Martin is a bulky, scruffy Copenhagen cop whose "nether regions hurt" due to a vasectomy (Morse never had this trouble); Saga is a slim, un-feeling detective in Malmö.

For all the delights that qualify the next three afternoons at Chester as a defining ritual of the British Turf, it must be admitted that the city's racecourse was not especially designed with rain in mind. But then nor was it obviously designed for horseracing, either, this dizzy circuit crammed between the city walls and the River Dee – and that does not stop it being a roaring success.

Why taking the lucrative step of opening up its suite of ready-made downloadable content for on-the-go gamers is a logical choice for Microsoft.

Approaching from the east, the first thing you see in the Lincolnshire village of Winteringham, an isolated straggle of houses on the fringe of the Humber, is a sign that baldly declares 'FERRETS'. It is an unlikely milieu for an upmarket 'restaurant with rooms'. Yet there it is at the heart of the village: a slate-topped, two-storey structure, possibly a former Georgian inn, with pantiled extensions. The facilities include a helipad, but our spirits failed to soar on entering Winteringham Fields. Booked in for Friday lunch (three courses £39.95, four courses £45), my wife and I found ourselves deposited in a small, unpopulated lounge. Our refusal to take a drink before the meal was greeted with an expression of surprise ("Oh!") as if apéritifs were pretty much compulsory.

Microsoft has let consumers start trying out its upcoming touch-based Windows 8 operating system, which aims to power a new wave of computer tablets and traditional PCs designed to counter Apple's big gains in the market through its Macs and iPads.

Instead of trying to predict the next 12 months, it might be more effective to look further into the future.

US Outlook: Will Amazon take on Apple on the high street? The answer is, it must.

Remember Once, the charming, low-budget film about an Irish busker and a Czech cleaner who meet and make beautiful music together?

The 149-day strike by US basketball stars this autumn disrupted more than just the NBA season: Compass, the world's biggest caterer, yesterday admitted the lock-down would cost it £30m this year.

Defender hails 11th-hour loan deal for veteran striker after Spurs hit top gear again against Wigan

The Last Word: Ferguson’s office is available as a jigsaw in 300 pieces. Rodgers’ could be done in four

Computing and videogame experts have welcomed the proposed shake-up in the way computing is taught in UK schools.

Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, will open the annual festival of gadgetry which is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tonight, but it will be for the last time.