Debrief

It seems you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or in this case, old seat cover. Worn Again is launching a range of bags made from ex-Virgin Atlantic aircraft seat covers. Who knows which celebrity bottom may have nestled against your new handbag? “This is a fun and creative way to recyle our waste,” says a VA spokeswoman.

Hot Spot

Why go to the Wai Ora Lakeside Spa Resort, which opens near Rotorua in New Zealand next month? Well, hey, because ná te mea, he tino kura koe - you're worth it - as you might say in Maori.

As well as being able to burn off calories tying the traditional martial art of mau rakau, those of a more relaxed disposition can try treatments based on Maori culture, soaking jet-lagged limbs in thermal pools, mud baths or under geothermally heated stones. Details: www.waiora-resort.co.nz

The Big Chill

Dodgy weather getting you down? Can't get a mortgage? Dog run off with the postman?

Well, shame that this weekend's “weave your own coffin” course near Bridgwater in Somerset is now full. The course teaches the art of willow weaving so you can come away with your own eco-friendly coffin that the organisers optimistically suggest using as a storage case until you-know-when. The next one is planned for spring (www.musgrovewillows.co.uk).

Terminal 5 is working?

If you're caught up in airport chaos over the Bank Holiday weekend try not to do a Naomi Campbell. Police officers felt the sharp end of her high-heeled boots when she discovered one of her bags missing on a flight from Heathrow's Terminal 5 a few days after it opened in April. Have things improved? Last weekend BA's “Terminal 5 is working” campaign claimed the average plane-to- carousel time for luggage was only 24 minutes. This is a boast?! Singapore's Changi airport aims to have the first bags on-belt after 12 minutes.

Website of the week: www.hqhair.com

If you're a woman, or an Italian bloke, who likes to go on holiday with lots of “product”, then this website lets you buy your favourite gloop for hair and body and then have it sent ahead to your hotel or villa abroad. You can whiz through airport security not having to worry about taking more than 100ml of your favourite smellies in a sandwich bag.

Will Hyde

BOAR OF THE SOUTH A 10m-high wild boar weighing 50 tonnes has been positioned on the A34 highway near Charleville-Mézières in the Ardennes region of France. The giant sculpture took the artist Eric Sléziak 11 years to make from pieces of scrap metal.

HIGH RISE Visitors to New York can take ten-minute trips on a tethered hot air balloon, rising to 500ft (or about 30 storeys) above the city. Journeys cost £12.50.

HIGH DIVE Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt has been voted the No 1 place for a diving holiday by users of Cheapflights.co.uk, beating the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in second place and the corals off the coast of Cuba in third.

OOOPS! When a brief medical emergency caused a couple to be separated from their cruise ship in Norway they decided to take a taxi to catch the ship at the next port of call: Olden, on the west coast. But the driver misunderstood and took them to Halden, 350 miles away, with the fare costing £1,479. The return trip to Olden was a further £1,540.

GREEN WOMEN Research by Expedia found that men care less about their carbon footprint on holiday than women, with 39 per cent saying they had “no intention” of offsetting emissions compared with 19 per cent of women.

BED POLITICS Cameron House Hotel by Loch Lomond has introduced a “political pillow menu” with The Brown being made of rough kemp, The Clegg having a “sexy silk” cover, The Cameron consisting of “smooth linen”, and The Salmon - named after the Scottish National Party's leader, Alex Salmond - being “cheap, shiny, slippery, pink” and made of nylon.

CONTAIN YOURSELF A hotel created from 86 steel containers that have been stacked together like giant Lego blocks has opened in Uxbridge in West London. The Travelodge rooms are from £29.

CROOKED CROCKERY? The Headland hotel in Newquay has received a complaint that its cereal bowls are “the wrong shape”.

SPLASH Waiters had to fish out a “happy” gymnastic coach who fell into the Kempinski hotel's pond in Beijing celebrating a medal.

Tom Chesshyre

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