Pumice stones at the ready … from the arty mule to the holiday slipper, here are some of the best examples of the heel-flashing trend Getting ready for that summer pedicure? No, me neither. But there...

It took curator Andrew Bolton several years to convince the Vatican to give its blessing to Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, the blockbuster show at the Metropolitan Museum in New York that explores divine inspiration in fashion....

Prep 10 min Cook 30 min Serves 4-6 For the crackers 150g rye flour 150g plain flour 5g dried yeast 2 tsp salt 1½ tsp linseeds 300ml warm water For the topping 500g swiss chard 200g peas 1 garlic...

Prep 30 min Cook 10 min Serves 4-6 160g flour 1 pinch salt 100ml water 100ml milk 100g butter 250g whole eggs 100g sweetcorn kernels 200g salt cod, poached and flaked 1 tsp sugar 10g dried fennel seeds 1...

Crab and fennel tarts (pictured above) Prep 1 hr Chill 1-2 hr Cook 30 min Makes 12 For the pastry 175g butter, diced 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 2 tsp grated parmesan 1 egg yolk 15ml ice-cold water...

Working in France sparked Ruth Spivey’s move from modelling into a career in food, then wine. Here, she explains how her palate has developed, and the importance of smell in getting the most out of a...

Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles has been a ghetto for the impoverished, marginalised and substance-addicted for a century. This small neighbourhood has a homeless population of about 4,500 and a fearsome reputation as the place...

Holly Fulton once flew back from Majorca with Marlene Dietrich in her hand luggage. It was the only way of getting around Ryanair’s stringent baggage restrictions. Marlene – or, rather, a shelf painted with Marlene’s distinctive face...

At the far end of Sheridan Coakley’s 1970s bungalow is a bathroom that has been frozen in time. It is encased in high-gloss brown tiles. There are two brown sinks built into a vanity unit the...

Is love so prone to change and rot/ We are fain to rear forget-me-not/ By measure in a garden plot?” asked Christina Rossetti (A Bed of Forget-Me-Nots, 1856). The flowers of forget-me-not, Myosotis, may have been reared...