All made-up: Pippa Middleton goes heavy on the eyes and lips as she attends celebrity charity event

When it comes to make-up, they say you should highlight your best feature and leave the rest relatively simple.

But it seems Pippa Middleton just couldn't decide which part of her face to emphasise when she attended a charity event last night.

The Duchess of Cambridge's sister went heavy on the eyes with kohl-rimmed lids - and matched them with a strong pink shade of lipstick and blusher.

 

Pippa opted for heavy eye make-up, statement pink lipstick and blusher as she attended the Too Many Women dinner

But after attracting attention with a low-cut red dress on her last outing, Pippa opted to play it safe with a long-sleeved high-neck outfit as she supported the Two Many Women campaign.

She coupled the look with statement dress, by Dannii Minogue and Tabitha Somerset-Webb's Project D label.

But Pippa showed less flesh than Fergie in the floral outfit but still managed too look stylish with her hair pulled back.

And the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson refused to dress her age in a black gown, showing off her shoulders.

Stylish: Pippa Middleton attends the Too Many Women dinner wearing a full-length evening gown with floral print by Project D

Different styles: Pippa looked more demure than Sarah Ferguson, who wore a slinky black number

Pippa was joined by her friend Katie Readman at the event, hosted by retailer All Saints at the Petersham Nurseries in Richmond.

The blonde wore a red dress, reminiscent of Pippa's two weeks ago.

Another lady in red last night was actress Sienna Miller, who donned a short dress with feathers attached.

A night out: Pippa with friend Katie Readman at the event, a campaign for the Breakthrough for Breast Cancer charity which aims to raise £1million

Last night's dinner was in support of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The campaign aims to raise £1 million for the charity.

Pippa was spotted at the beginning of the month at a charity boxing ball in a dress similar to Geri Halliwell and Prince William former girlfriend Jecca Craig.

However, the clash did not stop Pippa and Geri – who sat at neighbouring tables – chatting to each other. They appeared to be ‘getting on like a house on fire’, according to one observer.

Money raised at the event went to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, which grants wishes for seriously ill youngsters, and the Lt Dougie Dalzell MC Memorial Trust, which was set up in memory of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Another lady in red: Sienna Miller wore this playful short red number with feathers attached

Why can't our kids be more like the Chinese?

The other day I saw a sign that I thought needed a wider airing: 

‘Teenagers, are you tired of being harassed by your stupid parents? Act now! Move out, get a job and pay your own bills while you still know everything.’

Yes, a good gag, but in the current economic climate, I worry whether they would find a job — or even be qualified enough to land one.

Second-rate: I have always suspected we were dimmer than the Chinese

Their chances will not have been helped by a shocking survey this week which showed that the reading standards of 15-year-olds in this country are one-and-a-half years behind the Chinese.

Do you know what that means? While your child is taking his or her GCSEs, a Chinese student of the same age could be sitting  their A-levels.

But then I have always suspected we were dimmer than the Chinese.
It’s no wonder the Harrows and the Charterhouses in the private system search the Far East to get youngsters to join their sixth-forms since they perform disproportionately well in A-levels and raise the school average. 

 

  

behind the Chinese, but we’re also behind the Dutch, the Koreans, the New Zealanders . . . and even the Australians for God’s sake.

We need action. Parents must start supporting the teachers. It’s probably true if they say your little Tommy is a liar and possibly a thief. Get over it.

Trouble-makers and louts must be ejected from school. And if they simply walk the streets, so what? That’s how they are going to spend the rest of their lives anyway. It will be good practice.

Nobody owes this country a living. Either we work hard and learn — or one day we will resemble a Third World nation.

 

True story — I was stopped twice within 600 yards along London’s Hammersmith Broadway. First, by a man in his late 20s and next by a man in his 40s.

They both asked if I would stand for Prime Minister. Love to help but I’m busy at the moment. If things get worse, please contact me again.

