VS0P 2 - BUY HIM THE WORLD

For those who love to dream of far-away places with strange-sounding names, the new Times Atlas is a splendid gift of the World.   This compendium of digitally-created maps provides the latest views of the planet and shows major changes since the last one was published four years ago.

It is the 12th edition of the Times Atlas, the definitive work on the world, and whether for committed cartogrophers or those wondering where to sail or to fly to next, it provides hours of happy serendipity. 

To show the scope of this world, we have it on good authority that the atlas has over 200,000 place names and geographical features in 256 maps, compiled by over 50 cartographers and experts. It weighs in at a hefty 5.5kg (5 bags of sugar) and is the reference work for UK government departments, the BBC and media worldwide, plus the UN, and global businesses
   
The first-ever Times World Atlas was born in 1895 during the reign of Queen Victoria. Later editions have reflected the great social and political changes brought about by two World Wars, population explosions and natural disasters, alongside many technical advances. As Rudyard Kipling said at the Royal Geographical Society, “As soon as men begin to talk about anything that really matters someone has to go and get the atlas.” Now, explorer Ranulph Fiennes states simply “by far the greatest book on earth”.

You might well expect to pay a princely sum to buy such a world  - but we are able to offer savilerow-style readers a special discount.

To save 20% and order your copy of the 12th edition of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World at the special price of £120, call the HarperCollins Hotline on: 0870 787 1732 and quote Dept 274R. Free P & P for all UK orders. Allow 21 days for delivery.

Alternatively, there's the globe at top from www.eglobes.co.uk at £43.

Take the Orient Express to Venice

Search the globe for a romantic destination and Venice takes some beating.  And as luxury travel goes, nothing goes quite like the Orient Express.  Combine the two, add the Hotel Cipriani, and, voila, one has a travel treat par excellence.

The old Orient Express started in 1883, covered many different routes from Paris through to the Black Sea and Istanbul, and was much favoured by spies, vamps, murderers and aristocracy – according to popular fiction.  Its heyday was in the 1920s/30s, when it became luxurious.

Today’s Venice Simplon-Orient Express only goes all the way to Istanbul once a year, but it does provide the finest way to get to La Serenissima the rest of the year. The ‘Venetian Celebration’ is a particularly de luxe package, starting off with a night’s stay at London’s Dorchester Hotel.  Pre-dinner cocktails in the train's piano bar, as above, dinner in the carriage that was stuffed with celebrity suspects in ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and post-prandial nightcaps should all be enjoyed in suitably glamourous gear – it is the Orient Express, after all.  Next morning, Europe will provide a moving backdrop while breakfast, lunch and tea are taken – at suitable intervals – before arrival in Venice in time for dinner.

Here, the weary traveller may wallow in the luxury of the Cipriani hotel for four nights, an old-world oasis of beauty and comfort.  All rooms are luxurious but those who want the very best may opt for the Palladio Suite, with views of the lagoon all round, balcony and private plunge pool.

The package includes private tours of the city and the lagoon, plus dinner at the Cipriani on the final night, or maybe on the island of Pellestrina.  Priceless. Well, not exactly.  The basic cost, with flight back to London, is £4,700 per person, with an extra £3,500-odd if the Palladio Suite is chosen. www.orient-express.com

THE ULTIMATE IN DELUXE MOBILES

It was inevitable that someone should come up with the ultimate indulgence in mobile phones. These 18-carat gold and handcrafted models from Germany will slip nicely into someone's stocking, priced from around £35,000 to £175,000.

"People don't buy these phones on credit or dip into their savings," Oliver Gebert of the company told us. "Instead, we work for customers who can afford to fulfill virtually every wish and have a certain distaste for mass-produced goods."

With all the latest technology, the mobiles may be encrusted with diamonds, as the one pictured here, or other gems and the company will also take on special orders. www.kmd-edition.de