But does the business of asking celebrities to portray themselves amount to anything more than the filmic equivalent of name-dropping? Wenders, who is nothing if not knowing, would surely insist that his reasons for shuffling actual and created characters in this way is far more serious than an exercise in showing off the size of his Rolodex. I was one of two Westerners in the restaurant, and one of the few female guests in a sea of businessmen. At 7am, presenters Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin are grinning wildly on the step of the converted cottages in East London from which Planet 24, Bob Geldof's production company, is launching its Mission to Entertain. A man in his mid- sixties pointed to a picture of Selina Scott in the Standard 'Real or false?' he asked his nonplussed wife.

It's up to them to sack me if they wish.'On a happier note, Chandappa Nagaraj, the BCCI secretary, announced that Zimbabwe had been invited to India for a one-off Test - their first overseas - and three one-day internationals in March.In Melbourne, Australia are expected to field all three of their fast bowlers in the second Test against the West Indies on Boxing Day while their opponents seem set to drop one of theirs. 2, and it is an open secret in Newmarket that he also declined the chance to succeed Cauthen as stable jockey to Henry Cecil.Nobody would place Kinane, 33, in the Eddery league of racing's mega-earners, but each year he is almost guaranteed the title of Irish champion by virtue of his association with Weld, and his winter trips to Hong Kong are said to be highly lucrative.Catherine, his wife, has been reluctant to leave Ireland, and though Kinane could continue to base himself in the Republic, the fact that most of the Sheikh's horses are trained in Newmarket and France means that he would spend much of his time in aeroplanes. RICHARD GOUGH, the injured Rangers captain, hopes to be able to lead the runaway Premier Division leaders against his old club, Dundee United, today. The subtext is: these books will sell, and make lots of money, and will not end up in the pulping machine. Swindon has been headquarters to W H Smith since 1985.