If there is one race at the Cheltenham Festival that brings a particular smile to Irish eyes, it's the Champion Bumper, taken only five times by the home side since its introduction 20 years ago. And chief among the successful raiders has been Ireland's serial champion trainer Willie Mullins, with six victories.

Win a bottle of champagne

Louise Mensch, the Tory MP formerly known as the chick-lit novelist Louise Bagshawe, has had an avalanche of publicity, both good and bad, since agreeing to be interviewed for GQ magazine. In that interview, she cast herself as the new Margaret Thatcher and, in a piece illustrated by posed photographs,complained about how women MPs are judged on their looks.

Terry Kirby selects the best bottles to buy

The Last Word

1. Freixenet Elyssia Rosado Cava

It's two days before Christmas and wife and mother of two, Clara Dunphy, has finally finished her last-minute shopping on Oxford Street. On a whim she decides to treat herself to a champagne cocktail at the Connaught hotel, where she is chatted up by a handsome stranger. This besuited inamorato will be known for the rest of the book as "the man from the Connaught".

What to see and where to be seen

1. Bourgogne

Perfect for courting couples, tapas bar Copita is less comfortable for everyone else

Don't leave anything to chance! The key to a successful festive season is military planning, says our wine expert.

Bonfire Night might make members of the House fidget in their seats, but the idea of blowing up Parliament brings a little anarchic glee into our lives. There's nothing like a sparkler to get you in the mood for, er, sparklers, and if you don't want to push the boat out too far for Guy Fawkes, Marks & Spencer's Sparkling Burgundy NV, £11.99, will give you a biscuity, weighty fizz at an affordable price. Add a dash of Sainsbury's quintessence of cassis-like Taste the Difference Blackcurrant Liqueur, £8.99, 20cl, either to that or your favourite cheap cava, and there you have your very own grown-up Kir Royale.