Today's usual unusual programme includes a recipe to enable you to get ahead of the neighbours.

Mystery recipe
1 square paper towel
6 sheets 'man-sized' tissues
Small packet [dot]
Plastic sandwich box
Cellulose wallpaper paste
Clean, cold water

Line bottom of sandwich box with paper tissues and cover this with a piece of paper towel. Soak it all in water, then pour away the excess. Take the [dot] and sprinkle sparely over the wet towel.

Cover the box and put it in a warm spot (not the airing cupboard - that might be too hot). Check the box every day; [dot] should be ready in one or two days; [dot] in four days and [dot] in nine days. You can tell when they're ready because a small [dot] will have appeared on about half of them. When this happens wash the [dot] into a fine sieve to remove them from the towel.

Take the cellulose paste (making sure that it doesn't contain fungicide) and make up half-a-pint to half the manufacturer's recommended strength. When the mixture is smooth put the [dot] into half of it and pour the other half on top. Mix in gently with fingers until it looks like frogspawn.

Take a wide-nozzled icing syringe or a strong polythene bag with a tiny piece of the corner cut off and fill with the jelly-like mixture. Decide where you want your [dot] and squeeze out the jelly in a very thin line. Cover as usual but don't press down. Keep nice and moist while waiting to see what happens.

What is [dot]?
Raymond Baxter, William Woollard Michael Rodd and Judith Hann report on [dot] and other news of the years ahead.