 

According to official statistics, Nottinghamshire County Council must employ the biggest collection of sickie-throwers in Britain. In the past three months, the average number of sick days taken per person was 8.9 days — that’s more than every other Friday.

This works out at more than a month off a year. Private industry wouldn’t tolerate that. And yet taxpayers are funding these lead swingers. The idiots who run the council say the figure amounts to ‘significant progress’ towards its target of 8.5 sickie days a quarter!

People of Nottinghamshire rise up and throw out the limp-wristed council chiefs who either can’t or won’t take on the lazy and cunning workforce.

Emails about other examples of state idlers welcome.

 

I spoke at a Tory dinner the other night and on my table it became clear there was no particular affection for their MP, Crispin Blunt (Reigate, Surrey) who last year announced he was gay and was leaving his wife.

Crispin Blunt, who used to have a beard don't you know!

I said I thought his decision was rather brave but the constituency chairman said: ‘I was always a bit suspicious of him . . . at one stage he had a beard,  you know.’

So that’s the clue! Study your MP’s photo very closely.

 

My big fast gypsy flag

Thank you for your many creative responses to my suggestion that the traditional gypsy flag with a wheel in the middle needs updating in light of the Dale Farm eviction fiasco. The winner is this photo of rubble by the roadside. You will be pleased to know I am reporting myself to the Press Complaints Commission for being anti-gypsy.

 

Considering the way England played in the Rugby World Cup, shouldn’t all the players have followed Manu Tuilagi’s example and jumped off the ferry in Auckland Harbour?

 

Wayne Rooney’s father says he will clear his name of football betting allegations after Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-1 at Anfield today.

 

This pollution problem is out of control. Only this morning I opened a tin of sardines. They were all dead and covered in oil.

 

Clearly John Humphreys wouldn't have been amused by my topic of choice

Thinking that I’d come up with a good idea, I contacted the producers of BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind. Why not let me compete on a Christmas special?

Yes, was the answer. What  would be my specialist subject? Phone hacking.

There’s buckets of information on the subject that would not incur legal or broadcast problems but the line swiftly went dead. Shame.

It reminds me of the old gag about Terry Waite appearing on Mastermind. Specialist subject: Beirut Radiators 1987-1991.

The high jump for halfwits

My new charity Help for Halfwits (launched here last week and which parachutes thick youngsters into the empty spaces of Poland and Lithuania, where they can learn a new language and the work ethic) has received a resounding thumbs-up from readers, but, disappointingly, very little money.

Do give what you can, but in the meantime I have had to make painful cuts in the costs of the charity, starting with removing the parachutes from the planes. I’m sure you understand.

 

I’m rather taken by Paul McCartney. Sure I am jealous of his ability to keep his hairline and his waistline, but most of all I am impressed at his ability to keep old friends.

We all know that as you get older it’s easier to lose pals than to make them — their idiosyncrasies become more irritating over the years — so it was fascinating to study his wedding guest list.

Ringo Starr was there — a friendship that has lasted 50 years. George Harrison’s widow, Olivia (35 years a friend) was invited, as was John Lennon’s son Sean (36 years).

That turnout says a lot about the man.

 

A better policy

Madness: Soaring insurance costs for new drivers is simply going to lead to more uninsured drivers on our roads

The mother of a 17-year-old emails me to say her learner-driver son was quoted £3,000 for a 12-month insurance premium for a five-year-old Vauxhall Corsa. When he passes his test, the price will go up to £10,000.

Incredible! Could I suggest that we adopt Aussie laws where, in some states, youngsters can carry a maximum of just one passenger. This helps reduce accidents.

Either we adopt this kind of idea or there will be even more uninsured drivers on the roads.

 

Hacked off

On reflection, I owe an apology to Lord Leveson, the judge heading the inquiry set up in the wake of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.

