The letter you always wanted to writeI wonder if you think of me as many times as I have thought of you. You befriended and seduced my mother when she was at her most vulnerable. She was 35, just a couple of years older ...

'I can't help feeling disappointed in my daughter's choice of partner, even though I hide it pretty well'We were at my daughter's for lunch one Sunday when suddenly there was a loud bang and the lights went out. I watche ...

'Am I a cat or a dog person? Neither

'If we need a new outfit, we go to the fabric shop together and pick out something we both like'When I met Donald, he always wore a suit and tie. He had a very formal upbringing and refused to take off his jack ...

What links Clint Eastwood in spaghetti westerns, Ed Norton in Fight Club, Ryan Gosling in Drive and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill? Spoiler alert: answers below (don't cheat!)The questions1 The Bastard speaks the last line in ...

Aged 16, Duncan Gall returned from holiday to find an eviction notice on the front door. There was no sign of his single-parent father and the schoolboy ended up in a bedsit, fending for himself. Years later, a wedding i ...

My husband is getting all the praise for staying sober after rehab

Readers' favourite photographs, songs and recipesSnapshot: Together against the oddsThis picture of my parents was taken in 1963, a year before they got married. It intrigues me, in the circumstances, that they managed t ...

Felicity Cloake tries your sugar-topped recipes, including rose petal shortbread and a fig and quince loaf

Goat's milk is not only low in lactose but is perfect for ice-cream, says Craig Allen of Greedy Goat

Broad beans are a beautiful looking, highly companionable veg stuffed with protein

A bring-and-share tapas spread is all in a day's work for Stella and friends

Raw peanuts taste beany. Roasted or fried, they take on a sweet taste, with hints of chocolate and meat, plus a vegetal undertonePeanut and carrotNigella Lawson gives a recipe for the Rainbow Room's carrot and peanu ...

Now is the time to sample Devon's new-season cider. Try mixing with alcoholic cordialApril and May are the best months to drink cider. No, I didn't know that either until recently. Traditionally the apples are press ...

We give our top tips to help you escape packed standard class and get the first class treatment for lessIt is widely seen as an unaffordable luxury where

Mushrooms and fennel are great starting points for some lively and light springtime pasta sauces

Letters, emails, commentsI saw the cover and groaned, "I hate those comic issues". Then I read it and wept. Good luck. Lynne RobertsLondon N8The cartoons are the best thing since Posy Simmonds in the heyday of the Guardi ...

What's hot and what's notGoing upShaun Leane cherry blossom earrings Oh-so-pretty, with this season's punk touch. Dreamy.Will Arnett Back on our screens as so-awful-he's-sexy Gob Bleuth in Arrested Development seaso ...

Criminal justice worker Louise Vaccarello, 29, meets fabricator David Pringle, 26Louise on DavidWhat were you hoping for? My Mr Right.First impressions? Maybe slightly too casually dressed for a first date.What did you t ...

'I don't really care about my appearance unless I'm working, and then someone else is being paid to care about it'When I try to look in the mirror, my husband pushes me out of the way, so the first sight I catch of mysel ...

The author takes our Twitter-based challenge to come up with a story in 140 characters or fewer"Wouldn't it be cool if everyone obeyed us?" "Let's tell people there's a scary mindreading dude in the sky who says we shoul ...

'Drag racing is a culture. A way of life'I lead two different lives. In the week, I live in a tiny little village that does nothing in the middle of nowhere. It's lovely

A blast from the past

Spot the odd one out: Jayne Mansfield, James Brown, Nina Simone, the Scottish Rock Gardening Club (SRGC). ...

My obsession with weather monitoring started a decade ago when I moved out of the city and took an interest in grown-up concerns such as when the plants needed watered or when the pipes in the garage were likely to freez ...

Just as "slow food" generally tastes better than fast food, slow transport

In 1996

When carefully chosen and planted, wallflowers add vibrant colours and scent to the garden throughout and sometimes beyond spring. ...

You could be forgiven for experiencing a sense of geographical displacement on arrival in Buenos Aires. ...

Location: Glasgow ...

Location: Bridge of Gaur, Loch Rannoch ...

I don't recall when I first became aware of Tough Mudder, and the garish orange headband its graduates gain the honour of wearing. ...

In his latest book, Homegrown Revolution, James Wong includes many new and unexpected edibles. ...

