But the diet industry requires a simple message that can be sold to the gullible The press must be enlisted to support it. How else to account for the huge popularity of the Atkins diet, and of its predecessors...

There is something deeply unattractive about desperation of any kind in an older person, be it for sex or for cream cakes. When older women have sex, many of their bodies scream: "Ouch! Ouch!"And of those who still...

And if you value subtlety, the striking Seat Leon Cupra R probably isn't the car for you.This hot hatch is brash and loud, from the bright-red paintwork - one of the alternatives is an even more garish yellow - to the...

I've never personally surfed, and this might sound odd to you, but I've sat for hours and watched this love affair between the surfer and she who is the ocean. In Cornwall, everybody seems to know everybody else, and...

A scattering of Nelly's own tunes - "Andale Andale", new single "Iz U", and "Pimp Juice", the name of Nelly's energy drink which was boycotted by many African-American groups for being demeaning (and you can see their...

Ferrell plays his man-child part with wholehearted brio, and writer David Berenbaum and director Jon Favreau find the balance between sharp comedy and festive wonderment. I can't be too critical of a film whose hero...

The Colombian government under the dictatorship of General Pinilla, unhappy with these and other revelations, closed El Espectador down. Much of M?uez's later writing would similarly mingle journalism with a creative...

Irvine Welsh's meticulous description of a complex struggle to clean himself up in a piss-flooded football stadium toilet after having "farted and followed through" is enough to bring tears to the eyes. DBC Pierre's...

I stayed at the Westin Peachtree Plaza (001 404 659 1400; ) where double rooms start from around $169 (£100) per night, excluding breakfast. Belmont is now the campus of Nashville University but the mansion is worth...

The only glimpse you are likely to get of George Bush is of a silhouette through the tinted bullet-proof windows of a black limousine in a motorcade. But then again, given that even the limos now travel in pairs to...

Eight-year-olds Tom Gripper and Amy Davies squeal with delight as one dolphin leaps from the water a couple of feet from where they are peering over the side. "He wanted to see a killer whale but that's a good batch...

Ethical funds can take advantage of this through their research."If you are interested in ethical investing, you don't have to sacrifice performance - although if you buy an average fund, this may well happen. To...

This applies whether or not this was actually your main home during this time, though if it was, only these three years are tax-free.Anyone letting out property they have lived in can claim another very valuable tax...

I can't really begin to imagine what they [Alicia's parents] are feeling and what they are going through," she said.. The search for Alicia began after friends contacted police when she did not turn up for a night out...

The term suggests there is something medically, or perhaps socially, wrong with me - but in fact I'm far from alone. According to one parenting website, about 14 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 want just one child.The...