Cherie Blair's autobiography has met with mixed reaction: en masse serialisation, chart-topping sales and calls for her to resign. Less varied were the critics' views: "starkly misjudged" was one verdict, "cringe-making" another, and "breathtakingly narcissistic" a third.
Curious, then, that a sequel may follow.
Speaking to Pandora at Monday's Loomba Trust fundraiser, Mrs Blair was decidedly cheerful at the prospect.
"I'll have to see what happens," she told me happily. "Writing a book is very much like childbirth: when you've finished you always say 'never again' but then you never know when the urge gets you."
Nothing could be further from the truth, it would seem, as she bounded off to greet a passer-by exclaiming: "I can never resist a pregnant woman!"
No doubt Number 10 will be rattled at the prospect of further Blair-Booth revelations. The Downing Street press office was last time left fending off calls about Gordon Brown "rattling the keys above" Tony Blair's head, Cherie's shunning of "contraceptive equipment" at Balmoral and the Blairs' dissapointment with Bush's election victory.
Little Brown publishers, however, appeared under-whelmed . "From our point of view, I don't know anything," said a representative. The spokeswoman for Mrs Blair was equally cool on the topic, claiming she "couldn't say for sure, but the remarks were probably light-hearted".
More politics for Campbell (Naomi, that is)
Naomi Campbell's aviation habits have been under some scrutiny of late. How appropriate, then, that she has taken to joking about other people's.
At a banquet for Dolce and Gabbana's new collection, Campbell entertained diners with her views on the Bushes "farewell tour".
"What's with all the travelling Bush has been doing?" the supermodel exclaimed. "He never even had a passport before."
Campbell recently attracted attention being escorted off a plane at Heathrow Airport, accused of abusing police officers after being told that British Airways had lost her luggage.
Of course it isn't the first time she's dabbled in politics, having won heavyweight hack status earlier this year by charming her way into Hugo Chavez's home and coaxing out such journalistic gems as: "The Prince's new girl is not attractive."
She's also no stranger to Downing Street, having visited the Browns in May. Then she emerged with almost as many juicy revelations, including the news that the PM was "jolly".
Wimbledon calling
Family members and fans are no doubt well aware that tomorrow is rock giant Mick Jones' birthday. The staff of Wimbledon, however, were somewhat less prepared when the Clash guitarist arrived on day one of the tournament ready for a celebratory afternoon.
Jones, who turns 53 this year, arrived at the Evian VIP tent accompanied by Primrose Hill faithfuls Davinia Taylor, Jamie Hince and Rhys Ifans (who looked decidedly perky in spite of his split with Sienna Miller). Organisers were left scrambling for a way to acknowledge the punk legend's anniversary.
Happily, calamity was averted with the delivery of a large pink cake accompanied by strains of a particularly raucous "Happy Birthday". Jones and co then settled down to a day of tennis and tea. Rock'n'roll.
Taking it lightly
Nice to see Martha Stewart is taking her visa ban so well. The American domestic goddess and one-time fraudster was last week refused entry to Britain because of her criminal record. Nevertheless she remains upbeat, posting an image of the Union Jack on her blog and enthusing about her time in Poland. "We are hoping that the visa situation will be cleared up," she writes. "We will keep you posted... so keep visiting my blog and let me know your thoughts!"
* Pandora was most excited to discover Alastair Campbell offering the public a chance to be a character in his novel – though somewhat less excited to realise you had to pay for the privilege at Labour's fundraising auction. A reality series would have been so much better. Some ideas: a lipstick-applying life guru? A hairdresser? A pair of feuding leaders?
Dorries in blogosphere battle
Having recently faced defeat over her controversial abortion bill, Nadine Dorries is embroiled in another row – over her website.
The Tory member's blog – which, of course, Pandora reads regularly – has attracted criticism for its personal attacks on opponents. One recent post included a picture of comely housing minister Caroline Flint alongside drawings of the considerably-less-comely Pinocchio. "Don't call me a liar, minister," reads the entry. "It will come back to bite you."
Sunny Hundal, editor of the Liberal Conspiracy blog, complained to the Parliamentary Standards Commission, voicing concerns that Dorries may fund the site with taxpayers' money. "We noticed it a few weeks ago," Hundal tells me. "We've got a letter saying the complaint is to be taken seriously." Dorries denies using public money. The Commissioner has written urging Dorries to make her funding arrangements known.
pandora@independent.co.uk
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