Home Views and Blogs Columnists Hilarie Stelfox

Hilarie: In truly dogged praise of cats

ALL SECONDBORN wanted – has ever wanted – for Christmas is a puppy. Read

Hilarie: Glad tidings of great joy

THERE ARE certain annual events that gladden the heart. Read

Hilarie Stelfox: Power struggle over the tinsel

THE FIRST time I met my in-laws the conversation turned to what they would be having for their Christmas lunch. Read

Hilarie: Lament for the passing of Oliver Postgate

THE voice of Oliver Postgate, who died this week at the age of 83, lingers in my childhood memories. Read

Hilarie: Sales talk cuts no ice with our family

FOR Christmas I’m thinking of buying a sign to put outside the front door. Read

Hilarie: Walled garden came as surprise

DURING Thursday night our garden decided to landscape itself. Read

Hilarie: Student grime in city of splendour

‘Now we have more in common with Neil’s parents than the inhabitants of the student bars’ Read

Hilarie: An A* in being laid-back

MY FRIEND Susan says that Secondborn must often feel that she is the only calm, laid-back person in a household full of over-active, over-achievers. Read

Hilarie: My web search for real me was (nearly) all in vain

IN AN idle moment this week, while mulling over what to write for this column, I put my name into Google. Read

Hilarie: Dinner developed into jam session

THE neighbours came round for dinner on Saturday evening. Read

Hilarie: Thanks to the gentleman

THIS is not one of those letters that people write to the editor to thank the person who helped them when they fell down outside Sainsbury’s. Read

Hilarie: Sterilise these monsters now!

IF there was ever a case for compulsory sterilisation then it’s the horrific story of Baby P. Read

Hilarie: Why my fridge can just go on clunking

THE boiler has broken down again, and the cloakroom toilet has come out in sympathy - flushing for 10 minutes every time it’s used. Read

Hilarie: Shades of Dali high?

SECONDBORN has been studying the works of Salvador Dali for her mock GCSE art exam. Read

Hilarie: Competition’s just champion

‘Last year we even held a Champion of the House tournament, where we played each other at everything from chess to American pool’ Read

Hilarie: President’s pet pledge

I DO HOPE that President Obama has remembered that puppies are for life, not just for a l term of office. Read

Hilarie: Looking forward to world of work

WHEN I was at school we didn’t have work experience. We just had a quick chat with the careers teacher and were sent on our way with a university application form. Read

Hilarie: Females rule the half empty nest

IT WAS THE drying rack that brought home the enormity of it all. Read

Hilarie: The devil is in the details

A COUPLE of years ago I recall visiting my building society and thinking, as I walked through the posh plate glass doors and into the softly-carpeted banking hall, that such institutions must have money to burn if they could afford lavish interior design. Read

You are joking!

I also had a nasty tendency to hold trousers up against him so that I could see if they were the right length Read