Food and drink

THE campaign to cut the use of plastic is eliciting a strong response from the drinks industry.

No sooner had we learned that pub giant Wetherspoon will have phased out straws by the end of the year than Diageo unveiled plans to introduce edible straws.

The drinks giant has announced it will pair its range of premix canned range with environmentally-friendly, flavoured, edible straws. As such, for example, its Pimm’s and lemonade will come with a strawberry straw, while its Gordon’s Gin and Schweppes Tonic will be twinned with a lime-flavoured version.

It all sounds well and good, but what will be the impact on sales at chip and kebab shops after closing time?

Football fashion

WE were taken on a trip down fashion memory lane this week thanks to reader Ian McDougall.

Mr McDougall tweeted a picture, below, of a group of former Old Firm players, including Ally McCoist and Peter Grant, posing for the cameras in the then latest threads from one-time fashion store Wrygges.

The brand, readers of a certain vintage may recall, was an offshoot of Goldbergs, which introduced Wrygges to appeal to the young adult market.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the picture (printed here courtesy of Mr McDougall), is not how the world of fashion has changed but how relaxed the players from rival teams appear to be in each other’s company.

Would the clubs be happy to take part in a similar joint publicity stunt in these seemingly more serious times? We are not so sure.

Supper record

THE Bottom Line likes nothing more than being regaled by a random fact.

Take this cracker we learned this week from restaurateur Sep Marini.

In a previous business life, Mr Marini achieved a Guinness World Record in 1999, when his then chip shop on Glasgow’s Union Street sold 12,406 fish suppers in a single day.

The price for a fish supper during the bid was a whopping 10p.

Oh how we miss the 1990s.

Lunch power

WHAT aspects of working life make Scots the happiest as they plod their way wearily through the week?

For the bulk of people, it’s the prospect of a proper lunch hour.

In a survey which seems to lay bare just how low our expectations are of our working lives, the humble lunchbreak is the thing that gives Scots the most pleasure from their day, with 77 per cent ranking it their top moment of happiness.

Lunch is followed by colleagues bringing in treats, at 71%, catching up with pals (70%) and receiving a “well done” or “thank you” (also 70%).

On the flip side, the survey, commissioned by office specialist Workthere, revealed unnecessary meetings and faulty equipment are the biggest peeves, having been cited by 69% of respondents.

Passive aggressive comments and emails were highlighted by 66%.

We would have liked to have offered a view, but sadly we were having lunch when the call came.