We've got a bit of a bee theme going this week in the mag and I was reminded of the opening line from the film Bee Movie: "According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. ...

The Seattle restaurant scene is burgeoning and eclectic, offering Italian, Middle Eastern and Nepalese-influenced dishes as well as US fare showcasing local ingredientsThe Walrus and the CarpenterSeattle is nearly surrou ...

Seattle is famed for its coffee and Portland its quirkiness, but this is also a region that celebrates the environment and the arts, as well as being a home for Amazon, Boeing and MicrosoftOne hundred and fifty years ago ...

Visiting Seattle isn't just about grabbing a skinny latte, it offers scenic day trips out, and if you can't leave the city then its bars, restaurants and shops will keep you happy

The San Francisco restaurant scene dishes up cuisine every bit as varied as the city's culture and nightlife, and with fusion-food a favourite it will definitely tickle, and challenge, your tastebudsBar TartineThis styli ...

As you'd expect from this off-the-wall city, Portland has a huge variety of unusual independent restaurants. Here are top tips from a local writer and food expertLe PigeonIn Portland's Lower Burnside you can hop from bre ...

With comic-book stores, indie cinema, live gigs, theatre, cutting-edge galleries

Whether it's vintage pieces, design classics or a something fabulous from an edgy designer, the streets of San Francisco have a shop for every fashion fanaticPretty PennyNestled among quaint boutiques in the Rockridge ne ...

Portland is not out to impress, but that's just what makes this laid-back Oregon city so special for the co-creator of the TV comedy show PortlandiaOK. Portland. I think I have a pretty fair angle on this city, because I ...

Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9.For a helping hand call our solutions line on 09068 338 228. Calls cost 60p per minute at all times. Service supplied by ATS.Buy ...

Normal sudoku rules apply, except the numbers in the cells contained within dotted lines add up to the figures in the corner. No number can be repeated within each shape formed by dotted lines.For a helping hand call our ...

Oscar Pistorius was more than a national hero. His success came to symbolise South Africa's triumph over apartheid. Then he shot his girlfriend and left the nation's self-image in tattersA couple of years ago, two journa ...

It is increasingly questionable whether government policy is keeping pace with the growing dangers to women and childrenThis week we have learned the following: the police still make catastrophic mistakes in the protecti ...

I don't know who discovered that seriously burning sugar was a good idea, but I take my hat off to themThere are certain foods that exert an almost narcotic pull, things so tempting that the urge to keep going back for m ...

Some of the best dishes are the results of a culinary mishapWay back when I was a junior pastry chef, I'd bake loads of muffins every morning, as many as 120 or so, while operating on autopilot. On one occasion ...

High-end fashion website has the recession, phone hacking, and the rain to thank for its successThe recession, a phone-hacking scandal and several months of unseasonable cold weather hardly seem like the perfect ingredie ...

Italian prisoner of war and Ukrainian forced labourer were separated after falling in love during the second world warIt may go down as one of the longest love affairs in history

Want to make the most of the precious holiday without compromising your commitment to going green? Read on

Past scandals, bad photos, critical comments: the internet has a long memory. As the EU considers the 'right to be forgotten', we investigate the growing business of online reputation management

Ilaria Borletti Buitoni chastises Italian chefs for trying too hard to be fashionable and copying the FrenchAs a junior minister taking your first steps in politics, it is generally thought wise to steer away from touchy ...

Buy something locally and the money stays put, but opt for a chain supermarket and profits go elsewherePeople in Britain are purchasing less food than they have for 10 years, according to the Office for National Statisti ...

A few big pots can make your garden. But what should you buy

'Its high street contains useful shops that in posher spots might have been turned into candle purveyors and poodle parlours'What's going for it? Amazing what a road can do. On one side, you are in verdant Blackheat ...

Creating a 60s feel in a contemporary home. By Ros Anderson     ...

From Tilda Swinton and Agnes Deyn to surrealist dreamscapes, a look through some of Tim Walker's groundbreaking fashion photography between 2000 and 2012Lily Cole     ...

TAKE OUR QUIZ: Survey finds 94 per cent of Brits would prefer to live without sex for a week than without their phone ...

MAKERS of shot claim they reduce fine lines, firm the skin and improve its elasticity. Mum Debra tries them for a month ...