Agatha Christie’s devotion to her fans has been highlighted in a series of touching letters she collected over the years.

The best-selling crime writer hoarded hundreds of messages from her readers which have been published for the first time to mark the 125th anniversary of her birthday.

They include a note from the author PG Wodehouse and a Polish woman in London, who told how one of Christie’s novels helped her to survive a war-time labour camp in Germany.

The above picture shows an envelope of a 1958 letter from a 14-year-old boy in Bristol who started a book club at his school so he could raise funds to buy Agatha Christie’s work.

Mantra listening for relaxation

Saying “Om” actually does help you feel calmer, the Sunday Times reported. Researchers who studied 21 men listening to a mantra found that, as the chanting progressed, the parts of the brain used in day-to-day activity slowed while those involved in emotional awareness took over.

Uttam Kumar of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, India, said: “Listening to the ‘Om’ sound, it activates areas of the bilateral cerebellum, left middle frontal gyrus and right precuneus.”

Westminster’s chocoholics

MPs, peers and their staff are munching through 100,000 bars of chocolate and packets of sweets each year, according to the Sunday Times. Freedom of information figures revealed the cafes, shops and coffee bars at Westminster sold 199,966 items of confectionery between 2013 and 2014.

Kit Kats, which were famously devoured in large numbers by Gordon Brown at the start of his tenure as prime minister, were the most popular snack, with more than 39,000 sold over the two years.

Innovative flavours from bugs

Bugs in a gourmet kitchen are usually something to be squashed or swatted - but at esteemed French cooking school Le Cordon Bleu, chefs and food scientists have been simmering, sauteing and grilling insects to extract innovative flavours they say could open a new gastronomic frontier.

As a finale to their research, the school’s Bangkok branch held a seminar called “Edible Insects in a Gastronomic Context”, which booked up weeks in advance and offered a tasting menu which included a vial of ant-infused gin, a shot glass of warm cricket consomme, then an hors d’oeuvre of beetle butter and herb crisp.

Before anyone else could crack a joke about bugs in fine French food, the chefs made their own. “This is the first time that insects have been granted access to the Cordon Bleu,” instruct Christophe Mercier said with a smile.

Twenty-year-old cheddar

Cheese lovers are already lining up to secure a nibble of a 20-year-old cheddar set to be released for sale early this summer.

Hook’s Cheese in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, created a stir in the cheese world in 2009 when it debuted a 15-year-old cheddar. John Hook set aside another 500 pounds for sale this year.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that despite a price tag of US$209 per pound, foodies are eagerly ordering now, although the cheese will not be available until late May. Mr Hook’s cheese is not a case of forgotten inventory, but a plan he put in place after his 15-year product was such a hit.

Politician’s ‘cheap’ excuse

A Canadian politician has blamed cheap, tight underwear for his sudden departure from Parliament causing him to miss a vote on anti-terror legislation. Opposition politician Pat Martin told Parliament he had bought some men’s underwear for half price which were clearly too small for him, making it difficult to sit for any length of time.

He apologised for missing the vote amid laughter in the chamber and asked for his vote to be counted.

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