News about Len Deighton

It's the greatest nightmare to lose a war on your own soil. It's a tragedy that England has been without a single ten-century. In 1940, we had a close call. That's why, when Len Deighton's hysterical SS-GB, set in a Nazi-occupied Britain, was released in 1978, so many people were shocked. We avoided defeat in 1940 because so many of our troops were rescued from Dunkirk, and enough had been done to prepare our air force for the Battle of Britain. From 1923 to 1933, defense spending remained virtually unchanged. However, the difference between then - the year Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany - and 1938 was up by a factor of four. Its arithmo as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 2.6 percent to 7.4 percent. We've come a long way since 1945, but not always downhill. There's still a lot to be proud of. Compared to most European countries, Britain's armed services continue to punch above our economic weight today.

Simon Mills warns men not to attempt to imitate Michelin-starred cuisine at home. Make a shepherd's pie, a wild-mushroom lasagne, or a spicy Moroccan carrot salad. But does it do well? And do the washing up too!