Liz Jones, the You Magazine columnist, writes in her latest diary entry published September 27, 2025, about a birthday trip that took her to Antalya, Turkey. The solo celebration began with a lavish hotel welcome that blurred into a personal test of loneliness as she tracked messages from a former partner, identified in the diary as David 1.0, who hinted at a big decision to make.
Jones arrives to find a scene that reads like a honeymoon fantasy. Instead of a standard sea-view room, she is shown a swim-to-the-door villa, with the principal bedroom bed adorned with rose petals, red balloons, and towel swans, and an open bottle of champagne on the bedside. Dinner that night is arranged for her alone, followed by a cake with sparklers. She notes the setting feels cinematic, likening it to a moment from a Sex and the City scene, and later describes watching The Ballad of Wallis Island, which she calls witty and heartbreaking.
The next morning, Jones receives a birthday text from David 1.0. He writes that he has a big decision to make and asks whether it involves her. The exchange includes playful banter about loneliness and clever jokes that are partly autocorrect mishaps. The tone leaves open whether the ex expects involvement or is testing the waters, underscoring the diary’s blend of personal history and present tensions.
By the second day, Jones allows herself to relax and notes that she has spent only six hours and fifty minutes checking messages and reading papers on her holiday, a marked contrast to how she often consumes technology. She explains the trip was a gift and that her dog Mini remains with a carer back home. Mini has a runny stomach, and the vet advised stopping antibiotics, a recurring issue that intrudes on her attempt to unwind. The dog is described as a sensitive presence in her life, a constant source of comfort during a period of travel and fame.
Jones also reflects on the emotional pull of home, describing Mini as the love of her life and the most reliable companionship she has outside of writing. The thought of leaving London and the prospect of an earlier flight back to be with her dog weighs on her, revealing the cost of balancing a high-profile diary life with real-world caregiving responsibilities.
In a final thread, the diary turns to memories from Jones’s youth. She recalls doing her A levels and calling her mother to say she would go to a disco with a boy named Ali, only for her mother to sob at the pay phone, and for her grandfather to be knocked from his bicycle and killed. Those vivid recollections frame the diary’s tone with a reminder that personal history and family loss shape the way she experiences fame, travel, and romance.
Alongside the narrative, Jones’s weekly column segment, known to readers as Jones Moans, is referenced, with her venting about everyday irritants such as the friction between car service and the expectations of luxury brands, including mentions of fashion house Giorgio Armani and the height of catwalk etiquette. The piece blends celebrity culture, fashion critique, and personal sentiment into a single diary-driven narrative.