs better weather if its tourism industry is to prosper - says the country's own First Minister.
Latest Sport
PFA investigating Sunderland fines new
Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has confirmed the union has been contacted by Sunderland players about their manager Paolo Di Canio and that it is investigating the recent fines issued by the Italian.
Pulis to leave Stoke - report new
Stoke manager Tony Pulis is set to leave the club after almost seven years in charge, according to a Stoke Sentinel report.
Olympic ruled out of Curragh bid new
Richard Hannon has ruled Olympic Glory out of Saturday's Etihad Airways Irish 2000 Guineas.
Latest Showbiz
Gomez and Bieber's backstage kiss new
Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber's on-off relationship appears to be on again, after they were caught on camera sharing a kiss backstage at the Billboard awards.
Moscow claims Eurovision vote theft new
Russia is investigating an alleged vote theft at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Cotillard is colourful at Cannes new
Marion Cotillard stole the show at the premiere of her new film Blood Ties in Cannes in a multi-coloured Dior gown.
