Talking scents

Words: Sophy Grimshaw. Photography: Rex Features

SMELL IS SAID to be the sense with the strongest links to memory, which may be why Harvey
Nichols (in Manchester and London, or shop online at www.harveynichols.com) recently launched Memo, a range of perfumed bathroom goodies and candles designed to evoke the essence of
global destinations. Escape with Moscow Glow, a spicy, red berry fragrance, or Lalibela which takes
its name and coconut scent from Ethiopia. Following the travel theme, too, is Yankee Candle’s
(www.yankeecandle.co.uk) new scented range – try Mediterranean Cypress for a fragrance that smells like pure holiday. And candle-maker Rachel Vosper has aimed to capture the spirit of
Barbados with a scented candle range called Ei8ht (www.ei8ht.com). “I went there with
a boyfriend who was a diving instructor and ended up staying and founding a perfume business,”
she tells voyager. Her special ingredients? Stargazer lily, jasmine and ylang-ylang.

Memories are all well and good, but nothing can beat being in these places for real, of course…

Good sports

The countdown to the Commonwealth
Games in Glasgow has begun, although
sports fans will have to wait until 2014.
The city’s feeling loud and proud about
its winning bid to host the event, which
is expected to draw hundreds of thousands
of visitors. They’ll get to watch 6,000
athletes from 71 countries competing
in the 10-day, multi-discipline Games.
More than that, the long-term legacy
of hosting the Commonwealth Games
means new and improved sports facilities
in and around Glasgow, and there are
related benefits for local transport,
housing and the environment;
www.glasgow2014.com

FAMOUS FOOTSTEPS

“Every traffic jam is a
retail opportunity in Dakar.
Salesmen come offering
an array of carved heads,
sunglasses, hi-fiequipment,
shirts and cutlery. So slow
is our progress that at one
point salesman’s enthusiasm
successfully coincides with
occupant’s boredom, and
Peter, our camera assistant,
purchases some irresistible
electronic bargain.”
Michael Palin describes his visit to Dakar in
Sahara (£8.99, Phoenix)

LOVE AND LUXE

Nothing says luxury quite like caviar, or like
those three little words… Yves Saint Laurent!
And so few things could be more delicious
than Caviar House and Prunier’s (look for
branches in Zurich, Copenhagen and London)
latest collaboration – limited-edition caviar
tins adorned with YSL ‘love’ artwork from the
1970s. It’s a great way to tell somebody you
love them, not least because it costs £295
for 125g; www.caviarhouse-prunier.com