LOOKING GOOD: Stripes are really in this season with everyone going for the nautical look, so get down the High Street and start hunting.

FLY TO THE MOON: Forget Spain, American or the South of France, people in the know are going into space on their holidays. Russian officials are allowing a Californian millionaire to become the first tourist in space. Dennis Tito will join the crew on a mission to the International Space Station on April 28. But if you fancy an out-of-this-world holiday there is a little bit more preparation needed than getting your jabs and ensuring your passport is up to date. Mr Tito completed gruelling training and has just passed his final astronaut exam by practising manoeuvres in a Russian Soyuz capsule simulator outside Moscow. And once in space he will be kept busy. The founder of an investment firm, Mr Tito has reportedly paid $20 million for the flight.

PLASTIC FANTASTIC: Barbie and Sindy dolls across the country must be rubbing their hands with glee. The new Action Man has been launched, modelled on hunks like David Beckham, Robbie Williams and Brad Pitt. He has been given a new look for his 35th birthday in September. His new face is made up of Russell Crowe's mouth, Beckham's nose, Pitt's jaw line, Tom Cruise's hair and Robbie Williams' blue eyes. The only thing that remains of the old Action Man is his trademark tough scar.

OLD SPICE: The latest fashion must-have is a wrinkly old man on your arm. Anne Nicole-Smith started it when she married an aged oil tycoon, then Catherine Zeta Jones got married and had a baby with the Hollywood OAP Michael Douglas. Amanda Holden went back to Les Dennis after a fling with a younger model. An unknown, but very pretty, graduate has hooked up with aged rocker Rod Stewart and model Heather Mills has declared her undying love for Paul McCartney, while Mrs Best is still standing by her husband George. Even teenagers are at it, with Billie Piper allegedly set to marry Chris Evans, who is fast approaching his 40s as she heads for 19. Now supermodel Sophie Dahl has been seen out smooching with Mick Jagger. The two things all these men have in common is money and media exposure but surely all these women couldn't be that shallow?

WEIGHTY ISSUE: We may all be sick of seeing the Popstars, Hear'Say, but whether you like them or loathe them, you have to admire the manufactured band. They have only been in the business a few months but have firmly held onto their images, determined not to be moulded into a manager's dream.

The Hear'Say girls have refused the celebrity diets and are enjoying life rather than spending their spare time doing sit-ups. But during a radio link last week, TFM's Judie McCourt compared the band's figures to that of Janet Jackson. She praised Janet's six pack and trim tum and then went onto say Hear'say were 'as fat as butter'. With so many young people following their idols into eating disorders, surely we all have a responsibility to promote healthy living and not criticise those who weigh more than seven stone.