Mail on Sunday

Book of the Week in the Frame

MISS ANGEL by Angelica Goodden (Pimlico, Pounds 17.99)

Poems for Life

Jenny Joseph's poem Warning, about growing old and wearing purple, was voted the nation's favourite modern poem by BBC viewers. She has written many others, including this gorgeous kaleidoscopic one about the power of the imagination. The Magic of the Brain by Jenny Joseph

Whipped Queen ; On the Radar

Three years ago Vanessa Brown made a tricky choice she turned down a place to read law at Oxford University. 'I have a love of academia, but music called me away,' says the 21-year-old singer- songwriter. 'I was raised in the church, surrounded by music. I was consumed by it. When I was four, I sang "Where is Love?" at the school Christmas show. The feeling on stage was so electric.' Thirteen years after her first performance, she secured an audition with Polydor. 'I was in the boardroom wit...

From the Heart ; Actor Russell Crowe, 41, Lives in Australia with His Wife Danielle Spencer and Their 20-Month-Old Son Charles

Not everybody understands my true intentions, but I can't allow myself to be neutralised because of that. If somebody doesn't like me the way I am, well, bad luck. I come from Australia, which is a very grounding part of the world. For me, keeping a balance in my life is about keeping in contact with who I am.

Cha-Cha-Charming ; Body Talk

There's something uniquely sexy about watching a man dance well. Ballroom in particular requires all the same skills that will make him good in bed, namely physical strength and flexibility, combined with a strong sense of rhythm, plus an ability to focus attention on his partner and take control without being overwhelming.

The Perils of a Postprandial Spree ; Fashion for Life

Lunch is an absolute imp, don't you find? In the past month, I have had three lunch dates with girlfriends. We chat.

Summer Nights ; Beauty News

On balmy evenings indulge in sensual scents and add warm, dramatic notes to your makeup 1 If you love the smell of night flowers in the heat, Jasmin de Nuit by the Different Company is for you. It's a clever blend of sensual jasmine with cinnamon and aniseed.

Celebrate and Make a Difference

Birthdays have always been one of my favourite celebrations because they're an occasion when you can reflect on where you've come from, how you've grown and where you are going. One of my favourite brands, Origins, is celebrating its tenth anniversary next month. The Origins philosophy resonates deeply with me, since the company describes itself as the place where mother nature meets human nature. It was the first major brand to incorporate emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing in its p...

Essence of Sjp ; Her Looks May Be Unconventional and Her Style Quirky, but Sarah Jessica Parker has Become the World's Biggest Fashion Icon. Now the Sex and the City Actress Is Capitalising On Her Commercial Success with the Launch of Her Own Perfume .

It isn't difficult to understand why Sarah Jessica Parker's new fragrance has been called Lovely. It would be hard to think of a word apart perhaps from 'gorgeous' that could more accurately sum up the 50ml egg-shaped bottle of scent that SJP (as she is commonly known) is about to launch at a presentation tea in New York. Indeed, long before the star of Sex and the City has arrived and the first bottle of Lovely has been uncorked (along with a dozen magnums of pink champagne), it is obvious...

'When I Started, There Wasn't an Avocado or Mango in the Country' ; with More Than 45 Books to Her Name, Veteran Cookery Writer Mary Berry Reveals How She Stays Motivated After Five Decades in Front of a Hot Stove - and Why Family Meals Became All the More Precious After the Death of Her Son

The most important meal Mary Berry has ever cooked was simple roast lamb one Friday evening in January 1989. The cookery writer's middle child, William, 19, was due back at the family home in Buckinghamshire after a stretch at Bristol Polytechnic, where he was reading business studies. Though the family usually eat in the kitchen, that night Mary laid the dining room table. 'William walked in and he said, "Who's coming?" "You!" I told him. "It's for you. And it's your favourite."' The next mo...

Mcfly ; the Princes of Teen Pop-Rock Explain What Sets Them Apart From Other Boy Bands

IN a secret North London location, I'm granted a rendezvous with the pop world's coolest boy band at the rock 'n' roll house they share, just like the Monkees. McFly are in need of an urgent ride to a TV studio in Chiswick, so we flag down John from Finchley who has had 'that George Michael' in the back of his taxi twice, not to mention Victoria Beckham in a miniskirt so short that he didn't know where to look. He's the ideal showbiz veteran to drive the fab four, whose harmonies keep topping...

