Good to note that the ludicrous gagging orders awarded to the undeserving by all the Mr Justice Noddies are being rendered useless by the publication of identities on the internet, for many a sure sign that even if some judges can’t tell right from wrong some of the general public can.

The stupid decisions – which only benefit the rich with something to hide and an income/image to protect – serve to unfairly undermine the integrity of the whole judiciary, bring it into disrepute and reassure the cynical that some of our British judges truly are the best that money can buy.

Proctor and Gamble and Unilever have been fined a total of E315 million by the European Commission (EC) for fixing the price of washing powder.

The price-fixing took place in eight Eurupean countries over three years between January 2002 and March 2005.

Food waste, said to total a value of £6 billion a year or £680 per average family, is being tackled by the government in plans to scrap “best before” dates in favour of “eat by” dates, with warnings of the risks taken by eating out of date food, particularly meat, fish and eggs.

The BOGOF offers made by supermarkets have been blamed by some for the quantity subsequently dumped.

Supermarket ASDA does its bit for the waste food problem by adding an extra day to the use-by date of some fresh, marked-down items, presenting them as fresher than they really are.

Doctors are continuing to screw their patients with premium-rate telephone numbers, with those phoning for appointments being charged up to 41 pence per minute, and then being held in a queue that is highly profitable for the GPs.

This is despite a Department of Health ruling that patients should not pay more than the local rate for calls after April 1 this year.

Those wanting to call loved ones in hospitals are being charged 50 pence per minute to call to bedside phones, and have to listen to a long recorded message before being put through.

Buyers at the lower- alcohol end of the wine market are switching to ciders as the recession deepens. (Off Licence News)

Low alcohol wines at 5.5% abv or below and a price of £3+ per litre compare badly on price and alcohol content, though perhaps not taste, with cheap, strong cider with an abv of 7.5% and a price, in some of the budget supermarkets, of around £1 per litre.