Jamie Oliver? Up and coming again?
Jamie Oliver is successfully raising his profile in the States but, appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show, he let things fly out of control. Succumbing to the programme makers' wishes, he drove into the studio on his scooter. The floor was highly polished and his tyres were brand new.
"The scooter flew about a metre in the air and landed on my chest," Oliver says. "I had a really silky body warmer on and I slid about three and a half metres, my arms in a sort of Superman pose, using my chin as a brake."
The cheeky chappie felt like "a complete dick" but the audience loved it. "I think they thought I did it on purpose. I jumped up and they gave me a cheer." He escaped with minor bruises.
Landlady wears the trousers
Britain's top landlady award has gone to a man. Hotelier Bob Isles, 53, from Northern Ireland, has won the AA Landlady of the Year 2003 title.
He and his wife Siobhan have run Whitepark House in Ballintoy, County Antrim, since 1991.
Tourism minister Kim Howells said: "There has long been a Dickensian image of the landlady as a sharp-tongued, stony-faced matriarch. These awards illustrate just how ill informed this view is - not least because the winner is a man."
Bad beer habits will lead to viewers' droop
Bar staff in soap operas such as EastEnders and Coronation Street are spreading bad beer habits, according to the organisers of a new initiative aimed at improving the image of beer.
The organisers of Beer Naturally, say they have spotted a host of bad practices that would never be tolerated in any decent pub. Dr Paul Hegarty, a brewing scientist, looked at the way beer was pulled in fictional pubs such as the Queen Vic in EastEnders, the Rovers Return in Coronation Street, and the Dog in the Pond in Hollyoaks.
Green politician sows the seeds of love
A Spanish politician is offering half-price hotel love to youngsters of southern Spain in a blatant attempt to win votes in local elections.
Green party mayoral candidate for Granada, Francisco Garrido, pledged that if he wins the election he will give people up to 25 years old "sex vouchers" that will allow them to stay at local hotels at half-price rates.
Young people in mainly Catholic Spain tend to live at home longer, making intimacy tricky. Garrido said allowing couples to ditch the local park or lay-by in favour of a hotel was an important personal liberty.
Savoy Grill eat and run: one is not amused
Sometimes you wonder what the world is coming to. Not one week into its new life under Marcus Wareing, the Savoy Grill - sacred haven of MPs, royals and other noble sorts - was graced with the custom of two outwardly respectable chaps.
They ate like kings, ran up a £250 bill, and then told the waiter who brought their coffees that one of them was going to check with the concierge about their car, while the other loudly proclaimed that "one is going to the toilet". The waiter returned to the kitchen and was told to make up fresh cups.
But when, after a delay, they still hadn't returned, it dawned on staff that the bounders had scarpered.