Game Boy

Clever Trevor Pickett, who always has his finger on the button of luxury trends, has come up with the ultimate toy, a limited edition Games Compendium, a snip at £65k a throw. Only five have been made so hurry, hurry, hurry. Each compendium consists of fifteen games ranging from chess to the oldest strategy board game in the world, Nine Men's Morris. It also includes family favourites like Scrabble, Snakes & Ladders and Five Jacks. The compendiums are handmade in England by skilful craftsmen and no expense has been spared on materials. The outer box is inlaid with exotic leathers and peppered with precious stones. The eyes of the snakes in Snakes & Ladders are emeralds and rubies with the ladders in white gold. The ultimate chess board has each corner highlighted by either a white or black diamond. A happy marriage of flash and class. Pickett, 32-33 and 40 Burlington Arcade, London W1, 020 7493 8939, and branches; www.pickett.co.uk

 
 
 
 

Something for the birds

Whether your garden includes acres of ancestral parkland or is an urban plot cowering beneath the high rises, you'll fall for these enchanting duck and bird houses modelled on historic buildings. Heytesbury Bird Pavilions are part of Heytesbury Antiques, founded in 1978 by Ivor and Sally Ingall. Ivor started to design and construct bird pavilions when Sally asked him to build an island in the middle of the dewpond in their garden. The water level varies considerably over the year and if it were fixed, too much or too little of the structure would show. The answer was a floating island and the collection has now expanded to four floating duck Islands and nine Garden Follies which can be used as bird tables. The range is increasing all the time. The duck islands have a standardised floating deck anchored by wires to a triangle of concrete blocks submerged in the water. There is ramp for entry. The Garden Follies have been inspired by buildings like a Moorish pagoda, a Greek temple, a Venetian villa or a traditional timbered barn. They come with either a triangular stand with a 4' pole for hard surfaces such as patios, or a 6' 6" pole to be dug 2' 6" into the earth. They are enchanting and utterly decadent. Email birdpavilions@btinternet.com or PO Box 222, Farnham, Surrey, 01252 850 893; www.heytesbury.info

Caption:
The Stockholm model based on an 18th century building in Sweden.
56" high, 32" square, £2,200 plus VAT

 
 
 
 

Love, art and caviar

After years of headlines that threatened Armageddon for the sturgeon, caviar is pulling away from the brink of disaster. Iran especially has taken a firm grip on caviar production in the Caspian Sea but even better news is the success of farmed sturgeon (and hence controllable supplies of caviar). The one farmed caviar operation with no drawbacks of quality and consistency is the French company, Prunier, a success story that's full of magic, history and larger-than-life characters. The current owner is Pierre Bergé, close friend and business partner of fashion icon Yves Saint-Laurent whose commitment to luxury and elegance is legendary. Five years ago, Bergé joined forces with Caviar House, established and run by the Rebeiz family since 1950 with bases in Paris, Geneva, London, Vienna and Copenhagen, plus highly successful airport outlets selling caviar and other speciality foods. The restaurants are chic, the clientele glitzy, and the quality of the caviar, with 85 years of experience, is superb. This winter, part of Yves Saint-Laurent's extensive archive of drawings around the word "Love" has been used to illustrate the St James caviar tin and create an instant collector's item, starting at £295 for 125gm. Available from Caviar House & Prunier, 161 Piccadilly, London W1, 020 7409 0445, and also at Harrods Food Hall; Kiosk 2, 1 Canada Place, Canary Wharf, London E14, 020 7516 0171; North and South terminals at Gatwick, all terminals at Heathrow, and the main terminal at Stansted. www.caviarhouse-prunier.com

 
 
 
 

Liquid Gold

I don't know why an expensive whisky wants to market itself as "founded on the docks of Glasgow in 1844", nor why the swing gates at London's Tube stations are emblazoned with the slogan and the heraldic lion rampant on the bottle. But the 30-year old whisky from Whyte and Mackay can transcend such vulgarities, especially with a price tag of £150 and a deep, mellow aroma, created by master distiller Richard Patterson. Whyte and Mackay 30 is a rare aged blended whisky, quite different from single malts. It is made in very limited quantities, just the thing for the enthusiast who's moved beyond accessible brands into the stratosphere of whisky connoisseurship. www.whyteandmackay.com

 
 
 
 

Carol Singing

The carol service has emerged as the new cocktail party, the social high ground for networking, flirting and showing off. The really posh ones are by invitation only with starry organising committees, readings by celebrities, and a hefty entrance fee. The carol service at St Paul's Knightsbridge has Joel Cadbury, Alexander Armstrong and Sahar Hashemi headlining with Father Alan Gyle and a support cast of Jo Malone, Zac Goldsmith and Jamie Theakston among many others. Normal folk who want to celebrate the season of goodwill can join in evening carols for free in Trafalgar Square, 10-23 December (excluding 11 December) 5-9pm; Southwark Cathedral, 8 December 6.30pm (free but tickets must be booked in advance on 020 7462 3853); carol concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, 22-24 December £11-£39.50, 020 7589 8212; www.royalalberthall.com; or the family carol service (free) at 1pm on 22 December at St Paul's Cathedral, EC4, 020 7236 4128; www.stpauls.co.uk