Table talk

Well, he couldn't fault the informal atmosphere

An acquaintance was reminiscing the other day about a trip to a delightful guesthouse on the Orkney Islands. Apparently, as soon as he had settled in, the landlord and landlady informed him that he was the only guest and they would not be serving dinner. As Sunday on the islands is not the best day to foray out to a restaurant, he found himself at a bit of a loss, so they kindly invited him to join them. As soon as the meal was over, however, the couple announced that they were going out for the rest of the evening and that they had better show him how to use the till and serve drinks in the bar should any customers drop in. Though astonished, he meekly complied. The next morning he got his own back, however, by presenting his card - from the STB grading department. No doubt their faces were a picture.

At least it travels well

Wines being served too young is a routine problem on restaurant wine lists, but rarely has it been so openly admitted as in Eurostar's offering on the train to France. One recent Burgundy for premium first passengers (£250 each way) was described as having youth and tannins "that suggest a great future". We don't want to be too picky, but there isn't much chance for serious ageing on the three-hour journey to Paris.

But first you have to tank them up on lager

Asian food manufacturer Sharwoods of Cheshire has started to run its delivery lorries on poppadoms - well, almost. It has been persuaded by local scientist and inventor Stephen Whittaker to try his recycling process, which converts used vegetable oil into a fuel substitute called e-diesel. Since meeting Whittaker, Sharwoods has started using the oil from deep-frying its poppadoms to fuel its lorries. And with Britons munching their way through 200 million of the Asian snacks each year, there is certainly no risk of the raw material running out.

Or maybe the taverns had some really tough mice

Archaeologists digging on the site of the Millennium Hall in Durham have discovered that bar meals served at pubs in the city in the 18th century had a secret ingredient of a distinctly feline nature. The area was once occupied by several taverns and the dig has revealed an unusually high number of cat bones. Student Florence Drew told the Northern Echo: "Lots of cat bones were found, which points to some chefs serving cat in stew and pretending it was hare or chicken."

Beerking suffers from premature inauguration

Top marks for premature launching must go to ale-purchasing consortium Beerking. Launched with the slogan "a dot.com with a difference", it seems the company's Web site is currently no more than an advertisement directing independent publicans to the phone line to sign up for membership. And, once a member, what can one expect to buy? Apparently, that's still under discussion. The whole thing leaves Table Talk feeling a little flat.