The Easter school holidays are almost here, which means you have at least 14 days of boredom-beaters to organise. Fortunately, there's plenty to occupy fractious youngsters across the country.

I'm walking through Cambridge at twilight, and there's a touch of magic in the misty air. Lights twinkle distantly behind college windows. Students stream past on bicycles, heading back to their digs. Apart from the fact that most of them are talking on mobile phones, we might have slipped back into another century.

Who said Robert Mugabe doesn't have friends? The President of Zimbabwe might have few allies on the global stage but thousands of supporters turned out for the finale of the week-long party celebrating the leader's 88th birthday.

Angela Carter liked to make an entrance. Susannah Clapp, now a drama critic, first saw her when she herself was working in a makeshift office in 1979-80, helping to launch the London Review of Books. She hoped to coax Carter into contributing. Carter strode in, wrapped in a big coat, her face free of make-up: "the first woman I knew," Clapp says, "who went grey without looking like a granny."

Serves 4-6

What I Learnt This Week

As you read this, I'm in Berlin (c/f last week on My First Ever Minibreak). But as I write it, I'm not. I leave tomorrow. My out-of-office is already enabled, my bag already packed. So much as I'd like to regale you with tales of affordable accommodation I can't. Yet.

Making your own Christmas cake? The sooner you get going, the better it will be, says Alice-Azania Jarvis

Whether it’s personalised, pink or covered in pirates, the right cake will make your party go with a swing. Don’t forget the candles...

The corner shop struggles against larger organisations and outlets. But who could not admire its spirited independence and eclectic approach?