And if you had it in 96, boy you could blow it

THE waiting list for the ultra sporty Mercedes SLK is growing. Prospective owners of the stylish two seater, launched in this country in November, will had to wait up to 12 months for their flash new motor. There are now 100 patient people on the list for the car which retails at £39,500. (A snip when compared with the top of the range Merc, the CL coupe, which costs £137,000 and sold better than ever in Ireland in 1996).

It's first year in business, Druid's Glen golf club took in a massive £1 million worth of green fees. That's a lot of people with lemon V necks and plaid trousers willing to stump lip £65 a game. And it's not the most expensive course in the country - Mount Juliet (which took in £850,000) costs up to £75 a game and the K Club took in £700,000 (at up to £110 per game).

THE opening of two big label shops, Gucci and Prada, within Brown Thomas and the launch of the Jil Sander label in the same shop shows that despite the ever increasing number of high street chain stores, there are enough people out there willing to pay big money for high style. Before they even arrived in the shop in August, there was a waiting list for Jil Sander's winter coats - at £2,000 a pop - and classic Gucci suits at £1,000 sold out as fast as the shop could get them in. By comparison, Prada, the fashion victim's best friend, whose range includes teeny weeny make up bags in 100% nylon for a mere £56 seemed a downright bargain.

DON'T even bother wrapping that M & S velour sleepsuit or think you're a bit flash for springing for a solid silver baby's hairbrush - the Christening present of the year in south Dublin was a child sized, fully motorised Mercedes SL. The petrol driven mini motor (you can buy them in Harrods toy department for £8,000) was given to Kirsten Hopkins Kean, daughter of the very sociable solicitor to the stars, Gerald Kean, and his wife, Clodagh.

THE only way to celebrate your birthday this year was to round up around 100 of your best friends and take them on a Mediterranean cruise. It's how Michael Smurfit marked his 60th birthday in August, and while the costs of a pleasure trip on the Sea Goddess can only be imagined, it's bound to have been quite a bit more than a modest do in the local.

ART at auction had a very good year. A Jack B. Yeats, Farewell to Mayo, sold in London for £800,000 to an unnamed buyer, while in Irish auction rooms a Paul Henry sold for £104,000. Lots consistently made more than their reserve - eight silver salt sellers which were pegged at £6,000 went for £17,000, while an oval mahogany table estimated at £12,000 went for £17,000.

HIGH class florists had a bumper year. The Flowerman in Dublin's Powerscourt Shopping Centre counts as one of its best clients an Irish based German businessman who is known as a superb host. For the past year he has taken to ordering the full flower treatment for every room in his house every time he hosts a dinner party which is on average twice a month. His flower bill alone comes to around £700 for each dinner.

KEEPING up the Joneses in 1996 had more to do with what was outside your home than what was inside it. The ultimate front gate accessory was a van with Classic Gardens of Dun Laoghaire on it. It signalled to one and all that you were getting your garden made over by the most fashionable landscapers around. Prices for a fully landscaped suburban garden range from £7,000 to £10,000 - though this year, the very busy company landscaped a smallish garden for which the bill came to £35,000.