Their rivalry is the stuff of Olympic folklore but while Coe has been running London 2012, Ovett is keeping his distance

Old varieties of apples, bananas and onions are part of a UK study to potentially give consumers products with "significantly" higher levels of nutrients, it has been announced.

The unseasonably warm weather is set to continue this week with forecasters predicting temperatures of up to 17C.

March is with us and a countryman's thoughts turn to his vegetable patch. There is a lovely old medieval poem which assigns a certain outdoor task to each month, and the line for March is: "Here I sette my thynge to sprynge," which means, "Now I sow my seeds." For the full jaunty early-English effect, by the way, make sure you pronounce the final "e" in "sette", "thynge" and "sprynge".

Goldfinches are now found in almost five times as many gardens as they were 16 years ago, latest figures from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) show.

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Feast your eyes on part one of our ultimate Christmas gift guide: this week, terrific toys for boys and girls, foodie treats, addictive gadgets, literary treasures and much more…

Horace Walpole, self-appointed arbiter of mid-18th-century architectural taste, didn't think much of efforts to add a voguish dash of the Picturesque to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. As the construction of Sir William Chambers' 10-storey Chinese Pagoda soared so high it could be seen from the antiquarian's lawns at Strawberry Hill in Twickenham, he scornfully observed that "in a fortnight you will be able to see it from Yorkshire". Sir William's mock Roman ruins were similarly derided for being made from "Act-of-Parliament brick".

It's a hot old day when we stop in at the Waterlily House at Kew Gardens, where the gardener is pushing a barrow load of prunings and deadheaded blooms. "How many days' worth is that?" I wonder aloud. "Two or three," she smiles in reply. "Everything grows so fast at this time of year."

In autumn 1838, Bahram Modi, one of Bombay's most profitable traders, puts together "possibly the single most valuable cargo ever carried out of the Indian subcontinent". Discreetly stowing thousands of chests of opium in his hold, Bahram sails for Canton where, in defiance of the Chinese authorities, opium has been smuggled into the country for decades. Fifteen prior sorties have steadily built up Bahram's wealth, while a long affair with the hostess of a kitchen boat has led to a son.

Scorching heat and sunshine will give way to average temperatures and bursts of rain before the end of the week, forecasters warned today.

For the second time in a week David Haye has been beaten to the punch by Wladimir Klitschko. First in the ring and now on screen.

I was never one of those little girls who wore pink. Certainly not from head to foot, and possibly not ever. Yuck, etc. But when I was 10 I was seized with a violent liking for the sort of deep-fuchsia-pink that you nowadays see mostly on Barbie-trademarked products. It seemed at once both vaguely rebellious and punky, and a little bit footless-tights disco. Well, you know, it was 1979.