It wasn’t all bad

A previously unseen story by Vita Sackville-west, written for a book the size of a postage stamp, is to be published. Sackville-west was one of 200 authors – among them Hardy and Kipling – who, in the 1920s, contributed tiny volumes to Queen Mary’s dolls’ house, a Lutyens-designed replica of an Edwardian residence. Unlike most, hers – about an ageless sprite – was written specifically for the house, and may have inspired her lover, Virginia Woolf, to write Orlando.

A Yorkshire pub run by two brothers has been named the best restaurant in the world. The Black Swan, in Oldstead, came top in Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards, which is based on reviews posted on the website. Tommy Banks, 28, who runs the kitchen, and his brother James, 27, who runs front of house, were teenagers when they took over the pub, in 2006. It now holds a Michelin star, serving dishes – such as squid dressed in horseradish juice – that use fruit and vegetables grown on-site or at the Banks’ family farm. “It’s a huge honour,” Tommy said.

A group of Muslim men took a gift of flowers to a synagogue in Leeds after it was vandalised by racists, to show their solidarity with the local Jewish community. Shahab Adris, 36, was so appalled when he saw that Etz Chaim synagogue been daubed with a swastika and an anti-semitic slur, he and three friends decided to pay a visit, so that they could express their sympathy in person. “Some of our group had been a bit nervous as they’d never been to a synagogue before,” he said, but they received a warm welcome.