They lack the deeply evocative mood that marks his paintings, and the colouring is done by a hand other than his own, but they are nonetheless wonderful pictures and very reasonably priced. It all sounds like a civilised and enjoyable way of buying a picture for Christmas.Small is Beautiful, Flowers East, 199/205 Richmond Road E8 (0181-985 3333). The Christmas Show, Wiseman Originals, 34 West Square SE11 (0171- 587 0747)ART EXTRAFor a broader choice, albeit in less conducive surroundings, you could do worse than the 6th Annual Cork Street Fair – an open weekend in the capital’s most famous art street. Rather unsportingly, the doors of some of the more fashionable venues will remain shut, but 14 galleries will be open until 6pm today and tomorrow..

Pete Tong’s extensive CV means that he will always have something to fall back on, which might explain his uniquely relaxed approach to DJing

Pete Tong runs his own record label, kicks off the weekend with his Friday evening Essential Selection on Radio 1, and has seen Ministry of Sound’s Annual III and his own Essential Selection compilation go gold. He commands a massive following on airwaves and dancefloors alike, and on New Year’s Eve headlines at the UK’s most successful club, MoS. Not bad for a man who considers DJing a “hobby”.
“Maybe I’ve lasted so long because I’ve always treated it as such,” he muses. “I was never really under pressure to earn the rent from DJ work alone.”In 1983, he began his first London club residency before joining London Records.

His work with the company has been constant despite numerous excursions into DJing. “Most people know me as a radio and club DJ, but really I consider that stuff to be a laugh, albeit a very successful laugh.”I go into Radio 1 every Friday night with the attitude that I’m just going up there to play a bunch of my favourite records.”After talking for a while with Tong, it is hard to suppress the feeling that clubland holds few surprises for him any more. You might think that any DJ who doesn’t get a buzz from playing live to thousands of people is probably dead, yet Tong’s nonchalance stems from the fact that he’s seen it, heard it and played it, and has left the building looking for a new sound.”I only go to clubs for two reasons,” he says “To play or to check out something new. I was never the sort of person to do three gigs a night every weekend.”DJs like [Jeremy] Healy and [Judge] Jules obviously say `I’m only going to be at the top of this game for so long, so I’d better do as much as possible’ They obviously give value for money. But because I’ve always had this job with the record company, it’s a different challenge.”If I’m going to play I want it to be in a nice place with nice people and good equipment.