Marilyn.An Intimate Portrait

Eve Arnold is one of the world's most celebrated photographers. Her revealing and compassionate portraits made her a favourite among Hollywood's glitterati. Most extraordinary, however, was the trust she built up with Marilyn Monroe in a friendship which lasted from 1950 until the star's tragic death in 1962. As a new collection of Eve Arnold's beautiful photographs of Marilyn is published, she talks about some of her most touching images . RESTING (previous page) Exhausted after leading the ...

Your Pile or Mine? ; so What Was the Real Attraction of Pride and Prejudice's Mr Darcy? Forget the Brooding Sex Appeal and Kind Heart, Says Jane Mulkerrins. Even for Modern-Day Lizzie Bennets, the Main Pull Is the Size of His House

There is a scene in the new glossy big-screen version of Pride and Prejudice that presents an alternative explanation of Elizabeth Bennet's inevitable succumbing to Darcy's surly charms. Of course, Lizzie (a radiant, feisty, pouting Keira Knightley) tells her father that Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) won her heart with his kindness that she fell for him when she discovered how he had come to the aid of her younger sister.

My Dad's Secret Life ; As a Child, Writer Marsha Rowe, Left, Had Suspected That All Might Not Be Well in Her Parents' Marriage, but This Didn't Prepare Her for the Truth About Mum, Dad and Their Friend Doss

It was my second visit to talk with my mother during this, my latest return to Sydney. Mum's left eye looked at me with a disconcerting gleam of intention and purpose. Her right eye, blinded 20 years ago by a cataract, drooped half-closed and barely noticeable behind her spectacles, and she sat up a little straighter on her tiny faux-suede, latte-coloured couch. I was sitting opposite, in the blue armchair she had bought after dad had died, and could see, reflected in the mirrored partition b...

First Date

Actress Kacey Ainsworth, 34, who plays Little Mo in EastEnders, lives with her fiancE Darren Hales, 38, and 15-month-old daughter Blossom in Hertfordshire I've known Darren since I was 13 we dated until I caught him in a car with another girl and we split up. I then moved to London, and whenever I returned to our village of Stansted Abbots he would ask me out; I always said no.

Roundheads or Cavaliers Who Cares? It's the People They're Attached to That Really Matter ; Let's Get Intimate

IN one of life's more unexpected developments, I recently found myself in Brian Sewell's home discussing circumcision. The art critic was not only illuminating on the aesthetics of the foreskin, but on the arguments surrounding its removal or retention. Our conversation took place under the kind auspices of BBC3 who else would sanction a documentary on such a subject? I must confess that until then I hadn't given circumcision much thought. I knew that it was mostly associated with religious ...

Your Problems Answered

HE SAYS THAT HE COULD NEVER BE FAITHFUL I recently met a really nice man who ticks all the boxes; except for one slight problem. He has told me that he is not monogamous. This sounds like hell on earth. Can this kind of relationship actually work?

Treasure Island ; the Husband-and-Wife Partnership Behind Top Danish Design Label Day Birger Et Mikkelsen Have Created a Seaside Home with a Difference

Marianne Brandi and Keld Mikkelsen, the husband-and-wife duo behind the Danish fashion and interiors company Day Birger et Mikkelsen, live in the small seaside town of Kerteminde on Fyn, one of the largest Danish islands, with their 14-year-old daughter Amelia. The success of Day has grown steadily over the past eight years, and now includes not only men's and women's fashion, but also jewellery, lingerie and most recently Day Home, designed by Marianne. The style of the family home reflects ...

The Call of the Wild ; Season of Mists and Forest Mushrooms Cook These Earthy Treats Simply to Enhance Their Sultry Tastes and Woody Aromas. And Come Hunting with Us - See Page 61

WILD MUSHROOM SOUP WITH HORSERADISH CREAMORSERA DISH CREAM SERVES 4-6 Trim and chop 1 onion, 2 celery stalks, 1 leek and half a garlic clove. Heat a little butter in a large pan and sweat the vegetables over a low heat until soft. Slice 450g mixed fresh wild and/or cultivated mushrooms, add to the pan and continue to cook for 5-6 minutes. Add 275g peeled potatoes and 1.5 litres chicken stock, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 45 minutes. PurEe in a food processor or blender the fini...

Food Notes

SAY IT WITH CHOCOLATE Melting in the coffee saucer at the meal's end, just the one with a glass of classy tea, a gift brownie or muffin by post (visit www.doughdough.com) the cult of chocolate balances taste, memories and desires, and the fine art of packaging