Here I said `To hell with it' - I wanted to open it all the way

Here, I said, `To hell with it' - I wanted to open it all the way. I thought it was more interesting to see the shape ..." The background to the photograph, a white sheet thrown over a length of rope, was, incidentally, a favourite motif of Horst's contemporary, Clifford Coffin, and first used by Coffin a couple of years previously for British Vogue.Male nude, 1952In 1992 Horst published Form, a book of his photographs of nudes that showed his lifelong enthusiasm for the sculptural and the graphically linear. His nudes, especially those of men, show a debt to the classical. Horst's early mentor, Hoyningen-Huene, published a book on the sculpture and marbles of ancient Greece, and undoubtedly a little of his taste rubbed off on his young protege. Fellow German Herbert List made a lifetime's career of documenting the sensibilities of nameless, thousand-year-old Greek sculptors in a barely concealed homoerotic manner. Horst knew him well - they were roughly the same age and were photographing at around the same time, but in different worlds. Fresh from an unfulfilling apprenticeship with Le Corbusier, Horst appeared in some of Huene's photographs as a model.

His muscular physique, though youthful, was more pronounced than that of the kouroi (ancient images of Greek youths) both men admired, but Huene's portraits in the "Greek style" were judged as successes. "Both George and I had this extraordinary feeling about Greece," Horst explains. "The physical beauty of the men and women, the sun, the fresh air, the sea. We often tried to duplicate the lighting of the Acropolis at sunset." Horst's later nudes, like this one, were not so artfully contrived, but retain as their template the classical sculptures he discovered under Hoyningen-Huene's influence. `Horst P Horst', Hamiltons gallery, 13 Carlos Place, London W1 (0171-499 9494), 25 June to 31 August. THE FUNKY New from Sweden, the 15 litre to 25 litre hard-shell Boblbee day-pack may make you look like the trendiest turtle in town, but it is ergonomically designed to provide impact protection and lumbar support. Available in 10 different colours, there's space to strap on your snowboard or basketball, and a separate "sweat bag" to take all your smelly bits home in without polluting the other contents.To buy: pounds 110 from Back2, 28 Wigmore Street, London W1H 9DF (0171-935 0351 or 0800 374 604 for mail order).THE GLAMOROUS:Despite the fact that it's made from nylon, the S Backpack is a chic little daypack that has just been launched in department stores nationwide.Designed to look good around town rather than down on the farm, it is available in brown, black, and maroon and has a black leather trim and slinky silver zips.The 10- litre capacity should be just what a girl needs to hold her weekly supplies of Evian.To buy: pounds 65 from Circa (0171-924 6180 for stockists or mail order)THE PRACTICAL:The Stowaway Sac is a handy little seven-litre bum bag that niftily expands when needed into a 25-litre daypack.

It's made from durable Cordura nylon and has the kind of padded straps and back panel you'll need if you fancy stepping out on a long hike. Available in a combination of black and evergreen, you can get a peek before you buy simply by logging into the website at: www.eaglecreek To buy: pounds 40 from Eagle Creek (01539 733842 for stockists or mail order). Mood Unprepossessing factory-block appearance hides 410 acres of family holiday goodies. AccommodationLavish condos with space-age gadgetry - you'll still be discovering American- style Ideal Home mod cons when it the time comes to leave. Suites are self-catering, with restaurants and room service available.BeachNine miles of silver sands with a wide selection of watersports. Perfect for shelling and pelican watching.ActivitiesTwelve miles of jogging- and cycle-tracks, a fitness centre, 38 tennis courts with tuition, 45 championship golf holes, a kids club for five- to 12-year-olds providing field trips, games and watersports.RefuellingFive restaurants, but stick to junk food, self-catering or room service - whatever you do, avoid anything labelled gourmant. As a rule of thumb, the more expensive the restaurant, the worse the value.The resortFew Brits: more upmarket than St Petersburg or Clearwater with orchestra, theatre, the Ringling Museum of Art, and the Mote Marine Laboratory.Sample priceTotal cost for a family of four with two children under 11: one week for pounds 3,058; two weeks for pounds 4,369, including flights, car rental, insurance and a two-bedroom Gulf view suite. Available from: Special Places (01992 509500).Longboat Key Club, 301 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, Florida 34228 United States Tel: 001 941 3838821.

Self-drive camping specialist Eurocamp (01606 787878) has cut prices by as much as pounds 140 on some European sites for holidays commencing on or between 10-30 July. The price of a week's holiday starting 10 July at Duinrell on the Dutch coast near a water theme park is pounds 550 for a family of up to six people (two adults, four children) - a saving of pounds 70. The price includes Channel crossing by ferry and fully equipped tent accommodation. Select France (01865 331350) is offering pounds 80 savings on mobile home holidays completed by the end of July in camp sites in Brittany, the Vendee, Charente Maritime and the south of France. A week for up to six costs pounds 509 in early July (including ferry crossings).Whatever happened to family togetherness? "It seems a bit sad that we've been inundated with requests from parents for a millennium holiday for their children," says unaccompanied children's specialist PGL (01989 764211).

Parents wanting to get shot of their offspring for a short break will be able to park their six- to 16-year-olds at one of five centres located in England and Wales for pounds 279 for four days of fun activities over the millennium. The children will even be allowed to stay up and see the new millennium in.Designed to provide shelter on the beach (or in the garden) and offer high UVB protection, lightweight mini-tents cost pounds 24.99 for a Baby Cabana and pounds 49.95 for the larger Pod. The tents are currently available in large Mothercare stores and by mail order from 01923 240365.. MAY 1989 reminds me of aching calves, beautiful French countryside - and the Everton and Liverpool FA Cup Final. My boyfriend and I were visiting France together for the first time, and we had opted for one of those cushy cycling tours where your luggage is carried from location to location by the travel company. My main prerequisite was a bike with more than one gear - I had spotted those close-knit contour lines on the map in our travel kit; my boyfriend, a life-long Reds fan, merely desired a radio or television on the day of the big match.