Smash Hit

PAs could be taking their work too personally

Secretaries who moan that they are having to fufil personal tasks for their bosses should get over it - it's part of the job

No need to defend kids? The hell there isn’t

If this column were about puppies being held in indefinite detention with no judicial oversight, my inbox would be full

Rivers of mirth, not blood, in my home town

Wolverhampton was a hotbed of tension in 1968, a year before my parents arrived. Now it couldn't care less about Nick Griffin

Ashes to pixels: are online memorials vile?

One site offers customised e-mail alerts to notify users of the deaths of former friends, associates and colleagues

Rediscovering the magic? Welcome back to dating hell

Could you excuse me a minute? My mother gets cross if I don’t call every 30 minutes

Sorry but this screen classic is simply racist

Breakfast at Tiffany’s makes The Black and White Minstrel Show look like a government ethnic minority recruitment campaign

Human resources departments: What's the point?

It seems to me that the amount of fuss that HR makes about itself seems to far outstrip its contribution to the world

Second-hand bookshops, Cliff Richard, pandas . . . your time is up

Nothing, it seems, is unworthy of being mourned, celebrated and being subjected to attempts at reincarnation

How the mentally ill can avoid being a risk

The effect of schizophrenia on my family have been, and continue to be, harrowing

No rival to Barack Obama, but finding a voice

Here's the story of how, after all these years, I managed to set aside my glossophobia, put on a brave face and speak out

A hardworking PA can keep us all on our toes

For me it wasn’t having someone doing menial tasks that made the real difference but simply having another human around

My bright business idea: Dragons’ End

Let’s face it, the PR opportunities are the real reason for the Dragons' involvement in this programme

eBay’s grip on its market is going, going ... gone

Posting an advert on eBay is as frustrating technologically as trying to load a computer game on to your toaster

I can read David Cameron like an open, leather-bound book

The Tory leader is a bit like the Smythson brand

Hard and fast lessons for travelling gap students

The career potential of Rebecca Turner and Shanti Andrews has been enhanced, and they should thank Brazil for it

I’ve no beef with part-time vegetarians

Thanks to LA trendies, my peculiar dietary habits are suddenly fashionable

I’m chucking out my Bros single — it’s time to move on

This relentless nostalgia is just unhealthy