In the week before Orthodox Lent began, some 233 Russian Orthodox priests published a petition calling for peace. The signatories spoke of the ‘fratricidal war in Ukraine’, with a call for an immediate ceasefire, and deplored ‘the trial that our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected to’. Anyone who knows how authority is exercised in the Russian Orthodox church, and how closely it has allied itself with Putin’s authoritarian state, will recognise the clerics’ courage.

David Petraeus is a former CIA director who, as a four-star general, led US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He speaks to the historian Niall Ferguson about the war in Ukraine. NIALL FERGUSON: General, I wanted to ask you to give your assessments of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If you were grading Russia’s military performance and Ukraine’s, what grades would you give? DAVID PETRAEUS: Clearly Russia has failed.

This is a delicious way to cook lamb with a distinctly Mediterranean feel. It’s super fresh, easy to prepare and would be perfect for Easter Sunday. I would serve it with pitta bread and chilli sauce. It pairs well with a chilled bottle of Sangiovese. Serves 2 The lamb – 2 lamb shanks – 1-2 sprigs rosemary – 1-2 sprigs oregano – 1-2 sprigs mint – 2 tbsp dried oregano – 2 tbsp dried mint – 1 tbsp smoked paprika – ½ tbsp ground cumin – ½ tbsp ground coriander – ½ tbsp Aleppo chilli powder – 500ml lamb stock (or chicken stock) – 1 small red onion, sliced – 5 garlic cloves, sliced – 1 lemon, sliced – 1 tbsp Maldon salt – 100ml olive oil Tzatziki – 250g Greek yogurt – ½ large cucumber – 2 garlic cloves – 2 sprigs dill – 2 sprigs mint – salt and white pepper – drizzle of extra virgin olive oil Greek salad – 200g vine cherry tomatoes – ½ large cucumber – ½ red pepper – ½ small red onion – 30g black olives – 90-100g feta cheese – pinch dried oregano – 1 tbsp poppy seeds – salt and white pepper – 1 lemon – splash sherry vinegar – large glug of extra virgin olive oil Slice the red onion, lemon and garlic, roughly chop the herbs, salt and pepper, and then mix in a bowl with the olive oil.

The English Rock Garden, the magnum opus of the great gardening writer, horticulturist and plant collector Reginald Farrer, is an indispensable A to Z guide to alpine flowers. When he finally reaches V, Farrer writes: ‘Viola brings this alphabet to the last great dragon in its path.’ But rather than offering fire-breathing terror, he presents a family of flowers containing both beauties and ‘dull and dowdy species’. There are between 400 and 500 species in the viola family.