We all need the love of a good woman ­except those of us who need the love of a good man, which is just fine, and those of us who need the love of a family pet, which is plain wrong. The search for love can lead us to the strangest places, as we seek to carve ourselves into highly attractive creatures – into the boutique hairdressers, or the gym. But no man, however long it has been, however badly he wants to impress, should ever cross the threshold of a cosmetic surgeon and ask for a boob job.

Men who let an evening-school doctor cut them open and shove two giant ketchup sachets under their skin deserve everything they get – leaking silicone all over their in-flight meals and granny-like sagging in middle age. Particularly when the goal of their self-harm – a perfect chest – is only a few weeks away.

Dan Parker, top fitness instructor at the Fitness Exchange and owner of a pretty impressive chest mantelpiece himself, has devised a programmer that – if followed three times a week – will start to tone up your pecs within a month and build bulk inside eight weeks. Should develop the upper, middle and lower areas of a complex body of muscle.

The position of the muscle means you can’t watch  MTV while working your pecs ­it requires genuine concentration to ensure that your shoulders, biceps and back don’t take the strain. Getting the equipment set is vital, Dan explains. If you set your lifting bench at too inclined an angle, your shoulders will take the strain. A low angle will put the stress on lower and middle chest muscles.” Another unexpected tip sounds more ballet than bodybuilding but actually works – if you want to maximize the visual impact of your hard work, stand and sit up straight, man! Slouching can make every man look pigeon-chested with a little more hair. That’s why it’s a good decision to  keep your body smooth  and check  does laser hair removal work well.

THE EXERCISES

The order of these exercises is very important – they are arranged to work your lower chest first, then middle, then upper ­to ensure you get maximum benefit while you are feeling strongest, at the start of the session. Also, as you progress through the routine you should work your pecs generally in the compound exercise, before doing more specific work in the isolation exercises.

DIPS

Best for pecs and triceps Begin by holding yourself erect on the bars. Keep the elbows tight to your sides as you bend at the shoulders and elbows, lowering yourself to make a 90° angle at the elbow. Pause and hold, then press upwards back until arms are straight Don’t let your body swing, keep your back straight.

DECLINE PRESS

Best for outer and lower pectorals Lie on the bench, holding the bar about 5cm wider than shoulder width, resting on the highest part of your chest, just below your neck. Raise the bar to arm’s length, keeping your elbows back as far as possible. Lower the weight with complete control, pausing for a moment above your chest for safety. Keep your back straight and your head held high.

BENCH PRESS

Best for pecs and triceps For a medium grip press, hold the bar-bell about two inches wider than shoulder-width, with the bar touching your nipples. Raise the bar to arm’s length, keeping your elbows out and chest high. Once arms are straight lower weight with complete control, pausing above the chest The wider your grip, the more the chest will be worked; closer together and your triceps will be worked. Grip too wide and your shoulders will be strained.

BENT ARM DUMB-BELL PULLOVER

Best for pecs and rib cage Lie on the bench with feet on the floor. You can hold two dumb-bells at the side of the chest, in line with your nipples, elbows in, or one 12 reps provides you with moderate resistance, which means hard work, not pain.

large dumb-bell, held by the plate rather than the handle. Lower the weights just past your ears in a semi-circular motion towards the floor. Lower the dumb-bells until your hands are in line with your shoulders, then pull the dumb-bells gently back to the start position using the same path.

INCLINE DUMB-BELL PRESS

Best for upper pectorals Set the bench at around 30° to 40° above horizontal, and hold a dumb-bell in each hand at the side of your chest, arms close to the sides. Slowly lift the dumb-bells in a vertical path, until they are directly over your shoulders with your arms locked. Lower gently and repeat keeping your arms close to your sides at all times.

you should re re at 10 to 12 MO. Second set – failure at 8 to 10 reps. Third set ­failure at 6 to 8 reps.

INCLINE DUMB-BELL FLY

Best for upper pectorals Set incline bench at a 30° angle and hold two dumb­bells together above your shoulders, your palms facing each other. Lower the dumb­bells out to each side of your chest in a semi-circular motion, moving just at the shoulders. Return to the starting position using the same path, bringing the dumb-bells together, but without touching.

