It's a choker as tanners upset christmas pud police
Sainsbury's hopes of selling Christmas puddings with "lucky sixpences" inside have fallen foul of health and safety laws. The supermarket had spent months collecting the coins, withdrawn from circulation in 1971. But it isn't allowed to insert them into the puddings because they "constitute a choking hazard". Instead they are providing a collector's card with the coin attached that you can place under a plate or table mat for a lucky family member to find.
Admiral was all at sea
Able Seaman - the lowest naval rank - Martin Cummings once served on an aircraft carrier. Forty years later, as the owner of Amberley Castle, Sussex, he hosted a dinner to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. His guests were eight admirals of the Royal Navy, one of whom was his captain all those years ago. Unfortunately, not having seen Cummings since 1965, the officer thought he was the hotel gardener.
US red tape scuppers British relief effort
The USA has blocked the distribution of 357,000 British ration packs sent out to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina, amid fears they might be infected with mad cow disease. A consignment of food packs, some of which were vegetarian, left RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire after a request for help from the US authorities. The high-calorie meals, which are routinely consumed by British soldiers, arrived by plane in Arkansas and were shipped to New Orleans. But food inspectors intercepted 357,000 of the packs and stopped them going any further because they were deemed to contravene the ban which has been in place since the BSE crisis. The meals are still languishing in a warehouse while the USA tries to find a suitable foreign recipient.
Breakfast could have led to a spell of porridge
Winner of the Good Hotel Guide 2006 Cesar Award for Best Town House Hotel in the UK, Browns hotel in Tavistock, Devon, has decided to reduce the level of whisky in its breakfast porridge. Two guests were stopped by police on Dartmoor after scoffing large portions before setting off. Smelling the fumes inside the car, the officers decided to breathalyse them, but luckily the guests weren't over the limit.