Serves 4

The Grand National can be the most difficult race of the year in which to find the winner. It is a unique race so some pieces of form will go out of the window whilst luck also tends to play its part with carnage a regular feature in the race. The Grand National winner is most commonly right in front of our noses though with the well fancied horses dominating the race in recent years. Seventeen of the last twenty-one winners were 20/1 or less whilst amazingly, only three horses at odds bigger than 20/1 have even managed to finish in the top five in the last four years. It should pay therefore to examine the fancied Grand National runners that have the best chance.

Jonjo O'Neill is confident his Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Synchronised is in the form of his life as he bids to follow up in Saturday's John Smith's Grand National.

Serves 2

Serves 4

All that will happen is that the country will get too pissed to remember that it quit smoking

For the second year running, Donald McCain's lorry took the Champion Hurdle runner-up back to his Cheshire stables – but it also contained a horse that might redress matters next time round. For while Cinders And Ashes had to be driven out to win the William Hill Supreme Novices' Hurdle by barely a length, with four horses breathing down his neck, McCain has no doubt of his calibre. "If you watch, Jason [Maguire] was taking a pull because he was getting there too soon," he said. "I told Jason to ride him with balls, and that's what he did."

Serves 2

It's happened again. Much of America has got their knickers in a twist over the half-time performance at the Super Bowl, that hallowed 12-minute slot that introduced us to the term "wardrobe malfunction" back in 2004, after Janet Jackson's right nipple made a surprise cameo. And after tame contributions from the likes of Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones in recent years, on Sunday "controversy" returned to America's biggest sporting event when MIA, the English-born singer and rapper, "flipped the bird" at the camera during her guest spot in Madonna's medley.

Lucy Rose sells preserves and tea at her gigs. But the lauded singer-songwriter is also bottling music, for her debut album, she tells Alexia Loundras

Serves 4

Makes about 10-15

Serves 4-6

A lot of people are put off by the thought of ginger – maybe it's the powdered stuff that gives it a bad reputation. But fresh root ginger is quite another story and I always keep a piece in my fridge – it comes in useful for all sorts of things, from making a healing and refreshing tea to creating a fragrant Asian broth. Occasionally, you also see the fresh pink ginger in Asian supermarkets – this is very young ginger, before the skin forms, which is very tender and not too overpowering. This is the stuff that often gets pickled for serving with sushi and sashimi. Then there is crystallised ginger and preserved ginger in syrup, which have their uses in puddings and sweets.