Christmas Appeal: Travel with Simon Calder or talk fashion with Susannah Frankel

Bids for The Independent's charity auction were still pouring in yesterday, with only nine days left until the 41 lots go under the hammer.

Frantic bidding on Travel Editor Simon Calder's offer of three meals in three Eurostar destinations (Lot 3) ended at £1,500 last night, for breakfast at the Place des Vosges, Paris; lunch at the Place St Jean, Lille; and dinner in the Grand Place, Brussels.

Fashion lovers are competing to accompany fashionista Susannah Frankel to a top designer show during London Fashion Week (Lot 7), with bidding now at £2,000.

There are plenty of bargains still to be had. If you want to be part of newspaper history, or to put a friend's most embarrassing moments into print, then a mock-up of one our front pages could be yours. Bidding stands at £100.

Or become the envy of your friends as you cruise past in a chauffeur-driven Bentley for a day (Lot 17), offered for a bargain £125 last night, as opposed to £857 last year.

Jeremy Beadle, the nation's most omniscient trivia fiend, will host a quiz for at least 80 people in a pub or party. (Lot 21) The highest bid so far is £450, less than half of the £920 offered last year.

And if you think your son or daughter has Wimbledon potential, the tennis coach and Independent columnist Nick Bolletieri is offering a week's scholarship for an under-18 player at his training centre in Florida (Lot 27). Standing at a bargain £300 last night, compared with the £3,000 offered last year, this lot includes room, board and tennis programme, but not air-fare or transport to and from the airport.

The auction closes at 1pm on Friday 23 December and all winning bids go to The Independent's Christmas Appeal, A Better Place.

* A Better Place charity auction: bid now!

* A Better Place: Donate now!

* A Better Place: Full appeal links.