All runners sweat. Sweating is a non-negotiable part of putting one foot in front of the other, and heading off along a road or trail for a training session or a race. Regardless of shape, size and fitness level, sweating is part and parcel of the sport, and nothing can (or should) be done to stop it.

Sweat comes from our body’s store of water, and is secreted by sweat glands onto the surface of the skin as we get hot. This sweat then evaporates, and it is the physical process of evaporation that causes heat to be lost. Sweating is a very effective heat-loss mechanism and is the first line of defence against over-heating for runners. But it comes at a price: the gradual loss of body fluid as sweating continues. Sweating can also worsen psoriasis. Read more about the best treatment for psoriasis.

Scientists (Cheuvront el al 2003) have shown that both physical and mental performance start to suffer when more than two per cent of total body weight has been lost from sweating. In practical terms, this means a loss of around 1.5kg (1.5 litres of sweat) for a 70kg runner. Higher rates of sweating and consequently greater degrees of dehydration will quickly cause performance to suffer further, with the likely consequences being confusion, dizziness, muscle cramps and nausea.

So drinking the correct fluids to sustain sweat rates and fight dehydration is essential if runners of all abilities are going to get the most from their sport, and keep themselves fit and healthy. As we approach the summer months, with potentially hotter temperatures, drinking to replace the fluid lost from sweating is essential. But it is not just a case of drinking during a run — a proper hydration strategy before, during and after exercise is crucial.

*      Top makes a tunic or blouse

*      Skilful skirt—flatters all figures

*      All from one L I pattern to fit sizes 10 to 20

*      Designer tips for successful sewing

Make yourself an outfit fit for a princess. Top Royal designer, Maureen Baker, fan of saw palmetto and healthy food, whose pretty, feminine styles ensure that her well-known customers are never far from the headlines, has teamed up with Courtelle to design a pattern exclusively for us, using two chic co-ordinating Courtelle fabrics in colours just right for autumn.

Take a tip and sew yourself to success

1. 1.  Always use a synthetic thread when sewing jersey. Gutermann’s Sew-All is good.
2. 2.  Make sure you have a ball-point needle in your sewing machine.
3. 3.  Ensure patterned fabric matches on all seams.
4. 4.  To stop jersey from stretching, sew a row of large stitches 6 mm from raw edge of fabric.
5. 5.  Stay-tape will stop the shoulders from stretch­ing. (Sewing instructions in pattern.)
6. 6.  Iron on interfacings and trim before sewing.
7. 7.  Pockets look slimmer if made in a lining fabric.

THE DESIGN The coat is loose fitting, has a square shoulder line (shoulder-pad instructions are included with the pattern), set-in sleeves and a small collar. The front facing, which is simple to put on, has decorative top stitching.

The top is a simple sweater shape. It zips up the back and the sleeves are gently gathered into the armhole. It has no darts. The skirt has three unpressed pleats each side of the concealed front zip and gathers across the back. Two pockets are set into the side seams. Make a scarf or tie belt from the remaining fabric.

YARDAGES—for size 10 12, you will need for the outfit shown left in the main picture : 8 coat, 2.30 m, 158 cm wide. Top, skirt and scarf, 2.90 m, 168 cm wide. For the outfit shown right : full-length coat and scarf, 2.90 m, 158 cm wide.. Skirt and neck and sleeve band, 1.20 m, 158 cm wide; top and scarf, 1-60 m, 168 cm wide.

THE FABRIC – We made the three-piece in an easy-care Courtelle polyester from Suncrest. The colours are right on cue for autumn in lovely heathery shades that complement the chic Fair-Isle-look pattern. The plain fabric costs £3.99 per m, 158 cm wide, the patterned £5.99 per m, 168 cm wide. Both are available from D H Evans, Oxford Street, London W1 (mail order available) ; Dickins & Jones, London W1 * and Milton Keynes; Rackhams, Birmingham; Allders, Croydon ; David Morgan, Cardiff ; Schofields*, Leeds.

