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15 August 2023

This England: That takes the cake

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the NS since 1934.

By New Statesman

A poster for a West End play featuring a wedding cake was banned by Transport for London (TfL) because it was seen to promote “foods high in fat, salt and sugar”.

The ad for Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, a dinner show at Wonderville, Haymarket, featured a three-tiered sponge cake.

Its producer Paul Gregg said the posters could not run after they were delivered to TfL. “They said ‘you can’t put these up, they’ve got cake on’,” he said. “It was a bit of a surprise.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “We welcome all advertising on our network that complies with our published guidance.”
BBC London
(Linda Calvey)

Jail bird

A pigeon has been handed a death sentence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, in what one lawyer described as a “dastardly” act.

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Security staff were left stunned when, along with the usual solicitors, sheriffs and accused, a pigeon strolled through the front doors.

The curious bird flew up to a chandelier out of reach. It could not be coaxed down, so eventually pest control experts were drafted in – and the bird was dispatched.

Aberdeen Press and Journal
(Ron Grant)

The end of creation

Council chiefs are under fire for “butchering” trees to stop people having sex under them. Plymouth council – already slammed for cutting down 110 trees last month – said workers have regularly had to “clean up sex and drug paraphernalia”.

One local tweeted: “Good job the garden of Eden wasn’t in Plymouth. Adam would never have got his leg over.”
Metro
(Amanda Welles)

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This article appears in the 16 Aug 2023 issue of the New Statesman, Russia’s War on the Future