On this day in 1981, the Scottish author AJ Cronin died in Switzerland.

He is fondly remembered as the creator of the hugely popular Dr. Finlay series of books, which were to become a long running TV series.

6 January 1540 is the date of the first performance of Sir David Lyndsay's masterpiece, Ane Satyre o' the Thrie Estaites at Linlithgow Palace.

The son of a Fife laird, Lyndsay was an attendant to the infant James V and later acted as a diplomat for James to the courts of Europe. Lyndsay drew on his experiences at the royal court to write his most famous play. The ¨three estates¨ mentioned in the title are the clergy, the nobility and the burgesses (or craftsmen), and their faults are exposed by John the Common-Weill (commonwealth). The play, like so much of Lindsay's work, is directed against the pride and greed prevalent in Scottish society, and the social ills which hamper the common good of the nation.

Today's recipe: a quick, easy and seasonal dish for the family. Tagliatelle with cavolo nero, chickpeas and pecorino.