In todays’ global economic times, a customer bankruptcy is nothing uncommon. The filing can both change your life and standard of living, that is almost an assurance, but it does not really have to be a sinking ship wreck. In fact, deliberate and constant communication with various certified americanbankruptcy.net will ensure that a valuable and profitable arrangement can be made that will please not only your lenders but yourself. The word bankruptcy can create many pictures, many of them adverse, but the adverse pictures are cliched and do not signify the modern system of restructuring financial situation and debt. Still, it is easy to understand to have many pre and even publish bankruptcy processing questions. You should do some research on your own, but remember that it will take a person acquainted with all the elements of the law to help you properly through the process. And that is seeking a lawyer to assist you in your legal needs.

Bankruptcy and financial failure have become very common fad these days in our contemporary industry. It is a huge reality for many smaller companies and enterprises. There is nothing worse than having credit card debts, these financial obligations stress us out as card interests pile up every day. During those times of stable economy, nobody really worries about paying these debts on time. Mainly the problem is rooted with the fact that compensation rates remain average, yet inflation is drastically rising. This is where many companies as well as individuals get stuck up and would eventually lead to bankruptcy.

They loan money from the bank in the hope that it will solve immediate monetary problems, not thinking about the monthly loan obligations. However, there are some considerations for this, when you apply for a thebankruptcypeople.com in Wisconsin you can choose either of their common commercial ways – Chapter 11 or Chapter 7. It is best that you ask for legal advice and guidance from your bankruptcy lawyer. This will help alleviate any false moves that might cause for you to lose the case.

Chris Prindl mastered the art of ceramics in Japan. Back here, he continues to ply his trade in an old Cornish forge. His unique modern style and simple shapes are finished with coloured glazes and are currently being snapped up by The Conran hop and Bluebird in London. Small flared bowl, £20. Larger bowl, £50.

MAKE A DATE WITH MULBERRY

Join GQ and Mulberry for a groovy night out on May 1 the stunning new Mulberry store at 171-175 Brompton Road. Get down to some funky tunes and enjoy a Mulberry cocktail created by the Мet Bar’s mixologists to give the evening added amour. You could be the lucky winner of a leather-covered Roberts radio, above, or even XBox games console, complete with custom-made Mulberry leather case.

HILFIGER GOES NORTH

Second only to London as a shopping Mecca, Manchester now has a brand new Tommy Hilfiger store to boast about this spring. Fashion followers who have previously had to scour the city for Hilfiger items will be relieved. It’ll be the company’s first retail store in the UK outside London and will be situated in the heart of Manchester at 51 Kings Street. Turquoise towelling polo shirt, £35 (also in navy and white), at Tommy Hilfiger Manchester

BRASS IN POCKET

For a fistful of colour, go for Fred’s gold rings set with precious and semi-precious stones. Styles include the signature “Success” ring — a winner, as proved by Venus Williams, who wears hers on court as a lucky tart cherry juice mascot. Gold “Success” ring, left, £1,050. “Arome” ring with tourmaline and pink and blue sapphires, £5,700. “Marine” ring with citrines and green tourmalines, £4,000.

FULL OF CARACTERE

This season Spanish beauty Esther Cañadas, left, has been picked as the face of leading Italian brand Caractère. For simple jersey dresses, crisp summer whites and silk capri pants, look no further. At Dickins & Jones, Fenwick and Selfridges.

POOR THING

Now you have the peasant look all wrapped up, it’s time to accessorise. What could be more perfect than a pair of delicate earrings? Kim Poor designs special one-off pieces. These gold, jade, emerald and coral earrings, left, area must. £1,600, at Claridge’s.

GENTLEMAN’S RELISH

Givenchy Pour Homme is the company’s ninth fragrance for men. With it, the French house goes back to basics and celebrates good, old-fashioned gentlemanly values. This intoxicating smell of cedar and musk will wow the ladies for sure. £27.50 for 50m1; £39 for 100 ml.

