Journalist

Some days my husband Derek and I barely have time for a conversation about anything apart from the business of life - who's picking up who and who's cooking dinner.

I used to be chaotic and unkempt.

My rational mind knows I am blessed. So many women - some of whom I've interviewed over the years - endure infertility and childlessness.

Some of the most productive people in history have been self-confessed 'muck-middens,' as my husband would say: Agatha Christie, Benjamin Franklin and even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to name a few.

Looking back on my early romantic life, I was more worried about what impression I made on my dates than what I thought of them. I would approach them as though they were job interviews, trying to wow the man so that he would ask me out again and I got the 'job.'

I look at my gorgeous girl and boy, with their incredible zest for life, and I count my undoubted blessings. But there's no question about it: I wish I'd started my family sooner. Much much sooner.

I don't want to look old in my advanced years so I go on a power walk for half an hour every day, and it helps to keep the pounds off.

I'm very nervous of snakes. I think it's something about the movement. I'm not a huge fan of spiders either.

I've always been a bit ridiculous.

Being pregnant changes your body image. You watch your stomach expand. If that happened without being pregnant you'd be in deep distress! But because you're excited about what's going to happen, you view yourself differently.

I think that political coverage generally comes in on a level that means if you live and breathe Westminster detail and diary, then you get it.

It's a bit of a joke among my friends that, although I'm very busy, active and constantly rushing around all over the place, I've always struggled to fit any 'real' exercise into my life.

Once, when I was about eight, my mum handed me a sandwich, and I remarked: 'What are those weird things on your hands?' I was referring to the visible pores, which were such a contrast to my own alabaster-smooth skin. My mum looked mortified, while my grandma laughed and said: 'They're nothing - look at mine!'

I think that political coverage generally comes in on a level that means if you live and breathe Westminster detail and diary, then you get it.

Much is written about parenting - its joys and tribulations - and then about the transition into hot flushes, night sweats and (if we're lucky) a new life as a grandmother.

True, I do love finding something nice for my nearest and dearest, but there is still a pressure to find the perfect present for every member of the family.

Hiding at the back of every woman's wardrobe, regardless of her age or shape, you'll find a sad and sorry collection of all her fashion howlers and regrets.

A friend puts body moisturiser on every day because it makes her feel desirable. I have started doing it, too, and it really works.

I realise, of course, that my cluttered existence is deeply unfashionable.

I have always felt so bombarded with dietary advice that always seemed to make me feel guilty about the 'naughty' food I secretly preferred, that I switched off and ate what I fancied.