Retail Therapy

WITH the launch of its attractive mail-order catalogue, Purple Fish hopes to overcome the problem of shoe shopping with children. Aimed at primary school pupils, its leather shoes include a comprehensive range of trainers, school shoes, brightly coloured play-shoes and tough-looking hiking boots. It even sells clogs as 'so many parents wanted these for holiday wear', which shows one is never too young to be fashionable.

Prices range from pounds 15 to pounds 30. A home fitting chart is included and all pairs of shoes come in a cotton bag.

The catalogue will be distributed through primary school parent-teacher associations, or can be obtained direct from Purple Fish, St Mary's Mill, Chalford, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL6 8PX (0453 882820).

NOW THAT you have bought all those dinosaurs, the problem is what to do with them (shagpile carpet and floral sofas are not, after all, their natural habitat). Help is at hand, however, in the shape of a video that shows you how to make your own domestic version of Jurassic Park.

It illustrates an inexpensive and easy way to occupy the children and to provide a habitat for their latest acquisitions. Using such cheap materials as a piece of cardboard, a few boxes, newspaper, glue, powder paint, some net curtain and, of course, sticky-back plastic, you, too, can have your very own 'realistic' dinosaur island park.

The Make Your Own Dinosaur Park video is released by Braveworld, pounds 6.99.

THE British Museum is re-creating some of the world's most celebrated sculptures, using moulds taken from the original pieces that it has on display. A catalogue illustrates 75 items from many hundreds in its collections, ranging from tiny Mesopotamian duck-weights to the massive torso of Hebe from the Parthenon.

The range includes busts of Hermes ( pounds 125) and Augustus ( pounds 195), as well as more unusual pieces such as the nose from Michelangelo's David ( pounds 20) or a relief of a plaice (study of a fish) from the Brucciani collection ( pounds 25). Prices range from under pounds 20 to pounds 2,000. General inquiries are welcomed and individual quotes can be supplied for items not listed.

For a catalogue, contact the British Museum Cast Service, 46 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1 (071-323 1234).

THE LATEST star to jump on the Jane Fonda bandwagon with her own regime is Jerry Hall, with Yogacise, billed as 'the ultimate stress-free exercise video for the Nineties'. But this time there is no going for the burn. 'You don't have to go through the pain barrier to enhance physical beauty and give a sense of inner peace,' La Hall promises.

The video is available from 6 September at branches of W H Smith, John Menzies, HMV, Our Price, Sam Goody, Boots, Woolworths, Virgin, Blockbuster / Ritz for pounds 12.99.

NOT FOR the squeamish, and the complete opposite to Jerry Hall's video, is Fighting Fit: The SAS Fitness Guide. Billed as 'the first no-holds- barred, no flim-flam fitness guide on the market', it promises 'now we can all acquire the physical and mental toughness that are the hallmarks of the Special Air Service Regiment'.

To be published by Chapmans on 16 September. Who dares wins.