Daily Post

Interview: Reformed Hell Raiser Who Promised He'd Never Surrender ; Christian Slater Tells Eileen Condon About His Struggle Against Addiction, His Love for His Family and His Unorthadox Portrayal of Winston Churchill

YOU HAVE to hand it to Christian Slater -- he slips off the radar for years and then comes back with a spectacular bang. His return to stage and screen has been packed with more drama than any of his movies. First there was the punch-up with his wife Ryan Haddon -- she hit him. Then the cursing tirade on live radio when DJ Simon Mayo quizzed him about the incident. Then there were the alleged nights making the most of the hospitality at London lap dancing club Stringfellows.

Pubs: At the Bar. . .

The Railway pub TIME was when a pint or two at dinner time -- that's luncheon in Heswall speak -- was the standard part of a journalist's daily duty.

Travel: Late Breaks

UK/IRELAND p XMAS AT TRAVELODGE: Book on line at www. travelodge. co. uk/ tennertastic by Nov 28 to get family rooms sleeping four for pounds 10 per night from Dec 23-Jan 9. Offer covers 50, 000 rooms across the UK. p NORTH DEVON: Woolacombe Bay Hotel (01271 870388) offers two- night midweek breaks with full Eng breakfast and dinner (Sun-Weds) between Dec 5 and 15 for pounds 84, saving pounds 76, with unlimited use of indoor pool, tennis and squash courts and aerobics and health suite.

Travel: Deal of the Week

TRAVELLERS planning holidays in France in summer 2005 are in a strong position in the next few weeks, as operators offer discounts and other goodies to get them to make early reservations instead of leaving it to the last minute. Bowhills, which became part of the giant Hoseasons group last summer, offers a hamper of French delicacies worth pounds 65 to anyone booking for 2005 before December 30.

The Essentials: 10 Questions ; Terri Dwyer, Actress and Tv Presenter

Philosophy of Life: Happiness is a state of mind, not a result of circumstances. Idea of happiness: Home. Home is where I'm happy! I'm happy watching the TV shows I love, with whatever chocolate I can find and my husband who's my best mate. Most memorable moment: Mywedding day - - it was everything I could have hoped for. Apart from my parents not being there it was perfect.

The Essentials: Health Tip

The Essentials: Spotted

The Essentials: Behind the Wheel

p IT is the debate that has divided the sexes for a generation -- are men or women better behind the wheel? Now, a new survey commissioned by toy car maker Hot Wheels aimed at children has revealed what kids think.

The Essentials: Try It Today

The Essentials: New Revolution

The Essentials: Not

p The new scally craze in Liverpool -- one trouser leg rolled up and the other not. The city now looks like it is over-populated with Freemasons. p Bar staff taking the "take your own" custom to the extreme -- we have heard reports of a pounds 3 gratuity in trendy city centre bar in return for a G&T.

The Essentials: Hot

The Essentials: Christmas Tree

p LOOKING for some inspiration for your Christmas tree this year? The Bluecoat Display Centre have invited around 80 of the country's most imaginative applied artists to make a single one-off tree decoration in any media. The exhibition will be a unique installation and fit in with the light hearted seasonal feel. All work will be for sale.

Travel: Falling in Love with Canada ; Cathy Gordon Enjoys Ontario's Wide Range of Attractions

BEFORE setting off for Canada there were two main things on my wish-list -- to spot a moose and see a Mountie. In pursuit of the first, my travelling companions and I made for the vast and beautiful Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, less than a three-hour drive away from Toronto airport.

Travel: . . . On Country Matters

IHAVE discovered it's only a short walk from primordial swamps and bog oaks through the iron age, bronze age and Roman occupation to modern marshland. This was particularly welcome news on a raw November afternoon, grey and misty, with a penetrating drizzle -- not the best conditions for a stroll, but still better than being in town, where busy streets were filled with shoppers already rabid with Christ-mas fever. It seemed a perfect opportunity to look over Martin Mere's new "Harrier Hide, "...

Antiques: What's It Worth?

Q. I HAVE kept hold of this glass dish after a relative gave it to me about 10 years ago, who has since passed away. I suspect it is a 1950s or 70s piece and wondered if it is collectible at all. There are no makers' marks on it. Is there anything you can tell me about it? B Graves, HeswallA. THE dish appears to be Italian and the age correct. It is possibly made by the Murano factory who were well known for producing coloured glass clowns. I am afraid these dishes are still quite numerous an...

Antiques: Monart's Magic Is in the Colours

WHEN I wrote here last week about collecting antiques from Scotland, I didn't anticipate seeing a collection of glass like the examples pictured here up for auction in my local sale room here in the north west. They were made in a glassworks in Perthshire and such is the universal appeal of antiques and collectables, I felt I needed no excuse to stay north of the border with this week's column.

Food & Drink: Humble Roots ; a Tasty Twist for the Neglected Beetroot

THE HUMBLE beet root is one of my favourite root vegetables and a few weeks ago at the Food & Drink Festival my good friend and chef from The Ivy and Caprice, Mark Hix, cooked a wonderful salad using only beet roots and shallots and a little olive oil and some smoked anchovies. It was so simple yet brilliant. Beetroot has been neglected -- pickled in vinegar, stuck in jars and lost in cupboards for years until the meat and potato pie comes out -- it has so many other uses. Due to its sweetnes...

Food & Drink: Take Five . . . Party Snacks

Tesco Snack Selection, pounds 2. 99. Comprising mini eggs, sausage rolls and cocktail sausages -- 50 in total -- this was excellent value for money. These tasty snacks were very moreish. Sainsburys, 24 oriental snack selection, pounds 3. 99 Prawn toasts and wontons, chicken rolls and vegetable crackers imported from Thailand for authenticity. Tasty.

Food & Drink: Chocolate Is the Ultimate Indulgence

CHOCOLATE is a word that arouses a passion rarely surpassed both in language and in sheer luxurious taste. Can you imagine living in a world without chocolate; without the sticky sweetness of caramel, the delicious melt of chocolate flake, or the hot cold sensation of warm chocolate sauce on cold vanilla ice cream?