It's Written In The Stars A spectacular exhibition of astronomy currently touring the world shows the exquisite link between two Italian giants: Astronomer Galileo Galilei and luxury watchbrand Officine Panerai. The groundbreaking telescope of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei may not appear to be the obvious companion for luxury watchmaker Officine Panerai. Of course, there’s the shared Florentine origins, but more significantly the Italian brand’s continued search for technological perfection through its timepieces mirrors Galileo’s own quest for personal and scientific breakthroughs. To honour this link, Panerai has decided to lend its support to a remarkable exhibition dedicated to the discoveries of the genius from Pisa. This year marks the fourth centenary of the first astronomical observations made by Galileo with his telescope. To mark these extraordinary events, worldwide celebrations are being carried out in 2009. Adding to the significance is the fact that the United Nations has officially proclaimed this year the International Year of Astronomy. The exhibition provides a comprehensive history of the telescope, from the pioneers that developed the building blocks eventually used by Galileo to construct his instrument, the astronomical observations he made with it, through to other visionaries that such as Newton that built on the Italian’s work. The show’s global journey began with a bang in October 2008 in Beijing, where it exhibited till January 2009. Its other scheduled destinations are Philadelphia, between April and August 2009, and Stockholm, from October 2009 to January 2010 at the prestigious Nobel Museum.

Meeting Every Request Butler service is a growing trend, especially in top hotels and resorts. They are constantly on call, whether to pack or unpack suitcases, make restaurant reservations, fix a stubborn Internet connection or simply prepare a Jacuzzi. “Ask your butler to do it and you shouldn’t need to ask again,” says The Dharmawangsa public relations manager Lira Dachlan. While butler service is always expanding, it is also changing in character. These days, a butler must still perform all the roles of the traditional butler without seeming too, well, butler-ish. The common understanding is that a butler was a servant in a great house of the past. The household was sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar and pantries. Butlers used to work their way up from the bottom and belong to clubs, but today tend to go to butler schools and belong to guilds such as the International Institute of Modern Butlers and the Guild of Professional English Butlers. The job of a butler is to internalise the many functions of a hotel inside the body of one resourceful, always-available person. To that end, the butler is the equivalent of a “gopher” – for requests both large and small. St Regis Bali Resort is the first in the chain to have opened in Indonesia. Its signature butler service is known worldwide. While Hotel Mulia Senayan is a local hospitality operator that provides world-standard butler service, The Dharmawangsa claims to be the pioneer, with almost 13 years of service under its silver salver.