Hit & Run: Mamma maniacs

It has been the unexpected hit film of the summer, taking over £60m at UK box offices alone. But, 11 weeks on from its release date, you could be forgiven for imagining that the appeal of Mamma Mia!, the adapted stage musical with the Abba soundtrack, might be approaching saturation point. While those who are not keen on musicals are unlikely to be persuaded at this stage, hardcore fans can't get enough of Meryl Streep's dungarees, Pierce Brosnan's warbly rendition of "SOS", and the blue seas and skies of a remote Greek island.

In fact, the Mamma maniacs are still storming the multiplexes on a weekly basis. Return visits of four, five, even six times are not uncommon; singalong screenings have also seen a brisk trade. A spokesperson for Vue cinemas says, "We've noticed customers coming back to see the film time and again, bringing different family members and friends".

Sarah Watkins, a 34-year-old single mother from south-east London, confesses she's a five-timer and "not done yet". Even though she's never been back to see a film even a second time before, to her, this one combines a unique blend of highly addictive cheese-based properties. She describes it as "the best feel-good film I've ever seen". Far from being put off by the dodgy singing, she feels "it just adds to the great karaoke feel".

Then there are her two daughters, aged nine and 14, who have been hooked by the film's humour – it has jokes as well as slushy romance – and, of course, the timeless tunes. They accompanied their mother to the singalong version at the Covent Garden Odeon, where, unsurprisingly, women were heavily outnumbered by gay men.

Saskia Davis, 28, a PR from Maidstone, is another repeat offender. She sees it as "an hour-and-a-half's worth of summer holiday" – clearly an antidote to the smudged-pencil skies we've endured over recent months.

Camilla Jones, 37, a mother from south London, says she'd been dragged to Mamma Mia! by her eight-year-old daughter. "Now, my daughter has been trying to persuade other members of the family to take her, because she loves the fact that we all know the words to the Abba songs."

And nobody is feeling as good about this feel-good hit as the cinema chiefs. Crispin Lilly, head of film at Cineworld, says "there's no science or logic" to the scale of the success – particularly during the traditionally quiet month of September – though he thinks word-of-mouth has driven its popularity. He points out that the advertising for the DVD has already begun, overlapping with the cinema release, "and that's driving sales".

You have to go back to Saturday Night Fever or even Grease to find a musical of such ubiquity, and the Mamma Mia! DVD will surely be top of many a Christmas wishlist.

The desire to watch a film over and over again is usually the preserve of the very young (think of toddlers watching SpongeBob SquarePants on repeat). The reassuring appeal of Mamma Mia! seems to bridge the generation gap: the whole family gets to snuggle up to the comfort blanket.

What's it really like to fly in a Learjet?

By Rebecca Armstrong

As airlines fail left, right and centre, one entrepreneur has placed the biggest-ever order for Learjets – splashing out $1.5bn (£800m) for 110 of them. Jonathan Breeze, chief executive of Jet Republic (right), is a former RAF pilot who believes that there are still 3 million potential clients across Europe who'll pay for in-flight privacy. The airline, he says, will "provide a five-star boutique hotel in the sky" for wealthy individuals who will now scupper plans to buy their own jets.

So what's it like to fly in a Learjet? A few years ago, I took a ride on an eight-seater plane – and it isn't all it's cracked up to be. Claustrophobics take note: the seats may be covered in soft leather and the carpets are of the shag-pile variety but space is limited. Paying a premium for privacy will appeal to anyone who has ever had the back of their seat kicked by a recalcitrant toddler, but the turbulence and less-than-inspiring food that Learjets usually offer fall rather short of the playboy fantasy.

Breeze is attempting to better this by offering a concierge, iPod videos, proper coffee and hot meals, and letting passengers use their BlackBerrys. If a Learjet is just too poky, surely nothing beats being your own pilot, à la John Travolta and his customised £2m Boeing 707. Because if you're ultra-rich, surely you want to reach for the sky rather than follow the herd.

Don't lose your (plastic) bottle

By Jeremy Laurance

Buying bottled water to carry around is expensive, so it makes sense to re-fill the bottles with perfectly healthy tap water. Or does it? DEHA, a chemical in the plastic, is said to leach out of the plastic into the water and act as a carcinogen. So reports suggest the bottles should only be kept for a few days and be used once only. This is bonkers, for two reasons. First most plastic bottles are not made with DEHA. Second a bigger, though still tiny, risk is from the bacteria that may build up in a bottle. Wash before re-use – and stop worrying.

Richard rules the waves!

By Nicole Mowbray

If you happen to be listening to BBC Radio 5 Live between the ungodly hours of 11pm and 1am, salvation is within earshot in the form of Richard Bacon, the station's shining star.

On Tuesday, Richard – who has a self-proclaimed penchant for cardigans – turned his attention to the mundane reasons one might have for missing Gordon Brown's speech. "Maybe you were cleaning out your rabbit," he pondered, "or perhaps watching a DVD box set of the long-decommissioned BBC series Harbour Lights with Nick Berry and, if I'm not mistaken, Tina Hobley."

Both of which pastimes, would, of course, have been preferable.

Rock on Richard, you rule!