Nest builder

If you're hoping that this summer's heatwave isn't over yet then you'll need something super-stylish to keep you cool through the hotter months.

Fans aren't normally considered a necessity but they have been given a style overhaul in recent times and so are starting to be an ever more present addition to the best, most stylish houses around.

Forget boring white, standard fans and instead keep a lookout for something funky and bright, or modern and sophisticated.

Barker and Stonehouse has the impressive Otto fan which is a really contemporary and a great way to keep the heat at bay.

Read it

How The Girl Guides Won The War

Janie Hampton

Harperpress £20

Exploring modern-day girlhood through this very British institution's effect on global warfare, How the Girl Guides Won the War reveals, for the first time, the dramatic impact that the Guides had on the Second World War. When the Blitz broke out, they dug bomb shelters, grew vegetables and helped millions of evacuated children adjust to new lives in the country. Many were taken as prisoners of war and survived concentration camps.

Told by the Guides themselves How the Girl Guides Won the War is packed with rich social history, fond and funny anecdotes, surprising archives, and the lingering taste of smoky tea in a tin mug. Providing a new slant on both the Guide movement, and World War II, Janie Hampton's remarkable book finally gives the Girl Guides the historical attention they deserve.

Visit it

The Leeds Asian Festival to celebrate Asian culture and traditions will be held on Sunday at Roundhay Park, Leeds.

It is the biggest Asian event in Leeds and attracts around 60,000 visitors.

As well as some of the best in live music and entertainment, the event also offers favourites from the world food court, a kids' zone and craft stalls. Entrance is free.

www.leedsasianfestival.co.uk

Get fit

It's always tough to motivate yourself when the sun is shining, but there are ways to train in hot weather.

What tends to work best is either training early in the morning before it gets hot, or later in the evening. I find my clients prefer early morning: that way, they don't have to think about training after work, so they get to enjoy the sun and a well-deserved drink later the evening. It's also better to train in the morning because your stress hormones such as cortizol become much higher as the sun comes up, which mean your body is prepared to train better and harder.

Recommended by Richard Hill, club manager of Iveridge Health Club. Visit www.iveridgehealthclub.

co.uk for details

Listen to it

PHIL LYNOTT

Yellow Pearl

Spectrum

PHIL Lynott was born in West Bromwich in 1949, the son of an Irish mother and an African-Brazilian father.

He grew up in Birmingham and Manchester then, from the age of four, with his grandmother in Ireland, when his parents separated.

Lynott's musical career began in Dublin the mid-60s and included the bands Skid Row and Orphanage. But it was not until 1969, and the formation of Thin Lizzy, that the singer and bassist's career really took off.

The hard rock group were chart fixtures throughout the 1970s, with hits including Whiskey in the Jar, The Boys Are Back in Town and Killer on the Loose.

Lynott launched a parallel solo career in 1980, the same year he married Caroline Crowther, daughter of TV comedian Leslie, with whom he had two daughters.

After Thin Lizzy disbanded in 1983, he went on to record with Gary Moore, Paul Hardcastle and Huey Lewis and the News.

He died in January 1986 from heart failure and pneumonia brought on by dependency on drink and drugs.

Yellow Pearl is a budget-priced compilation that draws together material from Lynott's two solo albums, Solo In Soho and The Philip Lynott Album, as well as Moore collaboration Parisienne Walkways.

It's a handy reminder of the singer's poppier side, most notably the title track, co-written with Midge Ure and for a while the theme tune to Top of the Pops, the Elvis tribute King's Call and the bruised romantic in Old Town.

Eat it

NEW POTATO AND CHORIZO SALAD

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 tbsp Filippo Berio extra virgin olive oil

350g baby new potatoes, halved

1 onion, diced

100g chorizo sausage, sliced

100g baby plum tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp Filippo Berio balsamic vinegar

Pinch of sugar

1 (60g) bag mixed salad leaves

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the potatoes and sauté for 8-10 mins or until golden. Add the onions and continue to cook for a further 2-3mins. Transfer to a large salad bowl. Add the chorizo to the frying pan and fry for 2-3 mins until crispy, then add to the bowl.

2. Add the tomatoes to the pan with the vinegar and stir fry for 1 min. Add the tomatoes and pan juices to the salad bowl and season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Finally add the salad leaves and toss well to mix. Serve immediately with crusty bread. Dress with a little more oil if liked.