State Of The Blog

This blog will no longer be updated as future posts will be uploaded to the  Posh Nosh Morsels Blog, labelled "Still Room Whispers".

Binge-drinking and the myth of minimum pricing

Eureka!
Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, has had the guts to stand up to the doctors pushing for price increases to combat alcohol abuse, saying their arguments are flawed.
Morning Advertiser, 19th December 2011

PubCo Shenanigans

As one who was once promised the earth by Inntrepreneur Estates, and then hounded for future rent when I slung the keys back at them, I like to keep abreast of what the current crop of PubCos are up to. And now, to top it all, the government which pledged to purge quangos has caved in to pressure not to legislate against the likes of Enterprise by setting up a "Pub Independent Conciliation Advisory Service" (PICAS) and a "Pubs Advisory Service" (PAS). (Morning Advertiser, 23rd November 2011)

 

The mind boggles.

Another tale of Nanny & The Food Police

Another example of Nanny Local Authorities meddling where there is no evidence of risk. A London burger chain has been bullied into ceasing to serve rare-cooked meat by a Council diktat.

Caterer, 14th November 2011

A Gluttony of Gastro-pubs

 Six weeks after I applauded the editor of the Good Food Guide for ditching the hackneyed term "gastro-pub", it seems that a Sunderland-based pubco - Tavistock Leisure - have different ideas. They are about to roll out both a gastro-pub franchise and an Italian concept - probably even less authentic than Jamie's, I suspect. (Morning Advertiser, 24th October 2011).

I like Sunderland - I spent a lot of time up there 20 years ago, running a couple of places in receivership, and I reckon they're a canny lot.........

Walking on egg-shells

Global finances are (again) in turmoil; Greece's economy is in meltdown, with Italy and Spain not far behind - public sector workers, in particular, scared about losing their jobs ........ but the EU has the time and the money to ensure that the people of Europe pay more for their eggs (Caterer, 10th October 2011). Cracking!

Black Sheep is not a Peculier Golden Goose!

     In the news earlier this week, with the report that control of the independent Theakstons' brewery has now passed to the next generation (Morning Advertiser, 2nd October 2011), the family firm is making headlines again by drawing attention to the unfairness of our excise duty rates by revealing that in the last financial year they paid 41% of annual turnover to HMRC (Morning Advertiser, 5th October 2011).

      Having discovered Theakston's Old Peculier back in the mid-seventies at the Anglesea Arms in South Ken, I had tremendous admiration for Paul when he disagreed with the rest of the family - hence "Black Sheep" - and went it alone.

One government after another goes for the perceived easy targets, but how long before the golden udders run dry?