Living on Thin Air

Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks Vintage pounds 7.99

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.

Norwich City 0 Ipswich Town 0

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

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

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

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

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?"

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

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

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.

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

BBC 2