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From chocolate to bears via halitosis .... a quirky look at the week ahead

Jail Egg

Easter week is here, but whether you celebrate it as a religious occasion or just because it means a bank holiday, most people end up indulging in a little more chocolate than usual. For serious chocoholics willing to shell out pounds 305, Harrods' most expensive Easter treat is a handmade egg in marbled milk, white and plain Belgian chocolate which stands at 60cm high.

If the Queen hasn't granted clemency to Coronation Street jailbird Deirdre Rachid before the weekend, she will have to pass her time behind bars by cracking into a Cadbury's Coronation Street egg at a much more humble pounds 2.99. If chocolate isn't your thing and you still fancy a little luxury over Easter, how about the real thing? Harrods has an extensive range of real eggs, from your usual hen variety through to the exotic seagull - the latter is subject to availability and costs around pounds 9 per half dozen. Just don't tell Edwina Currie.

Odour Eater

Talking of curries - better not order in too many Vindaloos as it is National Fresh Breath Week. Research by the London Fresh Breath Centre shows that despite the 300 million bottles of mouthwash sold in Britain each year 96 per cent of the British population still worry about their oral air. Those not able to afford treatment at the clinic, which can cost anything between pounds 100 - pounds 600 might be interested in the advice of breath guru Dr Philip Stemmer, who says: "Stick your tongue out as far as possible and firmly lick the inside of your wrist using the back of the tongue. Allow the moisture to dry, and sniff."

Rock Solid

A lump of rock five inches wide, with an asking price of pounds 12,000 is nothing to be sniffed at. But that is the catalogue estimate for a piece of meteorite which goes on sale at Christie's auctioneers in London on Wednesday. The rock, which hit the west of France in 1803, was found by French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Biot. He gave the segment to Robert Ferguson, a geologist, who also happened to be MP for Kirkcaldy.

Bear Necessities

Much more valuable than a meteorite is Paddington Bear. Last year a Canadian film company paid more than pounds 10m for the rights to the character. Forty years ago today, Collins agreed to publish Michael Bond's stories about the orphaned Peruvian bear. To celebrate, Collins is releasing a classic collection of Bond's ursine tales, which goes on sale today. The London Toy & Model Museum is also marking the occasion with an exhibition which runs until September. The museum has assured visitors its cafe will have an ample supply of marmalade sandwiches and hot chocolate.

So don your duffel coat and red felt hat and board a train to Paddington. Any mockery from fellow passengers regarding your strange attire: just point out you are "wanted on voyage".