As a newly qualified teacher at a comprehensive school in Wiltshire, every day Joe faces the challenge of gaining the respect of a class of 15-year-olds. Joe, 26, admits it is a tough challenge but thinks he is winning the battle. Joe, who teaches English and media studies and coaches a school football team, will qualify fully in July, pending the results of his lesson assessments. With this milestone passed, and the increased financial stability it will bring, Joe will turn his thoughts to buying his first home.

She has a gift for languages, which brings her to the UN. She wants to make a difference. She is idealistic in that single-minded, dedicated manner associated with freedom fighters. Silvia (Nicole Kidman) remains an enigma. When Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) begins to investigate her, he is faced with a blank sheet. She is beautiful, blonde, lissom and lithe. She lives alone, has no lover, rides a Vespa throughout New York and works all day, providing simultaneous translation for delegates. She has an odd accent, which, like everything else about her, is difficult to pin down.

Covent Garden's buskers and jugglers provide no-cost entertainment in a car-free setting, and you've always got the chance of being plucked from the crowd to help out with a trick. Don't underestimate the value of London's public transport as a source of fun, either. The #11 double-decker from Victoria, for instance, will trundle you past the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and the Strand on its way to St Paul's Cathedral for a modest sum. The driverless Docklands Light Railway is another guaranteed source of amusement – grab a seat at the front of the train and pretend to be the driver, then take a boat back to the centre of town from Greenwich.