table talk

15 December 2003 by
table talk

Square Pie, oval balls and a round of crow

Any Aussies feeling sore after the Rugby World Cup could have eased their stomachs, if not their pride, at the new Square Pie concession in Selfridges Food Hall last Monday - the day of London's rugby parade.

Owner Martin Dewey came up with a special kangaroo, red onion, field mushroom and Merlot pie which, if asked for properly ("Can I please eat some Rugby Humble Pie?"), was accompanied by a free portion of mashed potato.

Sack the head coach and get a new head chef

And just in case you thought England's success in the Rugby World Cup was down to hard work and determination, think again. The real reason for their success, according to the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX), was the large dinner of lamb provided for the team before they left for Australia.

EBLEX chief executive David Croston said: "Of course, I put the win down to the expertise of our farmers and their wonderful, nourishing lamb."

Hmm, wonder why the All Blacks didn't make the final…

A hotel made of water? It must be a fire hazard

Alaska's fire brigade has halted the construction of an ice hotel, citing unspecified building code and public safety concerns.

The 30ft-high, seven-room Gothic palace was intended to be a tourist draw similar to ice hotels in Canada and Sweden. Creator Bernie Karl had planned to charge guests about £250 for a two-night stay. A fully functioning ice pipe organ and a turret to view the northern lights were planned.

Undeterred, Karl is going ahead, saying that he is now building a work of art rather than a hotel. The state fire authority said that the hotel could open in the future if safety concerns were addressed.

Binned burgers blowout blamed for bloated bruins

The USA's apparent love affair with communal obesity is now threatening the future of California's bear population, and once again it's burgers to blame.

The state's black bear population is suffering from obesity, with some beefy bruins now weighing in at 500-600lbs, about double their fighting weight.

While it might be reassuring for dieters that a black bear, capable of guzzling 25,000 calories a day, can be classified as obese, it is not good news. Many of the bears are being hit by cars, or shot by police officers as they stagger out of the Lake Tahoe forests, heading for the city to forage in the bins of fast-food restaurants.

Titanic souvenir menu tops Sotheby's sales list

A postcard-size lunch menu from the Titanic has sold for £28,800 at auction. The menu was the most successful lot among 14 items of memorabilia relating to the vessel, which raised a total of £70,344 at Sotheby's.

Second Officer Charles Lightoller is believed to have given the menu to his wife as a souvenir before he departed on the doomed vessel from Southampton. Its £28,800 price far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of £10,000.

The menu was bought by a private museum in Belfast, the city in whose famous shipyards the ill-fated liner was built.

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