CARO JOWETT

I saw an angel yesterday. He was perched atop a pailing outside Waterstone's St Albans, in a blue and green hand-knitted gown, with a pink knitted face and golden hand-knitted wings. Tied around his little knitted neck with silver and white wool was a laminated message which read on one side, "YOU CAN DO IT!" and on the other, "Please take me, I'm free" along with #xmasangels and @homewoodurc. What could I do? It's not every Christmas an angel descends with a motivational mes

Dear Santa If you are struggling for last minute presents, here are five (in no particular order) novels from the last year that anyone would love to find in their stockings. Disclaimer by Renée Knight (Black Swan, £7.99) If you loved Gone Girl, and I did, this is perfect. Cor, I thought when I read the blurb. Imagine you are reading a book and it turns out to be all about you. And not just about you, but about your greatest secret. Something not even your husband and son kno

A Gift From Bob by James Bowen (Hodder, £7.99) I defy anyone to read this heart-warming tale without shedding a tear. From the minute you open the cover, you'll feel a pricking behind the eyes that won't leave you until the very last page. Without wishing to sound cynical, the story of streetcat Bob is the Christmas gift that keeps on giving: this is the seventh book in the series and a film is in the pipeline. When James, a recovering heroin addict and former street sleeper,

Wordplay by Gyles Brandreth (Coronet, £14.99) At Christmas, book elves' shelves groan with new titles from cookery to biography and beyond, but the one kind of book that finds its niche at this time of year might loosely be termed stocking filler, as it seems to defy all other categorisation. In this section, you'll find quiz books, joke books, books of interesting, quirky facts, records and events. You will also find word books, which to my mind, are the most fun. And if you

Serves 4-6 1 large free-range chicken, spatchcocked (ask your butcher to do this for you) 6 tbsp pomegranate molasses, plus extra for brushing 4 garlic cloves 1 red chilli, finely chopped 300g cooked bulgur wheat Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the roasted vegetables 2 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 parsnips, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 red onions, root left intact, sliced thinly 3 tbsp olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Place the c