The Independent from London, Greater London, England • 108

THE INDEPENDENT SATURDAY T2 AUGUST 2QQ6. THE INDEPENDENT SATURDAY 72 AUGUST 2006 7 6 TORDFiTV djvdng MOTORS Style and DRINKS Berry refreshing lil i i power by Rosie Millard lmcu li5la3 i i cashlindependent.co.uk Hardly the newest shape on the road, but the Mercedes-Benz CLK still has classic style, not to mention pace, especially In the AMG-tuned high-performance version. All CLK models have now been given new high-rewing V8 engines. In addition, the AMG has been given yet another boost in power, which Berries are naturally high In antioxidants, which can help you live longer. And these five new fruit-based drinks from The Berry Company contain no artificial preservatives, additives or sweeteners so they are naturally tasty.

The range includes raspberry (pictured), blackberry, blueberry, gofi berry and acai berry. The Berry Company's drink range is available from selected Holland Barrett health stores, LA Fitness leisure centres and Harvey Nichols department stores, and will be available from Wait rose soon. Priced from 149 for 330ml. should help it meet the muscular challenges posed by the Jaguar XKR and BMW M6, LEFTOVERS IN A LI DL BAG -THIS MUST BE A TRIP TO REMEMBER which, as with the Mercedes, are available as closed coupes or convertibles. The CLK 63 AMG is fitted with a 6.2 litre V8 engine and boasts an output of 481 horsepower.

Your to p-of-the-range CLK should take you from zero to 60mph in under five seconds. Available now, at on -the-road prices of 65,215 for the Coupe, or 66815 for the Cabriolet HE AD WEAR GIFTS The last word in style Ever wondered what it actually is to be cool? Now you can find out with the release of The Book of Cool, a pocket-sized manual with three DVDs. These offer a nine-hour tutorial Well, bowl me over, if Millinery classics will be reappearing this autumn courtesy of the American headwear brand Bailey of Hollywood, whose founder, George Bailey, is the man behind the much-loved Mickey Mouse-ears hats. The old-worid style of the forthcoming season's hats takes its Inspiration from the Image of the perfect City gentleman, along with a touch of elegant tailoring and the look of winter collections such as oooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo Dior's. The dassk bowler hat makes a return to the fashion an Thamesiink.

Hopefully he wont get mugged en route. Reunited on the platform (or not, in which case we will have to leave him behind) we will board the 3.25am train to Gatwiclc Yes, the milk, the mail and the Millards, together bound for the Surrey countryside. We are getting the 6am flight to Bordeaux because this was the cheapest one on that BAxom offer back in June. Back when the country was expecting a rain-drenched, cold summer and getting a 29 flight to France seemed like a great idea, no matter what time of day. Naturally, this means we will arrive in France before the nation has itself sounded reveille.

Once the car hire place has opened, we will then collect our vehicle, also booked via BA.com, which is great if you utilised beady-eyed focus on the small print. Which you will have done. Back when the country was expecting a rain-drenched, cold summer, a 29 flight to France seemed like a great Idea updated, but still smart tailored look, and is made from pre wool feft, hand-finished by skilled craftsmen with a ro brim with binding, for that bespoke look. The Bailey Derby bowler hat is avail OUTDOOR ART able in a choice of black Spot the difference to essential cool skills including ropes and whips, bar-flairing, pistol-spinning, shooting pool, pen-spinning, break-dancing, casino skills, street soccer, scooter riding and more. Every skill is explained and taught by a world number one In the field, so you can learn to kkk a rugby ball with the help of former New Zealand All Black Carlos Spencer.

Available In DVD format (29.99) or UMD format (17.99) from Virgin, Amazon, Music Zone, or have a look online at www.bookDfcool.com. (pictured), brown! cream and white, and In sizes Mine's a pint Brighten up your garden this summer with a Cosmopolitan, a Mimosa, a Margarita or even a cheeky Mojito they're all pictures, rather than cocktails, from outdoor art specialist wwwxheekymojftoycom. The website specialises in art designed to live outdoors. Its pieces are a mixture of bold retro and stylish geometric illustrations, all themed on, and named after. your favourite cocktails.

The artworks are perfect for livening up a small urban space or trans from small to XL It is priced at 30. See or call 0194 681 8275 for details of UK stockists. Drink the fruits of your labour with this one-step beer brewing machine. It enables you to brew a variety of international or domestic-style beers within seven to 10 days and comes complete with a first batch of brew that you can tap from the machine and store in your fridge. Fully equipped with a bottling platform, filler and six reusable 500ml bottles and caps, this Is a brewery in one compact box.

Freshly made home beer couldn't get any better. Priced at TI9.99 from www.drinkstuff.corn. forming a brick wall, patio, roof terrace or open space. Each piece ts printed on to fully waterproof and 100 per cent weatherproof fabric Each "canvas" is a limited edition of 150 pictures, and there are currently 36 designs to choose from on the website the one pictured above is the Mimosa 3, which measures 40cm by 100cm. Some designs are available in 60cm by 60cm sizes.

