Michael Gove sought to criticise teaching standards

Education Secretary’s attack on lack of pupils’ knowledge not based on any academic research

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Paperbacks: Repentance, and plenty of it

Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks Vintage pounds 7.99

Gardeners fancy railway sleepers

AS OBJECTS of desire go, it must be one of the most unlikely. But as any viewer of BBC1's Ground Force will know, the railway sleeper has become the must-have accessory for the fashion-conscious gardener.

Football: Johnson fails to add the finishing touch

Norwich City 0 Ipswich Town 0

Monica Lewinsky and other amusing aural confusions

What do you call a person who stands around in bandages for a simulated air disaster?

Working life: Time for a new game plan

The Americans have bought into the idea of `career coaches' - and we're next. Sarah Litvinoff meets one of the best

Open Eye: Of course the answer was frumenty - you knew it all along. But a week into the new year, can you still remember the questions?

Discover how well (or otherwise) you did in the OU Christmas Challenge

Forget Santa: Christmas is a girl thing

At the Nativity Mary took centre stage and Joseph had a walk-on part. Today it's even worse - men are almost redundant at Christmas

Is there really a way of avoiding Bracknell?

AS CHRISTMAS comes ever nearer, like an express train heading towards an unmanned crossing, I sense a feeling of panic in the air, a lack of ideas for presents, which can best be expressed in the question: "Isn't there some new book out which would make the ideal Christmas gift, if not by Michael Palin, at least by someone else?"

Delia Smith helps egg farmer win case

AN EGG farmer who won a court battle over Brussels red tape paid tribute yesterday to the television cook Delia Smith.

How to test for a really good egg

Delia, Valerie, David, Ken - they're not a glamorous bunch, are they? But we love them because we believe in them, says Hester Lacey

Cold Call: Louise France rings Ainsley Harriott

TELEVISION CHEFS have been in the news this week with the announcement that Delia Smith's cookery programme has boosted sales of eggs by 1.3 million a day. Ainsley Harriott, who fronts Can't Cook, Won't Cook and competes in Ready, Steady, Cook, has recently launched a new range of ready-made foods for Marks & Spencer. He lives in South London with his wife Clare and their two children.

I wish I was in the land of... cranberries and mangoes

In anticipation of a good season, many an East Carolina farmer had planted new bushes

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The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...
The 10 Best barbecues

The 10 Best barbecues

Whether you're cooking on gas or are a convert to charcoal we've got the perfect way to cook when the sun is out.
Style icon David Beckham calls time on his long retirement

Style icon calls time on his long retirement

David Beckham never disgraced himself but former England captain ceased to be a major player years ago. Remember him at his United peak
Steve Harper: My darkest times

Steve Harper: My darkest times

As the popular Newcastle goalkeeper bows out after 20 years at the club, he tells Martin Hardy about the private battle with depression that threatened his career
Sir Torquil Norman has designed a flat-pack OX truck for the developing world

The flat-pack truck with big ambitions

After making a fortune from Polly Pocket and a doll's house shaped like a teapot, the entrepreneur has turned his creativity to a transporter truck for the developing world. Simon Usborne meets him.