Furlong goes the extra mile for charity
Last month Tony Furlong, general manager of Manchester's Midland hotel, was arrested in the city centre, handcuffed and frogmarched to Newton Street police station. His crime? Being a Yorkshireman. The verdict? Guilty as charged. Luckily for Furlong, this was all in the name of a charity called "Lock up your Boss". Staff nominate a boss to be banged up for a day. The offender can be released only when he's raised enough bail money, which is donated to Manchester's St Anne's Hospice. Bail for the Yorkshireman, who keeps a framed photo of a whippet on his desk, was set at £1,000. He said: "When I tried to ring members of staff at the Midland, surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, lots of their phones were switched off." Eventually Furlong managed to raise more than £1,500.
The Governator strikes a blow for bird life
California will end the force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras by 2012 under legislation signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Animal rights advocates called the action "a major victory for ducks and geese". Supporters of the ban say it's needed to stop the birds being fed huge amounts of food three times a day through a tube inserted into their throats. The practice enlarges the birds' livers up to 10 times their normal size before they are slaughtered. Producers will have seven years to evolve a more humane way for a goose to consume grain to increase its liver size through natural processes. European countries are already phasing out force-feeding.
Perhaps they're all keen magazine readers
Health authorities in Prague say a campaign to encourage people to give blood in return for beer has been a success. Bus-loads of Czechs have turned up for the free beer and magazine subscription promised to donors. The campaign was organised to coincide with the five-day St Wenceslas Beer Festival in the Czech capital.
Temptation in a bucket from il Colonello
Customers at Prezzo Italian restaurant in Dorking, Surrey, could soon see a new dish on the menu. The chef was spotted tucking into it in the dining room during service last weekend. Unfortunately, the packaging gave away the fact that it came from a rival establishment. Somehow, Kentucky Fried Pollo doesn't have quite the same ring.