Tari's Patch

An unexpected by-election will take place in Eastleigh on Feb 28. Yet again, a politician set for a glittering career - possibly to the top leadership position of his party - fell from grace through misdemeanours and reputation mismanagement. Chris Huhne may have lost everything - his political career, family, reputation. Although he eventually pleaded guilty in court for perverting the course of justice, to date, he has not actually made a public apology for what he did. He joins a long list of disgraced politicians (Liam Fox, David Laws, Jeffrey Archer, Jonathan Aitken, Jeremy Thorpe and of course the daddy of them all, Bill Clinton) who have with varying degrees of success, sought public forgiveness and return to normality. Two things always strike me when I read about yet another fall from grace (and mostly they're about money or sex - or both - and yes, they're almost inevitably men).  One , like it or not, responsibility comes with being a public figure. Like it or not...

I went to a fabulous birthday lunch last week at the Michel Roux restaurant in Westminster hosted by Claire Enders, a dear friend who is a powerful networker, mentor and successful businesswoman. There were thirty of us there - only women - from all walks of life; publishers, media, philanthropy, education, banking, the arts. This made me think about women-only worlds and how they have evolved in the past four decades or so, even before Peggy Seeger sang I Wanna be an Engineer in the early 70s. The women's movement in the 60s, 70s and 80s brought women together to share books they have read, to discuss the 'new politics' of power and sexuality, to build each other's confidence when competing with men in the workplace. Germaine Greer, Marilyn French and Betty Friedan were our coffee table books. These days I receive many invitations to women-only events or events organised by women or international conferences on women's leadership. This despite the fact that a...