Table talk

So what happens if you order plates of meat?

Restaurants which buy their fish and meat from Cutty Catering Specialists may be scratching their heads over the name of the company, formed by the management team to buy it from the administrator of Fish plc. Well, Table Talk can reveal that Lillian & Sexton was inspired by Cockney rhyming slang and is a juxtaposition of the names of silent-screen goddess Lillian Gish (fish) and fictional detective Sexton Blake (steak). Would you Adam-and-Eve it?

1914 - the original tubber-wear party

A DIP into the British Hospitality Association's archives shows that hygiene was a big talking point in 1914. Many London hotels were installing baths for the first time, and in the association's monthly reports there was much talk about the health risks involved. Dr Charles Alvans Whitney, a leading physician from New York, who seemed to have a morbid fear of baths, observed: "The bathtub habit is little short of sin… Modern hotels accommodate a multitude of transient guests throughout the year, any one of whom may leave behind him infectious microbes as souvenirs to be appropriated by the nextcomer." OK, a shower it is, then.

And in the next machine, Sunny Delight

… and Britain, with around 200 rainy days a year, is undoubtedly a great place to get caught in a shower. Although the average household owns an estimated four umbrellas, when it chucks it down you rarely find one on your person. So the Hilton London Metropole has installed an umbrella vending machine outside its entrance for a four-week trial, selling them for £4.99 each. Grant Hearn, managing director of Hilton UK & Ireland, said: "We are excited to be involved in the trial of this different and pioneering product. The weather is out of control, but we are delighted we are now able to ensure our guests can prepare for any possibility - even if they do leave their umbrellas at home."

When you ask for a pint of snakebite…

Drinking may be bad for your health (depending on who you believe), but a visit to a small pub and restaurant in Velke Dravce in Slovakia could be fatal, now that the owner has announced that he wants to get a pet crocodile to join his collection of snakes and other reptiles. For more than four years, Barnabas Bolsco has been serving customers pints as pythons and salamanders slither round his feet. His biggest attraction is a 15ft python which, despite its dangerous reputation, has not put people off. Customers have got so used to the exotic creatures that Bolsco says he now wants to move a crocodile into the bar. He said: "It's my dream to make this living museum of mine a bit richer with a crocodile."

Don't cry for me, onion-cleaner

Chefs may no longer be crying over the dreaded task of peeling onions, with the launch of a new crop of mild onions. The vegetable is said to be sweeter, milder and (crucially) does not bring tears to the eyes of those peeling them. Supasweet onions, available from supermarkets this month, were created after Government-funded research found a way of analysing the strength of the vegetable for the first time.