End of the pier show comes to town
If you know Tim Hunkin from his C4 show The Secret Life Of Machines or his books, Almost Everything There Is To Know and Hunkin's...
Wickham Hall
Wickham Hall by Cathy Bramley (Corgi, £6.99) MLXLS I love a happy ending, don't you? A follow-your-dreams kind of romance where nothing...
Small miracles
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...
Santa Baby
Dear Santa If you are struggling for last minute presents, here are five (in no particular order) novels from the last year that anyone...
Paws for thought at Christmas
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...
In the beginning was the word...
Wordplay by Gyles Brandreth (Coronet, £14.99) At Christmas, book elves' shelves groan with new titles from cookery to biography and...
Pomegranate Molasses Chicken with Roasted Vegetable Bulgur Salad
Serves 4-6 1 large free-range chicken, spatchcocked (ask your butcher to do this for you) 6 tbsp pomegranate molasses, plus extra for...
Baltic Exchange
I’ve just come back from a whistlestop tour of the Baltic region. Eight days of exploring and eating in Copenhagen, Tallinn, Riga and...
Celeriac Purée with Spiced Cauliflower and Quail's eggs
Serves 6 Ras el hanout is a north African blend of sweet and hot ground spices. There's no definitive list, but hanout means "shop" in...
Melting your heart
A Snow Garden by Rachel Joyce, (Transworld, £9.99) Rachel Joyce's writing sneaks up on you. Just when you think you're reading a nice...
