CAROLS are playing softly, their melodies floating into the kitchen where Miranda is standing at the hob, gently stirring mulled wine. From the bubbling pot, the smell of cinnamon and clove wafts thro

FROM the moment she entered the room, Zoe knew she’d made a big mistake. Seven pairs of eyes stared at her as if she’d just walked through the door stark naked. “Err, I’m not sure I’m in the right pla

Stephen Sondheim’s resonant, melancholy musicals

I’M bored.” Ruth looked up from her magazine. How could something so crammed with TV programme listings have so little in it? “There’s nothing on, Max,” she said. Her husband turned his head. “Nothing

IT’S A FUNNY OLD WORLD

THE Janus Inn’s sign swung ominously in the gathering wind as Mairi and her bundle stood outside. Waiting for the coachman to appear, she looked towards the stout, ancient building, glad of the carous