On Wednesday I made a speech to the hearing — with Lord Leveson only yards away — in which I was somewhat disparaging of his ability when, as a young QC, he failed to win a conviction for tax evasion charges against Ken Dodd.

Before I delivered my speech, he was very courteous to me and yet I repaid him by being disobliging. I shouldn’t have done it and I am sorry.

 

Rant: 60 euros for 3½ pints!

My rant last week about the price of lager in Cannes (60 euros for 3½ pints) prompted a clearly-overpaid reader to report that he has just coughed up 55 euros (£48.12) for Dublin Bay prawns (must have been sent by taxi from Ireland) at the Chantecler restaurant at the Negresco Hotel, Nice.

If your name isn’t Abramovich, keep clear of the South of France.

 

Putting Tiger on top again

I wonder if I could make a suggestion to help Tiger Woods recover his golfing genius.

It is almost two years since his missus discovered the extent of his dreadful addiction to large-breasted ladies in the Las Vegas area.

He apologised, but his wife ditched him and since that day he has not won a tournament — slipping from 1st to 52nd in the world rankings.

His rejection of the seamy side of life hasn’t helped his mood. He looks grumpy, plays grumpy and acts grumpy. He needs a new idea — and I’ve got it.

Go back to the ladies, Tiger: Since his wife ditched him, Woods has slipped from 1st to 52nd in the world rankings

Go back to the large-breasted ladies. OK, he’ll lose sponsorship from Nike, Rolex and the like, so what?

He will be back on the winner’s podium, he will smile again and golf will matter again.

Until then he will win nothing and the sport will suffer.

If golf is to keep the cash rolling in, the Professional Golfers’ Association should start paying for the ladies to visit him in hotel rooms.

'If he hadn't wanted more wives, I probably wouldn't have married him': How women are the driving force behind polygamous marriage

From an outsider's perspective, a man who can convince more than one woman to be married to him at any given time, clearly wears the trousers.

But a new documentary has revealed that it is actually the women instigating polygamous marriage in Mormon communities.

In the newest series of OWN's Our America, two 'sister wives', from Centennial Park, Arizona, describe how they chose their man, rather than the other way around.

Plural marriage: Isaiah (right), 28, from Centennial Park, Arizona, with his two wives Marlene, 28 (left), and Becca, 20 (centre)

Becca, 20, who has been married to Isaiah, 28, for a year and a half, told how she knew he was the one when she spotted him at church.

She told host Lisa Ling: 'One day I was in church, and I was sitting with my sister Sharon, and I saw him walk through the door. 

'I had a feeling just come over me and I turned to Sharon and I said, yeah, that's who I feel like I belong to.'

Father figure: Isaiah already has four children with his two wives, and a fifth on the way

This was despite the fact that Isaiah had already been married to Marlene, also 28, for eight years already.

Today, Marlene and Becca describe themselves as being married to each other, in the same way that they are married to Isaiah.

And for Marlene, who is just weeks from giving birth to her fourth child, she never imagined marriage any other way.

'If Isaiah had told me that he didn't want this before we got married, I probably wouldn't have married him,' she said.

She says that she and Becca, after some initial teething problems, are 'inseparable'.

'I have, right now, my best friend living with me,' she said. 'I can talk to her about any of my problems. She completely understands because she's married to the same guy.'

Becca, who is now mother to a six-week-old daughter, added: 'I talk to her every day - I probably talk to her more than I talk to Isaiah.'

Inseparable: Becca (left) and Marlene are best friends, and describe themselves as being married to each other, in the same way that they are married to Isaiah

Both plan to have many more children, and raise them together.

Marlene explained: 'We didn't want, "This is my child, this is your child". We wanted all of our kids to be raised together, you know, I'm mom, she's mom...

'I grew up with 25 brothers and sisters, and I loved it, and I want that for my kids.' 

Speaking on GMA this morning, Lisa Ling explained how powerful Mormon women actually are in instigating plural marriage.