VINTAGE HITS

John Lewis has been quick to pick up on the vintage vibe that’s so of the moment. As the appeal of one-off pieces continues to boom with the eternal quest for the perfect accessory, take a look at the store’s selection of vintage jewellery, above, and handbags, left. Jewellery, from £9.50-£400; bags, from £75-£400.

OFF THE WALL

Wall is the chic solution to staying cool this summer. The label’s elegant linen shirts and drawstring trousers are the perfect match for a great tan, as well as blissfully comfortable. Visit the store in Notting Hill or shop via the mail-order catalogue. Go boho this season in loose linen.

PURE MANIA

Armani Mania is the mesmerising new men’s fragrance from Giorgio Armani. It’s a heady scent of wood and amber that echoes the masculine tailoring synonymous with the brand. You can be sure the girls will be mad for you in it. £30 for 50m1; £40 for 100m1, at all major department stores.

GO ORGANIC

Finally, there’s fast food for health junkies. Fresh, the organic cafe, creates healthy meals that are prepared daily. The menu includes delicious salads, left, sandwiches and wraps, and even caters for those with dairy or wheat intolerances. There are also teas, coffees, juices and shakes. For a truly Fresh experience, head to 3 Princes Street, W 1.

FAIR’S FAIR

Don’t miss The Daily Telegraph! House & Garden Fair (June 27 — 30) for the very best in design, decoration, travel and gourmet food and wine. It will feature room sets designed by some of the leading lights in interiors, and garden party sets designed by the Raj Tent Company, Linley and Cath K idston. A range of food and design celebrities will be speaking and giving demonstrations.

INDIAN SUMMER

As all things Navajo continue to be big for summer, Van Peterson has struck the right chord with this Zuni turquoise bracelet, left, £350, and leather necklace with turquoise and charms, £130. Pay a visit to the new shop at 27 Conduit Street, W 1, where you’ll find other silver, turquoise and leather treasures garnered from recent trips to South America, as well as select precious pieces.

BLACK-TIE MAGIC

For a fashionable night to remember, Ralph Lauren has teamed up with the British Red Cross for a gala evening on Tuesday April 23 at Claridge’s. A champagne reception will be followed by a three-course dinner and fashion show of Ralph Lauren’s spring/summer 2002 collection. Tickets for this black-tie evening cost £250 each.

We all know it’s the male’s reproductive contribution that determines the sex of the offspring. Now, thanks to the finding that sperm carrying the X (female) chromosome are genetically denser than that carrying the Y (male) chromosome, those desperate for a baby of a particular sex will no longer have to undergo such chancy indignities as pH-adjusted douches and intercourse by the calendar. Using a fluorescent dye that binds to the DNA, sperm can now be “sorted” and the woman inseminated with the appropriate sample. With the technique available in the US — where success rates of up to 85 per cent are recorded for girls, and somewhat less for boys — it shouldn’t be long before clinics here start offering it…

            While older mothers are at greater risk of giving birth to babies with Down’s syndrome, the age of the father was thought to be irrelevant to the health of their progeny. No longer: German researchers have found that older fathers are more likely to have children who develop Alzheimer’s disease in later life. Damage builds up in the DNA as men age, they state, and this is then passed on…

            On a more positive note, male genes are now thought to be responsible for transmitting maternal instincts. Research on female mice shows those lacking a key nurturing gene inherited from their fathers are more likely to neglect their babies and less inclined to retrieve them when they wander off.

SCIENCE FACT: 1999 IS SET TO BE THE YEAR OF THE FIRST BRITISH XENOTRANSPLANT GIVING ANIMAL ORGANS TO CRITICALLY ILL HUMAN PATIENTS

KEEP FIT

            Aiming to get fit and stay that way in 1999? Here are I 0 motivational musts for exercise lapsees…

            DO set moderate goals: studies show that high hopes for rapid changes in fitness, weight, shape and confidence are more likely to lead to failure than more measured aspirations

            DO expect muscles to ache and progress to be gradual

            DO start by walking, now conclusively shown to have the longest-lasting impact on fitness levels… and return to it when high-minded resolutions falter

