Sympathy for Martin Amis — accused last weekend by Anna Ford of failing to do his duty as a godparent — from AS Byatt. At the Harvill Secker day (see below), she confessed that she has been similarly neglectful. “I’m a godmother to three, and I’ve never done anything godmotherly for any of them,” she said.
In the past she had said that she felt guilty for having spent time on her writing that she could have spent with her children. Asked if she had come terms with that, she answered: “I still feel guilty. I’ve moved from feeling I’m a bad mother to feeling I’m a bad grandmother.”