The Conservatives' smooth PR mask slipped as scandal and silliness reigned

What I Learnt This Week

'There was something on the menu that sounded rude, so of course she had to order it'

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes, Hugh Dancy / Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C Reill

It was his friend Sir Patrick Duffy, long-serving MP for Sheffield, war hero and Navy Minister, who encapsulated the career of Mick Welsh – few called him Michael – the MP for Don Valley from 1979-83 and Doncaster North from 1983-92. "The thing about Mick was that, albeit an authentic Yorkshire miner – no frills – he worked well with Conservatives, to whom some of his views must have anathema. Due to his personality and easy-going temperament, he knew how to get on on a Select Committee."

The hangover has arrived... No matter what good intentions I have as I enter early December, they get carried away on a tide of, well, good tidings! I invariably eat too much, work too much, play too much and drink too much. So I see January as the time to get everything back into balance, armed with New Year's resolutions of all kinds, and while it's a bit of a cliché, what you put into your body is the best place to start.

Christmas books of the year

A suicide attack at a military academy west of the Algerian capital has killed at least 10 people, security officials said last night.

Are you sitting comfortably? If not, check out our selection of seats that will make sure you eat supper in style...

The first rule about fugu supper club: you don't talk about fugu supper club. The second rule about fugu supper club: you don't eat any of the organs – especially the liver, or the skin.

Whether it’s for supper à deux or a full-on family feast, every home needs a top table to eat on. Our favourites come in every material from oak to glass...

Since its original 2008 limited release on tiny independent No-Fi, Dumb Supper has justly acquired a reputation as a touchstone of trad-folk authenticity, its songs culled from friends and family and The Sacred Harp, the 19th-century hymnbook whose songs Cath Tyler is an expert at setting for four-part harmonies.