In The Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a late switch of heroines makes less difference than you’d think. On opening night, Sarah Lamb stepped in for an indisposed Lauren Cuthbertson – a dancer who has suffered more than her share of illness, missing several high-profile performances in the past few months. Lamb is a perky Alice, but Christopher Wheeldon’s 2011 ballet is more about dazzling illusions than about his heroine.

A welcome addition to Barcelona's B&Bs offers elegance and style in one of the city's oldest districts, says Sarah Gordon

After abandoning his first kitchen apprenticeship at 14, Eric decided he definitely did not want to be a chef. Offered another chance at White’s Hotel in Bayswater, he took it and has seldom been out of the kitchen since. He has worked in some of Britain’s best kitchens including those at Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, La Tante Claire and Marco Pierre White’s The Restaurant. After earning two Michelin stars at The Capital, he is to open a new restaurant, Brasserie Chavot, at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair next week.

Until the age of 23, Gizzi Erskine was a professional body-piercer in Camden, north London. Now a food writer, chef and television presenter, she is best known as the host of the Channel 4 show Cook Yourself Thin and for the bestselling book of the same name. Her latest book, Skinny Weeks & Weekend Feasts, is due to be released on 28 March. She is working with Total Greek Yoghurt (totalgreekyoghurt.com) to create two new recipes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government demanded an explanation from the online retailer Amazon Germany after a television documentary showed seasonal workers being harassed by black-clad security guards with alleged neo-Nazi links.

Strange drama in a Las Vegas casino misses the jackpot, but its black humour lingers in the mind

A restored 16th-century house brings up-cycled style to the heart of south-west France, as Laura Holt discovers

The most vivid memory I have of my grandfather – Zayda, in Yiddish – is his silence. Not a cold reticence; he was just a quiet and reserved man, and though my six-year-old brain may have been imagining it, I felt his lack of words both calm and loving.

Whether you're cooking up a storm or just blending a morning smoothie, we've got the right kit for the job.

Internet giant investigates abuse claims by foreign workers in its German warehouses

The Department for Making The Poor Poorer has been very busy recently

Police have recaptured a convicted murderer they freed by mistake at a northern Illinois home where he was found watching TV.

Northern Lights, salmon fishing and cosy cabins

Founder of Loaf Charlie Marshall shares top tips on what to look for when buying a bed and his favourite interior shops in London.