Before the week is out...

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A STRANGE one, this. Hermes, beloved of South Ken debs and their mothers-who-lunch, is heading east to Hoxton for its autumn/winter menswear collection in a unique event combining fashion with theatrical performance. The show will be held in the Circus Space and appropriately will feature circus performers and dinner, courtesy of Soho's Circus restaurant. The precise details of the show are being keep as painfully secret as any couture happening. Tickets are a hefty pounds 150, and all proceeds end up at Islington's Almeida Theatre. Go figure.

The Hermes autumn/winter collection takes place on 29 September at Circus Space, Coronet Street, London N1. For tickets, call Kathy Shaw (tel: 0171 226 7432).

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THE LATEST accessories to grace the celebrity dinner table are these Glen Baxter-decorated china plates just launched by Richard Dennis Publications, featuring sporting themes. Baxter's paintings, which give Forties situations a surreal twist, give the glitterati the giggles - Paul McCartney's a fan. While Baxter's paintings sell at pounds 4,000 plus, you can pick up a plate at pounds 20 apiece.

Available by mail order (tel: 01460 240 044) or at London's Richard Dennis Gallery (tel: 0171 727 2061).

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THE LATEST DIY cure for aches and pains may look like a tartan whoopee cushion, but it really works. The Hot-Pak contains a mixture of wheat and herbs and is supple enough to sling over your back or around whichever bit hurts. Heat in the microwave for two minutes and lie back, inhaling its vapours. What's more, the pack is reheatable but you can also freeze it for use as an icepack. Just don't confuse it with your petit pois.

Hot-Pak, pounds 9.95. From most garden centres, and by mail order (tel: 0121 688 8000).

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THE EXHIBITION, "Emerging Talent 2000" at the Lesley Craze Gallery is all about what's new and exciting in jewellery and textile design. The exhibition showcases the work of the best graduating designers picked personally by Craze from Britain's colleges - from the Royal College of Art to Carmarthenshire College of Art. The variety of work means there's something for everybody, whether you're a clubber after a sci-fi glow effect (check out Chris Lockyer) or you have a passion for precious metal (see Mikala Djorp's silver ring, pictured). All pieces are for sale, with prices ranging from pounds 100 to pounds 2,000.

"Emerging Talent 2000", Lesley Craze Gallery, 33-35a Clerkenwell Green, London EC1; 31 September-27 October (tel: 0171 251 0381).

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WHO BUYS those mind-numbingly boring postcards you find in rural tourist shops and service stations? A postcard collector called Martin Parr, the famous photographer, actually. He's gathered hundreds over the past 20 years and compiled a book of his favourites, all of which have dreadful composition, boring subjects or nothing going on in them at all. The collection makes a tour of the least interesting spots in the British Isles (so there's plenty of scope for a sequel) and features such gems as "A40 Traffic" and "A bend on Porlock Hill". But far from dull, Parr's book is a strangely compelling commentary on postwar British architecture, social life and identity, as well as the nation's capacity for chronic bad taste. The funniest thing is, you're bound to see somewhere you recognise.

"Boring Postcards" is published on 30 September (Phaidon Press, pounds 14.95).