bazaar

Good thing

Salad comb, pounds 9.95 a pair

Someone eating salad with a handful of chopsticks? No, it is the St Tropez salad comb (which is also useful for dishing up spaghetti). Acting as huge finger-extensions, these are perfect for the ham-fisted: their width prevents large leaves leaping from the bowl. From Purves & Purves, 83 Tottenham Court road, London WC2 (for mail-order details, call 0171- 436 8860).

Mad thing

Strawberry huller, pounds 1

A jokey piece of gadgetry for removing the central hull from a strawberry. When we tried it, the green stalk came off but the hull remained resolutely within the strawberry. It only worked on really ripe ones. It does, however, protect manicured nails from pips and strawberry juice. Useful as a cheap item on a wedding list. From Purves & Purves, details as left.

Checkout The Survival Shop

Feel: Dr Livingstone's spareroom used as ramblers' convention cloakroom. Windcheaters and hiking boots fight for space with mozzie nets, knives and stoves.

How to get there: Easy, it's at Euston Station. Is there something about Glasgow they're not telling us?

Service: Evangelically friendly sales assistants refer knowingly to "gear freaks", and sell customers what they really need, not what costs most. Warning: they are dauntingly well-informed. If you find yourself sitting next to one on a long-haul flight, on no account discuss Karrimor 65-litre Panther rucksacks.

Black spot: SAS corner. Peddles balaclavas, face veils (pounds 5.95), Face and Hand Two-tone Camouflage Cream (pounds 3.95) and the like to spotty adolescents and members of the Michigan Militia.

Light relief for homebodies: Try the Fisher Space Pen (pounds 11.95), developed by Nasa to write underwater, even through grease. Or the Mini-Hammock (pounds 7.95), which rolls into a fist-shaped ball.

Sample customer dialogue: "Hello, I've come back again for the wind- proof trousers."

How should you ... top up your tan?

You're about to go on holiday and want to kick-start your tan. Most of us will rush along to the nearest gym or health club for a few quick grill on a sunbed. But is it safe? The last guidelines on sunbed use were issued 13 years ago, when it was thought that ultraviolet A radiation, which most sunbeds use, were much safer than natural sunlight's UVB. Research since then has shown that, although UVA may be slightly safer, it can also cause skin damage, irregular freckling, melanoma and suppression of the immune system.

The habit will be hard to kick: one in 10 British women used a sunbed last year, and one in four of 16-24 year-olds is a sunbed user. Fifty thousand sunbeds are sold in Britain annually. But to reduce any risk, stick to a maximum of 20 10-minute sessions a year, as recommended by the British Photodermatology Group.

Alternatively, try the "natural tanning" method offered at The Green Room in London (0171-937 6595). An eco-friendly beauty salon, they don't belive in sunbeds but instead massage-in a naturally occurring tanning liquid. The tan (pounds 29) lasts about six or seven days. Fake tans have also improved, losing their yellow look and nasty smell. Try Clinique's Self Tanning Body Mist (pounds 12.50 ), or Guerlain's Teint Dore (pounds 12.50).

Bestsellers Top 10 from Jerry's Homestore

1 Buffalo Bill Chips..............................................................99p

2 Jelly Beans ....................................................................pounds 9.95

3 Red Raspberry Ecstasy Ice-cream .................................pounds 4.95

4 Herrell's Hot Fudge Ice-cream.......................................pounds 6.95

5 Good Grips Swivel Peeler................................................pounds 4.95

6 Cherry tablecloth weights...............................................pounds 4.95

7 US 'Gibraltar' barware...........................................from pounds 2.50

8 US Mail Box and brackets................................pounds 25 and pounds 6.50

9 Waring chrome blender....................................................pounds 139

10 Kingsford barbecue .......................................................pounds 199

*Jerry's Homestore sale is now on at 163-167 Fulham Road,

London SW3 (0171-581 0909)