COOKERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR COOKERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR RICK STEIN’S SECRET FRANCE RICK STEIN’S SECRET FRANCE (BBC Books £26, 320 pp) Rick Stein’s love affair with France began when he was 16 and he is still under its spell. His new book, all about rustic French cooking, is full of old favourites like … Read more
Money, success, celebrity… top hypnotherapist Paul McKenna had it all. Yet for years he was unlucky in love. He tells Julia Llewellyn Smith how he finally focused his legendary powers on himself – with astonishing results ‘I could hardly write about relationships when i couldn’t stay in one’ Six years ago Paul McKenna came to … Read more
When I was in my early 20s, the woman I’d been going out with for more than three years left me for another man. I was distraught, angry, stressed, and I wrote a lot of bad poetry. Although I was utterly miserable for a few months, I finally got over her and at no point … Read more
Older people who nap during the day are more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease or cancer, scientists say. A study of almost 11,000 people found those who were sleepy during the day were two and a half times more at risk of developing heart illnesses. They faced double the risk of cancer and … Read more
Britain at its best: A Dickens of a town in the heart of Medway, Kent, that inspired Great Expectations Charles Dickens ‘adored’ Rochester, writes the Daily Mail’s Rob Crossan This year marks the 150th anniversary of the author’s death To mark the occasion, Rochester will be opening a gallery focusing on his life By Rob … Read more
New Bluetooth sensor ‘can detect heart failure 10 days before it happens even when patients show no symptoms’ Device worn on chest tracks heart rate and rhythm, sleep quality and step count It pings this data to app which using artificial intelligence to get normal baseline Can then detect when heart’s function starts to deteriorate … Read more
Sola 64 Dean Street, Soho, London Rating: (and a half!) California. The Golden State, the promised land, last stop on the American Dream. Go West, young man, follow the gold, to the place where the days are longer, and the nights are stronger, and you’d be safe and warm. If you were in LA. For … Read more
MEMOIR ROOTBOUND: REWILDING A LIFE by Alice Vincent (Canongate, £14.99, 368pp) How do you mend a broken heart? The dumped often find solace in getting drunk, gorging on ice cream or stalking their ex on Facebook. For journalist Alice Vincent, salvation came in the form of a tiny balcony. When this memoir begins, she is … Read more
‘God must have smiled at me,’ says Craig Charles. ‘They got me to hospital in time.’ The BBC Radio 6 funk and soul DJ and star of sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf is talking about the heart attack he suffered in his home two years ago, which he is speaking of publicly for the first time. … Read more
One key question: would the new second-generation Renault Captur capture my heart — or those of thousands of families and potential buyers up and down the nation? Ahead of first deliveries next month, I took two of the most popular versions for lengthy UK tests — and was surprised by my reaction. The first generation, … Read more