Table Talk

A knockabout farce on grass In preparation for the Dubai Open tennis tournament, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer couldn't resist having a friendly knockabout on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab hotel. Covered with grass, the helipad was transformed into the highest tennis court ever. A well-judged lob could have sent either star plunging 321 metres below into the Arabian Gulf. Thankfully, both survived and Federer went on to win the tournament.

Which way will I vote? Think I'll sleep on it In his enthusiasm to shout about the fantastic new conference facilities at Macdonald's Aviemore Highland Resort, MD Sean Sullivan got carried away. After revealing that every major Scottish political party will hold this year's conference at the revamped resort, Sullivan said the hotel has the technology to digitally transmit speeches live into each bedroom. Hmmm… so that means delegates won't even have to get out of bed and walk across the car park to find out what's going on. Sullivan paused: "On second thoughts, I'm not sure we should be advertising that."

Goring's last ride marks the end of an era There were horsey goings-on at the Goring hotel in London last week as George Goring celebrated his retirement at a "dismounting party". Goring is handing over the management reins to his son Jeremy. Goring senior used to ride the Queen Mother's stable of 20 horses, and once owned a racehorse called the Boring Goring. He confessed: "I was a terrible jockey, always falling off. That's why I've had so many broken bones. Still, my motto is never blame yourself, always blame the horse." (See next week's Caterer for an interview with the Gorings).

Caution: wet paint on the waitresses
A bar in Chile is attracting crowds for the way its waitresses are "dressed". At the El Trolley bar in Valparaiso, waitresses are covered only by body paint and a thong. They're part of an art project by photographer Hube Salamanca, who received more than 500 requests from women wanting to take part. The photographer is documenting the activities in the bar for an exhibition.