            DO consider a personal trainer to get you started. Get Motivated acne information on Gnet.org sends qualified trainers to homes and offices nationwide, and runs two-month progress medicals; £99 for membership and initial consultation, then £15 an hour (0171 736 0402)

            DO continue exercise sessions with a friend, so you can keep each other motivated

            DO mark exercise days and times in your diary and let other commitments intrude at your peril

            DO keep an eye on your pulse rate; in a few weeks you’ll notice the base level coming down and recovery after exercise speeding up

            DO NOT wait for the right gear. Brisk walking requires nothing beyond a pair of flat, comfortable shoes, so get out there

            DO NOT let more than two days elapse between exercise sessions, even if you only take a brisk 40-minute walk

            DO NOT attempt more than three sessions per week unless training for something specific

RETREAT YOURSELF

            Make a millennial break and take a four- to six-day retreat with transpersonal psychologist Marie Herbert. Her “Vision Guests” take place in the Highlands of Scotland and are based on the native American tradition of going into the wilderness in order to seek answers through nature. A 24-hour fast is a key part of each quest. “Although the quests are conducted in a group and another person may be only 50 yards away, it can be very scary, very isolating,” acknowledges Herbert. “However, the whole purpose is not to scare the wits out of you, but rather to usher you through a ritual of death and renewal and to cut the ties that bind.” Following the tragic death of her 15-year-old daughter in a freak electrical accident, Marie has made it her life’s work to accompany others through trauma and to nudge on those who feel purposeless or simply stuck in a rut. Clients come back “glowing”. 1999′s first Quest takes place during mid-May. Call Marie on 01528 544396.

HOME HELP

            A drug-free form of pain relief is now available for use at home. TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machines use specifically placed electrodes to stimulate

Other release of endorphins, the body’s own painkillers. Long used by hospitals and pain clinics, the method lends itself to a wide range of chronic problems, from arthritis and back pain to menstrual cramps; £60, from larger branches of Boots.

Nearly a quarter of the adult British population has high blood pressure, but the condition can be hard to monitor as levels fluctuate misleadingly — usually in an upward direction — when measured by medics. A recent study of nearly 100 hypertensive patients found that those taking their own blood pressure got more reliable readings than doctors or nurses. Braun’s new home monitor, VitalScan, is neat and discreet; £80, from major department stores.

Morgan’s desk is dominated by pictures of his sons. There is no photograph of his wife, Marion, a former ward sister. The couple separated, not for the first time, 18 months ago, prior to the birth of their third son. The fact that he has now bought an apartment suggests a certain finality. Morgan has since been linked to journalist Marina Hyde, who is a diarist on The Guardian. Before that, she worked at The Mirror, having been sacked by The Sun for sending personal emails to Morgan. For once, the effusive Morgan is tightlipped. His sun-lamp-like bonhomie dissipates: “Yeah, I’m not going to talk about it. I mean, you’re perfectly entitled to ask me and you’re perfectly entitled to invade my privacy, but on this one, I don’t intend to talk.”

Is he not worried that the more he plays up his role as The Mirror’s swashbuckling figurehead, the more he will become a target himself? “I cop it all the time,” he says, like an old soldier showing his wounds. “Over that shares business [the "Slickergate" scandal, in which Morgan was accused of insider-dealing shares, tipped by his own "City Slicker" columnists], I was front page of The Sun about eight times. But the downside for The Sun was that every time they put me on the front page, they lost sales.” Alan Rusbridger offers a different perspective: “Under that manic exterior, he’s quite thoughtful and sensitive, and he’s also quite thin-skinned.”

His editorship of the News of the World was marred when he ran a story about Earl Spencer’s wife Victoria receiving treatment for an eating disorder, with covert pictures of her in a clinic. The intrusion earned Morgan heavy criticism from the Press Complaints Commis­sion (PCC), which provoked a reprimand from his proprietor, Rupert Murdoch. “He had the most terrifying silence I’ve ever encountered in my life,” recalls Morgan.