All the pictures are priced at 65, and new designs are put on to the online gallery as soon as they are developed. 5PENDTHRI FTJanie and I are having a couple of macchiati In Cariuccio's and discussing Judith Levine's best-seller Not Buying It -A Year Without Shopping. The question is, can you live without doing damage to your credit card -for a year? "She probably did it just to write a best-seller," points out Janie. "If she is really trying to quell the voracious consumer greed of America, why doesn't she just give the book away?" We think about what you would do without shopping to leaven the balance of a day. "You'd probably have more sex," says Janie.

Apparently a friend of hers is having an affair with a City banker. They are so smitten with one another's physical delights that they don't bother with dawdling around the Square Mile or, indeed, going to restaurants. They just gaze into each other's eyes, and then head straight for a frisky two-hour session at the Great Eastern Hotel by Liverpool Street Station, room price an eye-watering 315. "Which in itself, is obviously shopping. As is going to the gym, as is paying the mortgage," continues Janie.

"Actually, In the Capitalist West it is pretty hard to find anything to do which Is without a balance transfer of some sort." Qh, God. Don't speak to me about balance transfers. I have become so ferocious about transferring balances and not allowing the credit-card companies to slap even one day of interest on my that this week I managed to transfer something that had already been transferred onto something else, and am now in some vile balance-transfer web, involving 10,000 of credit and, obviously, an awful lot of debt. But never mind all that We are going away. Obviously, we are not following Janie to Barbados, or wherever she is headed.

Thafs what comes of having a husband (as opposed to a lover) in the Square Mile. No, we are headed to a farmhouse in France, and doing it the Thrifty way, which as fellow Thrift-pickers will know is the interesting way. Our holiday will start at 2.30am when Mr Millard is going to put on his trainers and shorts and sound reveille for the family. Gathering around the Volvo, he will then drive us down to the station. Hey! We may be taking the nanny away with us but that doesn't mean we need to waste 20 on a minicab with crap suspension.

He will then drive home, park the car and run back to join us in the pre-dawn air at City HOMEWARE Spice on the run BOARD GAMES Plan your moves on the wing ORGANIC BODYCARE Beauty is more than skin deep Make yourself look beautiful on the outside and fed good on the inside with these completely natural products from TheOrgankSalonxom. The toiletries range, which Includes products for the body, face and hair, caters for the health -conscious and the environmentally aware. All the products are derived from an ethical and safe natural source, and the website gives full details of all the ingredients In every product so you can make an informed choke. We are what we eat the saying goes so, as more people make the switch to organic foods, shouldn't we also be taking Travelling can be boring, especially a long-haul Journey, so the luxury retailer Aasa Kennedy has added to its website this Grandmaster Chess set The chess set is magnetic so if you hit some bumpy waves on your journey me pieces is i From the makers of that most useful of tools, the Swiss army knife, comes a reliable salt and pepper dispenser, ft features a humidity-proof casing to keep your condiments fresh or you can store spices or pills in It Weighing ust 45g, ft ts light and small A wont roll off and disappear. In the current environment you cant (V since you are a balance transfer expert and thus experienced in the ways institutions wriggle out of Great Deals (pace Carphone Warehouse, Thrifty Living 29 Jury).

You must make sure the quote includes local tax, collision damage waiver, theft protection, unlimited mileage and the vehicle registration fee. If it doesn't, you will be charged extra. After this we will saunter around Bordeaux in a zombified state of sleep deprivation; eating half-cooked food scrounged from our fridge and brought over in a Lidl carrier (why waste it, after all?) before driving into the countryside of the Dordogne. Ten days of self-catering heaven in the land of foie gras and snails then awaits us, along with my mother-in-law, who doesn't like garlic. And I am a vegetarian.

Armed with last year's guide book, this year's recipe book and the sneaking suspicion that we will have an unremitting diet of baked beans on toast, I know it won't be long before we crumple, leave the kids with Granny and charge off, weeping with thrift-induced ketosis, to a Midielin-starred restaurant. There to do damage to the credit cards. take ft on a plane of course, but if perfect for other trips. The pieces are in care about what we apply on to our skin and hair? The products are effective, natural and chemical-free, and are certified so that you can be sure you're buying and using silver and black metal while the board is SAS I silver and black, chequered to the most organic sldncare available. Visit www.theorganksalon.com or telephone 0845 355 H57.

GADGETS Suck it and see make it a stylish yet enjoy mlessenc enough to fit into your bag or car glove-box. You just push up with your thumb to release the hinged lid and sprinkle away. So wherever you go in the great outdoors camping, caravanning, festivals, barbecuing -this little dispenser will serve you well. Priced at 9.99, the Swiss Spice is available from www.drinkstuff.com or call 0870 428 0958. able piece mtansiva BODY CREAM that would also I JLe OnsH i xsssw jinHvuu make a beautiful gift The board, priced at 28, measures Allergy-reducing vacuum cleaners are the latest household must-have from technical wizards LG.

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