A lovely time

Everything, but everything, in Jilly Cooper's world is "lovely", from the characters in her new book, to the current state of the Welsh countryside (and the Welsh themselves, for that matter).

The troublemaker

Shirin Ebadi has lived through three different eras in Iran: the western-backed monarchy of the shah, the Islamic republic of Ayatollah Khomeini, and the confrontational regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And as a champion of women's rights, she has been a thorn in the side of all three. She tells Stuart Jeffries how she overcame death threats to become the clerics' 'worst nightmare'.

Cloud atlas

Light and fluffy ... not quite the view at Hay, but festival-goers are inspired to take a fresh look at the sky . Photograph: Getty

Vicious cycles

Matt Seaton: Is there a way out of the doping scandals that still plague professional cycling?

Wood works

Woodcraft ... Will Pryce's Architecture in Wood