O’Connor explores the life of his father, Cavan O’Connor, which started so brightly. As Cavan’s star waned, he became rancorous and bitterly upset with the changing world around him. While Garry also puts his own life under the microscope, this book is principally about the father he loved so much.

Clery’s book examines Austen’s often remarked upon focus on money and the close relationship that she had with her banker brother – Henry – and how he supported her from her first stories to the famous works we know her for. Clery’s detailed biography is an excellent insight into Austen’s life.

Federman’s brilliant new biography examines the extraordinary life of Patience Gray – from her loving mother and loved but distant father to the thirty years she spent living off the land in Carrara, Catalonia, Naxos and Puglia, with the love of her life – the Belgian sculptor Norman Mommens.

Channel 4’s The Last Leg is an excellent late-night comedy show – the great gag being that there are three presenters with four legs between them. It began as a round-up of the Paralympics in 2012 but morphed into an alternative to the news, to which politicians flock to rebrand their images.

Deep in the Mexican jungle Edward James created a spectacular surrealist garden. There are eighty hectares of gardens, concrete follies and clouds of blue butterflies. Funding from the well-meaning trust that owns it has been a little lacklustre, so it is better to go now rather than later.

Broken’s focus is Father Michael Kerrigan, played by Sean Bean, while he struggles with his difficult past and tries to guide six of his flock through difficult chapters of their lives. Bean, as the sympathetic and introspective priest, puts in a characteristically strong and heartfelt performance. 

The film is set in the week leading up to Normandy landings, when Churchill has a crisis of confidence and tries to stop the assault. Gary Oldman may have won the Oscar for his performance in The Darkest Hour but Brian Cox’s performance as Churchill was magnificent.

Hotel de Crillon is a magnificent luxury hotel, situated in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Combining a mixture of modern and 18th-century, it is quite beautiful. But though it has a history, Mary Kenny remembers it as a good place for a glass of something or other... 

A sad tale, this novel examines the life of Effi, a woman whose intelligence, passion and wit are never allowed to emerge. As heroines of the novels of adultery go, Effi Briest doesn’t share in the renown of Emma Bovary or Anna Karenina, but she should.

Not for the faint-hearted, this book looks at the treatment of military casualties in the war in Afghanistan. While not cheerful, it outlines the incredible advances of modern medicine and how it has enabled us to save the previously unsaveable. 

Debussy and Bernstein get star billing this year, with concert performances of the French composer’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande. All performances are broadcast live on Radio 3. Royal Albert Hall, London SW7, and other venues, 13th July-8th September.

The Scottish sculpture park this year offers Joana Vasconcelos’s giant sparkly stiletto & wrought-iron teapot, along with permanent works by Andy Goldsworthy, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn & Cornelia Parker. During the Edinburgh fest, a free bus will leave town at 10am, returning at 3pm.

The leader in outdoor HD screenings in interesting places is everywhere this summer. Catch its line-up of feature films at stately homes and castles, parks and beaches from Ascot to Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire. This year, you can watch Victoria & Abdul at Kensington Palace amongst many others.

La dolce vita! Italian ideas for alfresco dinners for two and family banquets brimming with guests. Rustle up dishes such as an asparagus, hazelnut and pecorino salad, or a honey and salted almond no-churn ice cream. Delicious and original ideas, coupled with atmospheric photography.

A medieval manor house which has been described as ‘one of the most romantic houses in Britain’. It has been the setting for no fewer than three adaptations of Jane Eyre plus many more televised period dramas.

A classic mixture of serious geometry and natural views which typifies a big Scottish garden. It combines a craggy ruin and surrounding loch, a walled garden and a fantastically round pool with lilies.

A lovely burnished gold exterior. The meaty casing could use a bit more seasoning, but the impossibly runny boiled egg is the hero here. A delicious brainteaser of a Scotch egg.

These brown lumps aren’t the prettiest, but the sweet potato and raisin give these healthy nibbles a soft,moist texture. There’s also a tasty hint of cumin. A welcomed addition to any picnic hamper, and arguably the best falafels on the market.

What an enormous garden – 55 acres of Edwardian lawns and characterful garden ‘rooms’ such as the Pompeian Garden, Theatre Garden and Lavender Court. All linked by flowery borders. Bring a hamper and picnic on the Great Lawn with a view of the Grade II*-listed house. 

Founded in 1197, Lambeth Palace Garden covers just over ten acres of central London and is one of the oldest gardens in England. It is open to the public on the first Friday of the month from April to September for a series of different charities. 

About as blousy and voluptuous as a flower can be, often with a heavenly scent. They have been and always will be a stalwart of a classic cottage garden. My favourites are the distinctive classics, the Germaine Bigot and Duchesse de Nemours.

A groaning fish counter has the day’s catch reclining on ice. There are also porcelain beer taps and a bustling, ceramic-tiled open kitchen. Marina O’Loughlin, food critic from the Sunday Times, claims to be ‘obsessed’ with the arroz con salmonete (red mullet).

Taking inspiration from the pleasure gardens of 18th-century London,this relatively new magazine engages its readers with an array of attractions, past to present, the sedate to the salacious. It’s a step away from the practicalities of the garden, instead placing it within a wider cultural context.

A bimonthly British magazine devoted to its ethos of 'idling'. Founded in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson and Gavin Preton-Pinney, the magazine aims to return dignity to the art of loafing, to make idling into something to aspire towards rather than reject. Subscribe through its website.

Visit Asthall’s fairytale world of old roses. This 17th-century Oxfordshire house has a six-acre garden which drifts into the Windrush Valley. A romantic history includes members of the Mitford family as well as the Churchills. Visit to see the On Form exhibition each summer.