The Rose of Tralee is nothing if not entertaining and last night's three hour spectacle saw dung spitting, ballet, Guns N'Roses, and lots and lots and lots of poetry. Here are a few things we learned from the first batch of lovely girls...

Reaching the end of Murakami’s novel has done little to explain its mysteries, but has brought some appreciation of his ability to blend the fantastic and the prosaic

Jan Hoek has photographed mentally ill homeless men in Ethiopia and sex tourists in Thailand. As he turns his lens on trans sex workers in South Africa, the Dutch artist explains how a camera lets you ‘infiltrate people’s lives’

• Downpours at track change ground conditions on eve of race• Owner of the Derby winner urges connections of rival to run

Why am I so addicted to John Le Carré, Spooks and John Buchan?

Richard Glanville, who worked for Oasis’s parent company, arrested after an alleged trespasser was fatally wounded at his Essex farmhouse