Today, he was at it again, brandishing a bottle of a concoction called macb - a low-calorie, fruit-flavoured spring water which emanates from his former constituency of Banff and Buchan.

BBC: Alex Salmond's Plan Macb

The most popular gift is mithai (Indian sweets), and shops are filled with a spectacular array specially prepared for this festival, from thickly cut squares of barfi (a fudge-like sweet, often coated with a thin film of edible silver leaf) , to soft syrupy gulab jamuns (deep-fried balls of dough) and spongy rasgullas (sweetened cream cheese balls flavoured with rose water).

BBC: India��s festival of lights

Some hooksters claim that the water-pipes are healthier than cigarettes: even though hookah also involves puffing on flavoured tobacco, the water acts as a filter.

ECONOMIST: Mint, cappuccino or kiwi-strawberry?

As the vines have to struggle and stress as they extend the roots through the thin layer of terra rossa and the limestone to the water table, growth of the vine is limited to producing low yielding, intensely flavoured grapes, ideal for making premium wine.

ECONOMIST: Letters

Many frequent travellers swear by fruit flavoured tablets that act as fizzy cocktails of vitamins, herbs and minerals when the tablet is dissolved in water.

BBC: The flu is a frequent traveller