Rachel Royce

Have you noticed that whenever there is an armed siege these days the police quickly seal off the area, surround the site with at least 20 marksmen, send for the trained negotiators and, um ...wait until the victim is good and dead before they venture in to have a peek at what's going on? I expect that's probably a gross oversimplification ' and one which will have police commanders up and down the country in an apoplexy of rage. But it has the ring of truth about it, doesn't it? I have been haunted by the case of Lorraine Whiting. She was the woman who bled to death while on the phone to an emergency operator. Her estranged husband had shot her in the legs. He had always promised to maim her if she left him. After shooting her, he shot himself.

The government would like to outlaw pyramid selling. Why? Rachel Royce has joined Hearts, the girls-only investment scheme, and finds it good, clean – and profitable – fun I have a confession to make – but please don't tell my boyfriend. I've made a somewhat high-risk investment. It will cost me £375, but for that I can expect a return of £6,000 – maybe. It's a gamble – I know it's a gamble – but I thought that amount of money could be laundered from the housekeeping, lost somewhere among the cornflakes and the chardonnay and bailiff demands for forgotten Blockbuster videos. The scheme I've invested in is known as Hearts, and it's for women only. It calls itself a 'gifting scheme that benefits all women'.