Being retired sucks (or not)…
Being retired sucks (or not)
It seems former Compass UK boss Don Davenport is struggling to come to terms with life outside the fast lane since he retired last summer. Although the affable former chief executive has apparently found time to clear the leaves from his garden, he's finding life more troublesome inside the home. According to one source, he tried his hand at vacuum cleaning but was stumped when he couldn't find the button to turn it on. Has nobody got a non-exec director job they can offer Don to get him out of the house?
Advert idea was ap Kent brewer Shepherd Neame may have finally overstepped the mark with ads for its Spitfire ale. Its most recent effort, which ran in the London Evening Standard, was described as "grossly offensive" for including the Nazi SS insignia. The ad was in the form of a crossword clue: "German lager, four letters." The answer, "SS", featured the offending emblem. (Piss - geddit?) The brewer defended the campaign, saying it used wartime humour at the expense of the Germans, "similar to that used in the TV programmes ‘Allo ‘Allo and Dad's Army". Ofcom, er, agreed. There are no plans to run the ad again.
Which? becomes why not? Consumer champion Which? clammed up last week when pressed for details on its UK motorway service station survey. It scored sites from one to five, based on a wide range of factors. What about the individual food scores? The best places to eat? Value for money? The report didn't shed any light - "we ate well and we ate poorly," it said, not very helpfully. When asked by Caterer for some food facts, a Which? spokeswoman said she couldn't let us have them. And why not? The bastion of consumer truth and fairness said it didn't have to tell us that either.
Carlsberg's new pitch
Carlsberg intends to launch new types of beer to replace wine on the dinner table. Outlining its plans, the Danish company said that its beer market is to be enlarged by developing "new consumption scenarios" and "new target groups". Not just football fans down the pub, then? Will it work? Given that Carlsberg is a founding partner of the new Wembley stadium, we'll just have to wait and see.