Mail on Sunday

Pick of the Day ; Tuesday June 1

Rick Stein's Taste Of Italian BBC4, 9pm Opera-lover and chef Stein (above) must have needed little in the way of persuasion to present this scenic look at the synergy between the Italians' love of food and the creative output of some of their great composers. It may sound like a sketchy theory, but the country that gave the world Parma ham, spaghetti bolognese and polenta was also home and inspiration to the celebrated trio of Rossini, Puccini and Verdi - three bons vivants who each, Stein ma...

Soap of the Day

Film of the Day

Arts Pick of the Day

Bringing South Africa Closer to Home ; Live for Gadgets

So what features do you really need in order to watch the World Cup in HD? What type of built-in tuner does it have? If the TV has only analogue, you'll need a set-top box. See panel, right. Those with Freeview HD are ready to go out of the box.

Southern Comfort ; Known for Its Cheap but Reliable Wines, South Africa Is Now Upping the Game and Going for Quality

The World Cup is upon us. Across the country, nails will be bitten, o -side disputes will rage and lagers will be swilled with all the finesse of a rhino gargling its bathwater. But stop! There's more to this World Cup lark than football and mere drinking. This is an opportunity to taste the bounty of one of the world's most intriguing wine regions: South Africa. For too long we've thought of South African wine as something simple and friendly to swig at a barbecue. The truth is, South Africa...

Charge of the Fire Brigade ; Screen Detective Television's Hidden Gems

Ancient Discoveries Thursday, History (HD), 8pm You may think that six series of documentaries about genius inventions thrown up by ancient civilisations is pushing it, but you haven't reckoned on the endless ingenuity of our forbears. In fact, the further the researchers have to delve, the more outlandish creations they seem to unearth. Series one began in 2003, with a computer-like device for calculating the movement of the stars and planets, and now we're on to guns built from fruit, and a...

Film

NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY BBC1, 4.35PM In this action adventure sequel, Nicolas Cage reprises his role as archaeologist and truthseeker Ben Gates, this time linking a conspiracy theory to Abraham Lincoln via the trail of his assassin's diary. GENOVA TUESDAY FILM4, 11.15PM Refreshing and sentimental drama starring Colin Firth as a grieving widower who, along with his two daughters, relocates to Italy following the accidental death of his wife. Expect romance, rites...

Tv Highlights

TERRY PRATCHETT'S GOING POSTAL SUNDAY & BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY SKY1 HD, 6PM Family viewing still exists - this two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy novel is richly entertaining for all but the very youngest. Adults too will enjoy a sharp script and a cast including Charles Dance and Tamsin Greig.

Explosive Lessons in the Art of War Are ; Live for Tv

This week three programmes document the past and possible future of Britain's Armed Forces and the bravery, organisation and technology that have enabled the nation to vanquish its foes. Fighting The Red Baron (Friday, Channel 4, 9pm) describes perhaps the steepest learning curve in military history. At the start of World War I, the gentleman flyers of the Royal Flying Corps took to the air armed only with handguns, o ering a friendly wave to the enemy up in the skies. Over the next four year...

Flame!

Afew weeks back, the subject of my Sunday afternoon LBC radio show was barbecue. Nothing unusual there, as it was the start of May, a time we traditionally haul our dusty Webers out of hibernation and prepare to subject perfectly innocent sausages and burgers to unspeakable acts of pyrotechnic abuse. But keen to get the debate, ahem, fired up, I asked the listeners if they believed that the barbecue was a strictly male a air. After all, even the sickliest glimmer of watery sun is enough to fo...

Dab Radios

(so you never miss a match by the barbie) Pounds 82 SPORTS DAB II robertsradio.co.uk

New Balls Please ; Another World Cup, Another New Ball. This One's Usp? It's Round (No, Really...)

At Mexico in 1970 Adidas's first ever World Cup ball, the 32- panel Telstar, was the roundest of its time. But it wasn't that round... Forty years and ten World Cup balls later comes the Jabulani - meaning 'to celebrate' in the South African isiZulu language - Adidas's official football for the 2010 tournament, which is, apparently, almost perfectly spherical. Pounds 80, shop.adidas.co.uk

'It's Nice to See the Real Queen Here,' I Said to Helen Mirren. 'Don't Be Silly,' She Replied

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12 David Cameron has appointed Jeremy Hunt as his new Secretary of State for 'Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport' in his absurd new 'coalition of rich posh boys' Cabinet.

This Week's Must-Have, Must-See, Must-Do ; in Demand

THE HI-FI Spotify's massive library of free or Pounds 10-a-month songs is a superb way to get lost in music - but unless you were an uber-geek, you couldn't listen to it through your hi-fi. Until now, that is. Denon's new D-M38DAB not only links to the iPhone digitally for ultra-crisp audio, but it also works with Spotify - free music forever. Well, for Pounds 10 a month and Pounds 330 up front, anyway. denon.co.uk

Inside

Piers Morgan 5 Helen Mirren and the unicycling stripper... Objects Of Desire 7 Table football with a touch of class

And the Real Reason to Cheer On England

Buying a Japanese TV or a Dutch sat-nav may seem an odd way to show devotion to England in the World Cup. But TomTom and Toshiba are among firms offering money-back deals in the run-up to the tournament on everything from high-end TVs to laptops. The snag: England have to win. For the companies it's a spread bet. TomTom, for example, offers the same deals for national sides across Europe. For consumers - if you're buying anyway - it's a flutter at no extra cost. But don't expect Dixons to be ...

Stadium of Light ; Tv Too Small for You? Try the Projector That Can Throw a Picture 15ft Across (and You Don't Need to Sit in Darkness to Watch It)

Very few gadgets have Very few gadgets have a secret ingredient so secret that even their creators won't reveal it to you. But Sim2 was giving few clues as to how the Black Diamond projector screen could show a bright, crisp image in a room with the curtains open. It just shouldn't work - most projector set-ups have the same fondness for sunlight as the average vampire. I only remembered I was watching a projector, not a plasma screen, when a grotesquely magnified silhouette of my head starte...

Retro Football Shirts ; Live the Look

Pounds 35, toffs.com USA 1950 Pounds 28, toffs.com Argentina 1982

A Happy Ending? I'm Not so Sure...

If one were to make a film about the recent election, the narrative would be obvious, and the movie would write itself. Pretty much wherever you chose to start - let's say we kick o at the Labour Party conference last October, when The Sun came out for the Tories - the narrative arc would culminate in a logical, almost inevitable denouement, one that could easily end with a Richard Curtis-type shot of David Cameron and David Steel (sorry, Nick Clegg) waking up together in a double bed after t...