Pub chain JD Wetherspoons has announced that it will no longer be selling Russian beer amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Bottles of Baltika Lager – which is brewed in Vladimir Putin’s home city of St. Petersburg – has been pulled from shelves in all Wetherspoons pubs across the UK.
A spokesperson for the pub chain said: “In light of the situation in Ukraine we just felt that we could not stock it anymore.
JD Wetherspoon
“As of today all those beers won’t be available in any Wetherspoon pub and have either been or are in the process of being returned to the Carlsberg distributor.
“We are not implying in any way that anyone involved with the brewery is directly involved with what’s going on but we thought in light of the current situation our pubs don’t want to be serving Russian beers.”
Wetherspoons will continue to sell Smirnoff vodka, which is owned by London firm Diageo and produced in different distilleries all over the world.
Though this isn’t the first instance of venues boycotting Russian-made products; Arc Inspirations, which owns and operates Manchester venues such as Box, Manahatta and Banyan, announced earlier this week that Russian vodka will no longer be poured in any of its bars.
Sharing its announcement on Twitter, Arc Inspirations wrote: “To show our support to the people of Ukraine we will no longer be pouring any Russian vodka in any of our bars. #standwithukraine”.
Half of Europe, a nightlife advocacy network for eastern Europe, also urged nightlife businesses and policy-makers to boycott Russian drinks and to decline any invitations to perform in Russia.
Greater Manchester’s night time economy advisor Sacha Lord has urged business owners to follow Half of Europe’s policy, writing on Twitter: “Nightlife businesses and policy makers boycott Russia, including dropping any Russian products inc drinks.
A dad accidentally bought 60 pairs of reading glasses after misreading an order.
The dad has gone viral on Twitter for his massive order of reading spectacles. He was left baffled as to why the parcel was so full when it arrived at his address on Sunday March 26th, leaving his son in stitches.
Tom Arnold, 61, from Perranporth in Cornwall, thought he’d only ordered one pack to share with his wife — not a whole shop’s worth. Radio and podcast host, Chris Arnold could not stop laughing as he witnessed his dad open the parcel with a bewildered look on his face.
The viral tweet read: “My Dad has accidentally bought 60 pairs of reading glasses off the internet after misreading the quantity of his order.”
My Dad has accidentally bought 60 pairs of reading glasses off the internet after misreading the quantity of his order. pic.twitter.com/CfH5JtcM5e
Speaking about the mishap, Chris said: “I just found it hilarious, he said he thought the packaging was excessive, then he opened it up and the box was full.
“He seemed confused as to what had happened. We looked at the order and he had ordered 12 packs instead of one, as they were for him and my mum, plus spares. The order came to over £100 but he’s managed to get a refund!”
He described the incident as ‘very funny indeed’, saying it ‘cheered up’ him and his family. As the tweet went viral and accumulated thousands of likes, Specsavers jumped in on the banter as they tweeted: “Do we even need to say it?”
@chrisarnoldinc / Instagram
Chris joked in reply: “At this point guys, I don’t think you do. P.S. Are you interested in buying 59 pairs of reading glasses off my dad?”
They hilariously replied: “If you can’t shift them you might want to consider adding an extra 118 eyes to your dad’s face.”
Specsavers tweeted an update on the situation: “The glasses have been safely returned, but Chris’ dad deserves a bit of good luck. How about a free eye test and a brand-new pair of glasses for good measure?
Aldi is now selling wearable sleeping bags for ultimate comfort — they even have arm and leg sections.
If you love to go to budget supermarket Aldi and have a wander over to the middle aisle, you’ll know you can find all sorts of handy and unusual things to buy.
Aldi shopper and TikTok user Paris de Jager sharedwith her followers how she picked up a wearable sleeping bag ‘onesie’, that even has leg and arm sections.
The social media user upload a video to her TikTok account @parisdejager showing her modelling the bright pink seasonal must have.
She wrote in a caption: “The sleeping bag one-z you never knew you needed until now.”
She ‘catwalked’ in her home as she showed off her incredible new bag suit by Adventuridge, looking ‘snug as a bug’.
Her video has racked up over 137k likes and many people were amazed at her incredible Aldi find.
Her followers flocked to comment and rave about the hot pink cosy number.
A ‘fit as a fiddle’ charity runner, 85, from Greater Manchester has been chosen to be one of the faces of a new Adidas advert.
Barbara Thackray, a grandmother from Altrincham, runs 10k twice a week to keep fit. She has been chosen — alongside the likes of Liverpool footballer, Mo Salah, Qatari hurdler Mariam Farid and Egyptian runner Khadija Hegazy in the new TV and YouTube advert — as one of the faces of to feature in it.
The retired college lecturer took up running eight years ago, aged 77, to raise funds for St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green, Stockport.
She has been raising money for the hospice since her sister died there in the 1990s.
She said she watched the new advert ‘on a little screen’ and it was ‘fine’, adding: “So long as they were prepared to make a significant donation to St Ann’s Hospice, I felt ok about it.”
Ms Thackray has raised over £20,000 for St Ann’s Hospice in just a few short years, having been a champion of the organisation for over 10 years — including during her sister’s illness and eventual passing.
She’s not planning on stopping running any time soon.