Table Talk

Saturday night's all right for… cocoa and early to bed
A pub landlord is so fed up with punters causing trouble on Saturday nights that he's calling time early - at 6pm. Nick Taylor of the Royal Oak in Corsham, Wiltshire, took the drastic step because customers were abusing his staff, vandalising his premises, and urinating outside. He's recouping the lost income by opening at 9.30am to serve English breakfasts. Taylor said: "Most of our regulars would leave at about 7pm and we'd be left with people who had been drinking all day in other establishments and were pretty much the worse for wear. I used to dread it." Fortunately for Taylor, the breakfasts have been a real hit. "We had 25 people in this weekend, including locals and families," he said. "It's great. Now the staff and I get Saturday nights off."

Disney sound like much fun for the kids
One of Hong Kong's tiny islands could make a killing with a novel theme park based on its unsavoury reputation as a suicide spot. The morbid suggestion to create a ghost-town attraction where guests dare to spend the night in "haunted flats" came at a meeting of local leaders on Cheung Chau island. Councillor Lam Kit-Sing said the island should capitalise on the grisly reputation of one of its holiday homes, where 20 people have taken their lives in the past eight years. Another five people attempted suicide there. Lam believes the macabre park could be an added attraction for the millions of people expected when Hong Kong Disneyland opens next month. Predictably, the proposal received little support from fellow councillors.

Rhodes leading east?
Gary Rhodes was spotted last Sunday in Mauritius, schmoozing deep into the night at the glossy Heritage Resort's Compagnie des Comptoir restaurant run by the Michelin-starred Pourcel twins (in Montpellier and also behind W'Sens in London). We heard a rumour that he's contemplating a similar signature venture on the island. Or perhaps the spiky-haired one was simply fleeing the chilly press reception back home for Rhodes W1?

Delia's well red in Russia
National institution and TV chef Delia Smith's cookery books have just gone on sale in Russian bookshops for the first time. Norwich City FC's fan extraordinaire said she was particularly pleased by the news as her niece has a degree in Russian.