She told how a woman approaches the community's spiritual elders when she 'receives a sign from God' about the man she is supposed to marry.

Young love: Marlene and Isaiah married when they were just 18. When Becca married into the family nine years later, she was only 19

She said: 'In this community it's actually the women who dictate who they're going to marry... They believe that at a certain point in their lives, and they don't know when it's going to happen, God will speak to them, and they will know instantly as soon as they see the man.

'The man is completely unaware - when the spiritual elders call them in, they may not even know who the girl is.'

The Church of Latter Day Saints teaches that Jesus was a polygamist, and many people living in Mormon communities, which typically shun media attention, know life no other way.

As Marlene said on Our America: 'I believe that this is the way God lives. And I believe that this is a superior way to live.'

How Steve Jobs's biological mother doesn't know he is dead as care home nurses believe dementia sufferer is too ill to be told

His death was one of the most widely publicised in recent history, filling newspapers and television schedules for days as fans worldwide united in grief.

Among the few people in the Western world, however, who will not have heard of Steve Jobs's passing, is perhaps the most important - his own mother.

Joanne Simpson, who reluctantly gave her son up for adoption after falling pregnant when she was a student, is seriously unwell in a nursing home in Los Angeles and has no idea her son has died, MailOnline can reveal.

Biological parents: Father John Jandali never met Jobs while it is thought mother Joanne Simpson does not know he has died

Sources close to the family said the Apple founder's biological mother, Joanne Simpson, 79, is tragically battling advanced dementia.

She has very limited mental capacity and is said barely to know who she is, let alone what has become of the son she gave away.

Jobs was adopted in 1955 after being born to Abdulfattah John Jandali, a Syrian man, and Joanne Schieble, who was a graduate student at the time.

The couple were not married and keeping him would have been deemed shameful by their communities.

Brought up by Paul and Clara Jobs, Steve is thought to have reconciled with his mother but never to have made contact with his biological father.

Genius: The Apple founder completely revolutionised the way we communicate

In his renowned 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, Jobs described how his mother signed the adoption papers reluctantly, wanting to give him away to a well-educated couple.

Paul Jobs was a high-school drop-out who became a machinist and his wife Clara never graduated from college.

Joanne Simpson eventually married Jandali and the couple had another child, Mona Simpson, who went on to become a famous novelist, before getting divorced. She later remarried.

'My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student,' Jobs said in his speech.

Deteriorating: The Berkley East Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles, where Steve Jobs's birth mother, who has dementia, is being looked after

'She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates.'

When he grew up, Jobs found his mother and the two kept in touch. He also forged a relationship with his biological sister.

Despite the reconciliation, Simpson's dementia is so serious she has no idea about her son's death.

Her condition has so far deteriorated she is said briefly to have been admitted to a mental hospital after neighbours reported seeing her wondering the streets half naked.

Frail: Jobs was photographed in August looking very unwell

A source said: 'Steve was one of the richest men in the world, but his wealth couldn’t save him and it couldn’t save his mother.

'We used to find her wondering the streets wearing only a house coat with nothing underneath and sometimes we would find her wearing barely anything climbing trees in her bare feet.

'In the end someone dropped her at a mental hospital as they were so concerned for her wellbeing and then when her daughter found out they eventually moved her to a nursing home.

'She was a lovely woman so it was very hard to see her demise. Now she is locked in her own body and barely knows who she is let alone Steve anymore.'

Jobs knew about his birth mother's mental condition and is said secretly to have helped her financially. 

'They had reconnected in later life and it must have been so sad for Steve watching his mum lose her mind , knowing there was nothing he could do about it,' the source added.

'It was like a double heartache as there was nothing he could do about his condition either in the end.

'While we never saw him round her house before they moved her, what we do know is that her rent was paid for as if by magic every month.

'And now she is in one of the best care homes, so it doesn’t take a fool to work out who is paying for it.'