A modern view in an ancient landscape

Queen's Brian May talks to film composer David Arnold about music and movies

1. DeLonghi Retro Fan Heater

I was amused to see a credit for an Etiquette Consultant in the programme for the National Theatre's new She Stoops to Conquer.

More than $70m of luxuries, allegedly bought with funds taken from Equatorial Guinea by President Obiang's son, are being seized by the US

I fell for the 1970s when I moved into a 1968-built house. Now, accidentally, I'm fashionable – the look is everywhere. But it's a fine line between a well-edited revival and the garish, suburban set of Abigail's Party... So what to choose?

A 67 metre high steel chimney is reduced to rubble using only four pick-up vehicles.

A fresh, contemporary restoration has given a new lease of life to a hotel that dates from Tudor times. Rhiannon Batten reports

Nosing at other people's homes from the top of the bus after dark, I always marvel at so many rooms robbed of atmosphere by dependence on stark central ceiling lights. A lamp or two is a start – but what else can you do with lighting to transform a space?

After starring in one of TV's great series, Mad Men's Jon Hamm is moving his pitch to the big screen. Kaleem Aftab meets him

Close your eyes. Imagine if you will, the aroma of freshly made bread wafting up your nostrils – it's entirely pleasing, isn't it? Yeasty, warming, fragrant as a mother's love. If that sounds a little Proustian, that's because the act of baking – as any baker, amateur or otherwise will tell you – is much more than the sum of its parts, offering an emotional hit every bit as, if not more, nourishing than the nutritional benefits of flour, water, salt and yeast.

It's the classic free-standing tub. You might even have one that looks pretty similar. But this is a Philippe Starck and it costs around £5,000. The Starck 2 was the first contemporary free-standing bathtub. Before this, there was only the Victorian roll-top, which took your bathroom design in a retro direction. But this was double-ended, seamless and very modern. And it became the blueprint for the new, minimalist bathroom style.

January is the gloomiest month of the year. The economic climate and the long dark nights of winter dictate that staying in is the new going out. And as the rain beats on the windows or the snow piles up outside, it seems many of us are dreaming of the warmth and elemental pleasures of throwing another log on the fire.