Serves 4

No one evokes the feeling of being trapped like an 18th-century author. The smallness of the city, the difficulties of transport and communication as compared to now, meant that one obsession, one place, could take over your life. They say that Henry Fielding's 'Tom Jones' created earthquakes on its publication in 1749 – if so, then 'Clarissa' should have inspired a volcano. It is a novel simmering with anger.

Lucinda Coxon's play may be set in the run-up to Christmas but don't go expecting feel-good Yule-tide fare.

Just how long does it take to cook a turkey? Is it possible to make the humble sprout sing? And what's the best thing to do with all that leftover pudding? Our experts have the answers...

It is the ultimate middle-class nightmare, and likely to cause mayhem in the aisles: Waitrose has sold out of its Heston Blumenthal's Hidden Orange Christmas puddings, forcing desperate customers to bid up to £150 for the desserts on eBay.

It completes the Yuletide blow-out. But with so many Christmas puddings to choose from, Christopher Hirst sorts the stupendous from the stodge

The naming yesterday of the five new neighbourhoods that will eventually take shape on the Olympic Park in east London is the first high-profile test of both localism and the much-vaunted Olympic legacy effect. The result will please Little Englanders; but it also reveals how tritely those in important positions think about qualities of place. Andrew Altman, head of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, claims the public – 2,000 neighbourhood names were suggested in an open competition – "has given a new piece of London its identity". You don't produce identity simply by calling a place Chobham Manor, Sweetwater, East Wick, Marshgate Wharf, or Pudding Mill.

This quintessential English dessert is easy to make and benefits from a little time in the fridge to make it easier to take from the mould. The proportions of the fruits used are less important than the selection. You need a mix of tart and sweet – red or blackcurrants are a must, as are raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.

In its early days, BBC Television made a number of unconventional appointments, few more so than that of Oliver Hunkin as head of religious programmes in 1960.