A furry hot-water bottle? Or a restless snoring pest? Sharing a bed with a dog isn’t ideal for everyone, but it certainly warms the soul, says Bethany Stone

I’d promised my boy the best Christmas ever but came home to an inferno

Reading Laura Mauro’s “Japanese Toilet Ghosts” [FT459:30-35], reminded me of a less well known fear in the Western world, which –according to the modern rabbinical Internet resource site TheTorah.com

HELLO, little one!” Penny Dauntless greeted a robin-redbreast, who cocked his head as she pushed along her trolley of post on the daily round. “How often is there such a perfect mid-December morning?”

Each month, a reader writes to a loved one in the afterlife and Mandy Masters tunes in to share their reply. This time, Julie Morris writes to her mum Marjorie

Time for a catch-up with a few of our memorable stories...