South Korea, already battling a serious outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock, yesterday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu at poultry farms.

You'd think in the era of electronic communication that the volume of junk "snail" mail, and the problems caused by it, would be on the wane. Not so. The Deceased Preference Service, which performs the useful service of deleting the names of dead people from mailing lists,says that 5.2 million pieces of direct mail (junk mail to you and me) will be delivered during the festive period to those who have departed this mortal coil. Quite apart from the pain these unnecessary letters might cause to recently bereaved relatives, that's enough rubbish to fill 245 dustbins. An awful lot of landfill.

Even for Christmassy ballet, this is a show with a high sugar content.

Why do we still groan at the gags over Christmas lunch? Our writer delivers the punchline

I know that I'm a few days early here, but last week I gave you recipes for an alternative Christmas lunch, so this week I want to look slightly ahead to a delicious brunch for Boxing Day or New Year's Day.

Serves 4

What do the Bittern, the Tree Pipit and the Wood Warbler have in common? They are all British bird species that are under threat. Charlie Elder discovers the stark facts beneath the feathers

What this Ashes tour has done (so far, for let there be no crowing, counting of chickens or any other foraging in the menagerie) is to reinforce the status of the specialist coach. Far from everyone's liking – some former players would ban all coaches and let the players get on with it, though they tend to be the ones who make their living in the media rather than through direct involvement with the game that made them – this England team adore their backroom staff.

Hungry for something new? Austin has long been the most progressive city in the Lone Star State. Now even its street food has gone gourmet. John Lee tucks in

Built as a rich man's folly – it was the Earl of Lonsdale's hunting lodge in the 1880s – Holbeck Ghyll is a gorgeous country house hotel with a stupendous view over Lake Windermere. Across the glassily calm lake stand the Langdales Pikes and, beyond them, the snow-capped peaks of the Cumbrian mountains to the north-west. Inside, it's like a dream of posh, Country Living-mag rusticity, from the blazing log fire and the Parker Knoll chairs in the lobby to the woven Bergerac furniture and the biographies of Tory politicians in the sitting-room. They bring you a dry martini and a leather-clad menu as you sit in the window seat thinking a) this is ridiculously old-fashioned, and b) this is sooooo blissful.

A couple of weeks ago, my head chef, Kevin Gratton, accompanied me on a trip to Moscow to cook for three nights at the Soho Rooms, a relatively new club with a restaurant where Laura Bridge, an old friend of mine, does all the cooking.

Notebook

The Monday Interview: The innovative chef's new London restaurant, Dinner, will serve historic British fare. Martin Hickman is given a flavour

When Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan revealed this morning that Wayne Rooney was heading to Nike Town, he was actually incorrect.