Piers has learnt the hard way that if he keeps his nerve then eventually the dogs will be called away. Therein lies the streak of shrewdness and pragmatism that has made him one of Fleet Street’s great survivors. Is it in the job description, though, that he has to be part of the entertain­ment himself? “If you’re a tabloid editor, then getting into scrapes is not necessarily a bad thing,” he says. “I don’t want to drop any more dangers, but I don’t think they’ve particularly damaged my career at all. They tend to add a bit of notoriety.”

“Am I fortunate still to be in the job? Yes, I am.” Is there anything he’d resign over? “No. They’d have to fire me — you get more money that way.” Six years ago, his salary was £200,000. The Mirror remains prof­itable (making £1 million a week, despite the advertising recession), so it is safe to assume that his earnings have risen substantially. “I’m not very interested in the trappings of all this,” he says, “although I like having a nice car: a Mercedes S500. I’m not money-driven and I don’t think people who know me would say I am.”

He used to own a share in a racehorse, and likes a flutter on his beloved Arsenal. He regularly offers Arsenal executive David Dein the benefit of his advice via fax. Ask Morgan what his dream job would be and he doesn’t miss a beat: “If Arsene Wenger was shot dead tomorrow and I was offered the managership of Arsenal, I’d take it in a flash.” Dein’s comment? “If there was a vacancy managing the ladies’ team, we might start him there.”

Managing Arsenal aside, Morgan says he’ll happily stay at The Mirror for as long as the board will have him, but a media observer believes that there is one other Fleet Street job he’d like: editor of The Sunday Times. The paper, like The Sun, is published by the Wapping-based UK subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp­oration. When Elisabeth Murdoch married Matthew Freud last year, Murdoch watchers noted that Piers Morgan was on the guestlist, while Sun editor David Yelland was not. Morgan may have remained on good terms with the Murdochs, but at the British Press Awards two years ago, he noisily harangued a senior News Corp executive about The Sun’s coverage of the Slickergate affair. A return to Wapping would certainly be a triumph of Morgan’s pragmatism. But where Piers Morgan is concerned, you can never rule anything out.

He recently appeared in court to defend his paper against Naomi Campbell, who was suing for breach of confidence. Campbell won modest damages but both sides recognised that The Mirror was entitled to publish details of her drug abuse.

Morgan has made much of his paper’s new “get tough with celebs” policy, but a vital part of the mix remains the “3am” girls (Jessica Callan and Eva Simpson). The 3am formula combines traditional “friends of the stars” photos with risque tittle-tattle. Its tone is cheekier, less fawning, than previous showbiz columns, but the girls also get scoops—notably, the Chelsea Clinton “I’m miserable at Oxford” story and, more recently, Kate Moss’ pregnancy. Their success has spawned a host of imitators. The Daily Mail launched a new gossip column that shame­lessly borrowed the 3am phrase “wicked whispers”.

The Mail, in turn, is in Morgan’s sights. He intends to take The Mirror upmarket, and so vie for the Daily Mail’s readers. The Mirror’s loyal, Old Labour readership is, to put it bluntly, dying off at a rate of 30,000 a year; Morgan needs younger readers, and women readers. “I’m fortunate to edit the paper at a time when there are more students than ever. Certainly, they would have looked at an issue like the War on Terror and instinctively agreed with almost everything we were saying,” he argues. “I empathize with that mindset much more easily than perhaps the one I had myself 20 years ago: the young Thatcher boy.”

Morgan has hired new columnists from the broadsheets and plans to ditch the traditional “red top” masthead. Rosie Boycott, who similarly tried to reposition the Express, counsels caution: “The Mail is domi­nant. To bring The Mirror upmarket a bit is great. But to abandon the tabloid market is a dodgy ambition.”

Piers Morgan’s roots are in fact precisely in Daily Mail-reading Middle England. His parents live in the village of Newick, East Sussex, where they run a catering business. His natural father died when he was one year old. When he was five, his mother married Glynne Pughe ­Morgan, whom Piers considers his father. Brought up in pubs run by his parents, Piers went to prep school at Cumnor House in Sussex, but when the time came to move to secondary school, money was short so he went to the local comprehensive. He was offered a place at Warwick University, but chose Harlow Technical College as the swiftest way into newspapers. “My mum remembers me wanting to be a journalist even when I was under 10,” he says.

