Mrs Cohen's diary

* Am I surprised about François Hollande’s dalliance? Not at all. When I was in Paris last year I popped into the Elysée Palace to say hello. As luck would have it, Valerie was out and Frankie had that familiar twinkle in his eye. I am as susceptible as any girl to a little Gallic shmooze and I might have been tempted, but he had the same pair of shoes on that he had been wearing the previous summer in London – and the time before that, as well. Some girls are clearly less fussy about footwear than I am.

* And so it was off to Jerusalem to pay my final respects to Arik. I still remember how dashing he looked in his general’s uniform back in 1967. I remember at the time when I was a slip of a girl working on a kibbutz, that he was very impressed when I explained to him the importance of a pincer movement, so I can claim a little part in his success. Anyway, Tony Blair made a nice speech, which definitely means that Cherie had no part in writing it. Shame that the velvet kippah was too big for his head.

* Watching Celebrity Big Brother over the past week I am so glad that I turned down the chance to appear in this year’s series. My rider was that I would have my own room, plus access to my beautician and personal trainer At All Times, and that I could go home for Shabbat. Good that they refused, because I don’t think that appearing on Channel Five would have done my profile any favours. Also, had I been stuck in the house with Evander Holyfield, I might well have bitten off his other ear.

* There was a time before I was awarded my MBE that I didn’t believe in the honours system. However, since I went to the Palace to pick up the award a couple of years back, I have come to understand how exciting it is for ordinary people to have their day in the sun – although some of those women will always regret the hats they wore. When I stepped up to receive my award I could see the relief on Her Majesty’s face that at last there was someone she knew.