1 DECEMBER 2001, page 52

The Legacy Of Bears And Monks

Henry Hobhouse A SOMERSET POMONA: THE CIDER APPLES OF SOMERSET by Liz Copas The Dovecote Press : 19.95, pp. 80, ISBN 1874336873 A pples probably originated, together with pears......

Living Down To A Reputation

Jane Gardam CHARACTERS OF FITZRO VIA by Mike Pentelow and Marsha Rowe Chatto & Windus, £25, pp, 262, ISBN 0701173149 C hatto and Windus should be given a garland for publishing......

Ungirdled

My friend used to make me laugh when she said there was nothing so gross, so slug-like, so fatty or foul, so deserving of loathing and dread, as the female paunch. Instead, we......