As a brunette determined not to become a ‘gronde’ – a greying blonde that describes so many in my cohort – keeping up with my colourist is essential. But I recently had to stretch the gap between appointments, leading to the unwelcome return of my white roots.

While it’s impossible to miss the greying strands at the temple, it’s not so easy to note when the top of your scalp has become a snowscape. I only realised this when, a few years back, I saw a picture somebody had taken of me from above. There, so clear it might have been painted on, was a neat, wide line of white.

I am now horribly aware that anyone taller than me can spot this colour deficiency. But, hey presto, I’ve now discovered a stylish solution to the problem: the summer headscarf. The original inspiration for the look is Jackie O, also a brunette, who wore her scarf fastened behind the head (not like Princess Anne who ties hers under the chin). Who knows, maybe Jackie was also using hers to disguise the pesky greys that crept up as she holidayed on her husband Aristotle Onassis’s yacht.

Only last week J-Lo, still brunette at 57, was photographed in a white headscarf teamed with a vintage style bikini, while model Alexa Chung, also dark-haired, is a long-time devotee, though probably not yet dealing with a grey issue given she’s only 42.

Only last week J-Lo, still brunette at 57, was photographed in a white headscarf teamed with a vintage style bikini

So there we have it. Not only a fabulous style statement, but an invaluable hair maintenance tool. I realise I may resemble an Italian granny in her housecoat more than those in the glamorous headscarf-wearing tribe, but who cares? Not only can headscarves hide the grey but they are way cooler in this heat than piling a mass of thick hair into a messy bun. And they certainly beat a beanie.

Cut up pasta? It’s on the ick list

Over dinner while staying with friends last weekend, one of the guests proceeded to cut up their spaghetti. I looked at them in shock. Who cuts up spaghetti? The guest explained that they had never been able to twiddle it round their fork, so always did this.

I wondered why I reacted so strongly. Was it surprise or snobbishness? Does long pasta actually taste better kept whole? It made me think about other eating habits I find uncomfortable to watch. Holding knives like a pen is a classic – probably pure snobbery that one – while spearing peas on a fork is another ick.

Brought together by a magic moment

Last week’s eclipse was a wonderful moment, not just because of the vivid demonstration of Earth as one part of a planetary system, but because of the communal spirit it brought about.

Like many I headed to nearby open parkland for the viewing and, channelling my inner Blue Peter, I made a pinhole camera out of a cardboard box. I also brought a colander with me just in case.

As the hour approached, my spot on Wormwood Scrubs, West London, filled up with more and more people. I went alone but everyone chatted to one another, asking questions about each other’s eclipse-watching kit and sharing the precious glasses I, like many others, hadn’t managed to buy.

It was a wonderful example of people all collaborating together to mark a special moment in our lives. And all the more magical for it.

Like many I headed to nearby open parkland for the viewing and, channelling my inner Blue Peter, I made a pinhole camera out of a cardboard box, writes Alexandra

Will this be the end of Harvey Nicks?

It would be terrific to feel optimistic about the sale of Harvey Nichols to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group. But somehow I don’t.

There is nothing in the high street tycoon’s track record to support the notion that he will take care of this luxury department store. I admit that, while it was once somewhere I’d regularly browse to buy new season clothes before the shows, I haven’t been inside the London store for years.

However, recently, after a revamp by new CEO Julia Goddard and my old Vogue colleague Kate Phelan, it seemed as if it had become a major player again. When Frasers Group bought the successful online luxury brand Matches.com, it put it into administration less than three months later. Let’s hope a miracle occurs and this time Ashley invests in the glamour of fashion, rather than trying to turn a quick buck.

If he’s planning to house a luxury fashion experience alongside one of his other brands – pile-it-high outlet Sports Direct – then it will, I am afraid, be curtains for the Harvey Nichols we loved.

Jack misses steely glare of a real Bond

Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden is being tipped as a front-runner for next Bond. But I would be very surprised if Lowden is the final choice.

Jack Lowden, is being tipped as a front-runner for next Bond, at Golden Globe Awards in January 2025

He’s a fantastic actor but, to my mind, his looks are too gentle for Ian Fleming’s hero, who needs that sliver of steel in his heart.

My money’s on Callum Turner, who has the requisite chilly, ruthless, narrow-eyed gaze. Although I somewhat doubt whether he’d want to sign his life away to Amazon – now owners of the James Bond franchise – having only just married pop star Dua Lipa.

Take a book’s blurb with a pinch of salt

When one of your favourite female fiction writers posts on Instagram, ‘I am madly in love with this book’, you go ahead and buy it. And so I did. All I can say is that the book’s author must be a goddaughter or some close friend.

Although there are enjoyable elements, the writing is simply not of the calibre I expected this particular writer to recommend.

Those back-cover book endorsements are often written by pals or are the result of some kind of payback. I’ve been requesting them for my next book and clearly have neither friends nor anyone who feels they owe me, as they’ve hardly been flooding in.

So I can reassure potential buyers that those that have are 100 per cent truthful.