Pandora

Geri Halliwell and Chris Evans - just good friends? Pandora is told that the Titian twosome are not only "stepping out together" but "planning to become engaged". Certainly hard to believe. But it may be that Ms Halliwell, who recently expressed her desire to start a family, has her own ginger productions in mind.

CONSERVATIVE CENTRAL Office could fall foul of new rules set by one of its own councils. Westminster City Council has recently brought in a scheme whereby rubbish is collected in distinctive pre-paid bags. According to Pandora's spies, CCO is still storing its waste in the original, and cheaper, black bin-liners. "They will have to pay if they want their waste collected," a council spokesman confirmed, adding, "failure to join the scheme will amount to a contravention of the Litter Act initially incurring a pounds 25 fine, and then the matter would be taken to court." However, the prospect of a mini winter of discontent mounting outside party headquarters doesn't worry the Tories. "There's more rubbish outside Labour's offices," a spokesman snarled.

A testimony to the art of protest. The gay activist who barracked Michael Portillo at his press conference on Tuesday night, staked out his place in Kensington Town Hall by staying in a toilet for three-quarters of an hour. He was said to be flushed with his own success.

THE JOURNALIST Tom Watt seemed to have his previous life in mind when he penned a recent column for the Sunday sporting newspaper Sport First. Watt, who is better known as Lofty from EastEnders, recently wrote about football in an article entitled "Losing touch with the people's game". The erstwhile actor asked the reader to pardon him for "name-dropping", and reeled off a list of footballing heroes to demonstrate his claim that stars of yesteryear were more accessible. "Think of Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Moore. Think of Duncan Edwards and even George Best," Watt flourished. "Think of Stanley Matthews and Albert Finney." Albert Finney? The only scoring he ever did was in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

Illustrations spoke louder than words at Tuesday night's celebration of A Century of Britain's Cartoonists. The former Tory minister and cartoon aficionado Kenneth Baker opened the British Airways/ London Press Club event at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. "Politicians, although they may have concerns about their portrayals, know that they have made it when they are featured in a cartoon," said Mr Baker, standing in front of a cartoon showing him being hit over the head with a handbag by his then boss, Margaret Thatcher.

CONGRATULATIONS TO the GQ team, led in exuberant fashion by its publishing director Peter Stuart at Tuesday night's charity A Question of Sport at Lords Cricket Ground. No plaudits, however, for Emlyn Hughes, the former England footballer, who confused the 400-metre runner Jamie Bauch with James Bulger. Incredibly, only the audience suffered from embarrassment.

Check out the latest in pet toys. It's called the Rackastack Rainbow Runner and it's a hamster wheel with a difference - it has a speedometer attached. "Tell how fast Hammy is running" is the slogan on the side of the gadget's packet, the whole thing is a snip at under a tenner.

IS THE information technology professional bloke a real catch? On the face of it, yes, as many of these highly paid men have ditched geekdom to dress in designer gear and drive around in sports cars. But if any girl is curious about online love, beware. The latest issue of Banking Technology reveals that most It Boys (as they're known) still believe that women find men who work with computers sexy. The real turn-offs are It Boys earning more than 100K. In a survey, all of them say they would prefer more money to more sex.