On today’s programme Margaret Mills took us back to Rayleigh in March 1805 when it seems a party of 14 men had booked a pub for a celebration meal which naturally also included some efficient drinking.

It seems however that only half of those who had been expected at the event turned up so when the bill was presented those participants actually on site claimed that the bill was exorbitant and refused to pay.

A right royal rumpus ensued during which it seems that the innkeeper suffered injury and was subsequently awarded £300 in compensation for his injuries, damage and cost of the food and drink consumed.

Listen here to what Margaret told me about this fracas: –

Coming right up to date you can see evidence of just how bad inflation has become when supermarkets put security tags on blocks of cheese!

But amazingly shoppers at Asda, Aldi and Co-Op have posted images on line of security devices attached to items such as cheese, butter, chicken and lamb chops. It seems that Lupak butter has hit the dizzy height of £6 per tub.

Another customer shared a picture of their coffee. “This isn’t Chateauneuf du Pape, this is instant coffee!” they said.

Despite many customers’ linking security tagging to the cost of living crisis, a spokesperson for Co-op said such measures have, in fact, been in place for ‘several years to deter crime’, adding that they had been involved in a small scale trial of new packaging for higher value products such as meat for several years, with the additional security providing a further deterrent if a store locally had experienced shoplifting issues. The move formed part of our Safer Colleagues campaign which has also succeeded in bringing in stricter sentences for violent incidents against shopworkers.”

So now you know!

I look forward to returning again tomorrow and hope you can join me once again,
Scott