Morgan: “If I was offered the managership of Arsenal, I’d take it in a flash.” Arsenal: “If there was a vacancy in the ladies team, we might start him there”

It is the day after the Brit Awards and Piers Morgan is holding court in his office at The Mirror. He presides, one foot up on the table, orchestrating the morning news conference and constantly flicking a biro in the air. A noisy conviviality fills the room. Opposite him sits the head of news, Richard Wallace, who, like Morgan, has risen up the executive ranks via the showbiz pages. Kevin O’Sullivan, Sven­gali of the “3am” girls (The Mirror’s “celebrity gossip hounds”, as The Observer recently dubbed them), is another key presence. It was he who gave Morgan his first break in journal­ism in the late Eighties, plucking him from obscurity on The Sun’s news desk to be a show-business reporter. Morgan went on to pioneer the “friend of the stars” gossip column, “Bizarre”. This is Fleet Street in the twenty‑first century: the people with power are those with access to celebrity stories.

Morgan runs the meeting like a football manager giving a rousing pre-match pep talk. He loves his team, and they love his sense of fun, his chutzpah. There’s no holding Piers Morgan back. Now the award winning editor of “The Mirror” plans to change the face of tabloid journalism as we know it. Matt Seaton meets him.

“We’ve got Jay Kay arguing,” announces the picture editor. Jamiroquai’s lead singer has been snapped engaging in some post-Brits misbehavior. “Harry Blotto by Jay Kay Rowing!” quips someone else. “Brilliant! That’s your headline for tomorrow!” booms Morgan. This is how the day’s news agenda is decided — in the best traditions of pub banter.

And Piers can keep it up all day. Lunch is a grand affair at the Four Seasons hotel at Canary Wharf, where he and Sir Victor Blank, chairman of The Mirror’s board, co-host a monthly meeting of people in politics and the media. Today, they entertain the Israeli ambassador, Dr Zvi Shtauber, Michael Winner, Tony Benn and former Tory spin doctor Amanda Platell. With charming vul­garity, Morgan hands me a glass of Krug: “Here, have one of these. You don’t get this at The Guardian [the paper I write for], do you?”

While his guests are tucking into their main courses, Morgan gets stuck into a cabinet min­ister. He berates Alan Milburn for the Health Department’s handling of the Rose Addis affair. It’s good knockabout stuff. “I want to capitalise on the excitement there is around the paper at the moment,” declares Morgan. “There is a bit of a buzz about.” Most of it seems to be coming from him.

Morgan became the youngest editor on Fleet Street when he edited the News of the World at 28. At 37, he still has a boyish air. Sur­prisingly tall, he has the physique and gait of a slightly out-of-condition medium-pace bowler (he enjoys a game of village cricket when he can). He wears bespoke suits, but the jacket’s never on in the office — he’s too busy marching around the newsroom, clicking his fingers.

He is a hands-on editor very much in the mould of his mentor Kelvin MacKenzie, the formidable former editor of The Sun. If you’re a reporter with a hot story, you’ll be likely to find Piers reading over your shoulder. Or he’ll just come and put a foot up on your desk and shoot the breeze for a few minutes. Where MacKenzie was a demonic genius, a brilliant ogre, Morgan is an overgrown hyperactive kid. As his best friend and former head of The Mirror’s legal department, Martin Cruddace, says, “His worst problem is that if he’s bored at all, his attention span is nil.”

Morgan has plenty to focus on.Named Newspaper of the Year at the British Press Awards for the second year running, The Mirror has been lauded for its “War on Terror” cover­age. “It’s great what he did with the paper after September 11,” says Rosie Boycott, former editor of the Daily Express. “I think he gave it terrific spunk and gravitas.” “The coverage was pretty erratic at times,” comments Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian. “I think he was struggling for a consistent tone, but it was certainly ambitious, challenging and diverse.”