Ice Artisan in Falkirk has previously
marketed several unusual flavours,
including Strongbow Dark Fruit,
Monster Energy and Jammie Dodger,
but some think the new offering is a
taste too far. Now on sale is their
mayonnaise-flavoured ice cream, made
by mixing Hellman’s mayonnaise with
the firm’s home-made dairy ice cream
which is pasteurised on-site. Owner Kyle
Gentleman says reaction has been
“overwhelming.” “People actually enjoy
it once they try it,” he says, adding that it
tastes, “creamy and smooth.” However,
opinion has been divided on social
media sites.
While some have express disgust, others
have proclaimed they would walk 500
miles to get their hands on it ... (OK - we
apologise for that one.)
Boys in Blue
Shop workers in south-west England
have been told by police not to call 999
to report shop-lifters, but to contact the
thieves’ parents instead. The Devon and
Cornwall force has reportedly advised
that suspects be held for no more than
30 minutes before being released. A
security worker has claimed to have
been told by police that officers no
longer have time to deal with low-value
thefts and will only turn out if the goods
stolen are worth over £200 (€225).
However, the Devon and Cornwall force
has denied such a policy exists. What
exists without question, however, is
rampant shop lifting on the force’s
patch. The manager of one large store in
Truro has claimed he is losing £800
(€900) a month from the theft of alcohol
alone.
And police have ticked off a shopkeeper
in Essex for distributing 100 posters
showing the face of a thief who stole an
electronic device from him. James
Callaghan became a DIY detective when
CCTV footage captured a clear image of
the culprit inside his shop in Colchester
as he pocketed a £250 Samsung tablet.
James then printed posters of the image
with the caption, “Recognise this man?”
and distributed them locally. However,
he was stunned when community police
officers told him that the poster
breached data protection laws.
In a statement, Essex Police admitted the
officers were “misguided” in their data
protection advice as James, the owner of
the images, can do what he likes with
them. No mention was made of
retraining the officers involved,
however. Two days later, the thief took
the tablet to a pawn shop where staff
were able to get his finger prints to the
27
police and return the tablet to James. No
arrest has been made so far.
Ooops! Moments
A flower-filled meadow in Sidmouth,
being monitored for Sir David
Attenborough’s Big Butterfly Count, has
been turned into a “desert” by a hapless
council worker. The employee was told
to cut a pathway linking a car park to
gates in the field so that local people
could walk into town, but he
“misunderstood.” Instead, he used his
sit-on mower to raze the entire nine-acre
wildflower meadow which had been
blooming with a huge range of flora
including orchids and bristling with
butterflies, birds and insects. A dismayed
nature-lover arrived the following day to
find just a single cabbage white fluttering
sadly by. Officials at East Devon District
Council have apologised for the gaffe.
Vikki Ruttert of Edenbridge in Kent had
a great idea when her cousin’s 21st
birthday came around. She bought a
beautiful ruby ring for £120 (€135) and
to make it even more special, placed the
gift inside a large helium-filled balloon
sprinkled with gold confetti. (You can see
what’s coming, can’t you?)
Continued overleaf