The Week in Retail 87

Page 55

BEFORE YOU GO

RETAIL RANDOMS

t i r a e b d n Grin a The ‘gay cake’ row that has kept lawyers in lavish lifestyles for the past seven years has ended with the European Court of Human Rights ruling against gay rights activist Gareth Lee. Lee started legal proceedings way back in 2014 after Ashers, a Belfast bakery, refused to bake him a cake with a “Support Gay Marriage” message on it. We’re not about to get into the rights and wrongs of the case but spare a thought for the couple at the centre of the row. No, not Amy and Daniel McArthur, the owners of the Ashers who said the cake was “at odds” with their Christian beliefs, but Bert and Ernie, the Sesame Street characters who featured in the design. Not only have their image rights been trampled on, but the latest ruling once again thrusts the hapless duo’s sexuality into the spotlight. There has long been speculation that Bert and Ernie are a gay couple. This despite them sleeping in separate beds – unlike Morecambe and Wise, and Laurel and Hardy. Lee should have stayed closer to home when researching potentially gay puppets. In the long-running ITV children’s show which just happened to be called Rainbow, not only did George and Zippy bunk down in the same bed, but they shared it with Bungle. And, according to Bungle’s Grindr profile, he’s a bear.

GIVE CHEESE A CHANCE

The Scandinavian country took

it’s sold as ‘Ski Queen’ in the US.

over the UN Security Council’s presi-

Now, TWIR isn’t suggesting for

dency at the start of January and, as

a minute that Ski Queen is going to

custom dictates, presented a sym-

reduce tensions in eastern Europe.

What with North Korea conducting

bolic gift to the other member states.

However, it’s well known that Kim

ballistic missile tests, Russian troops

This consisted of some Gubrands-

Jong-Un picked up a fondness for

massing on its border with Ukraine,

dalsost – a traditional Norwegian

Emmental during his schooldays in

and Serbia set to declare war on Aus-

brown caramel cheese. And, thought-

Switzerland. Perhaps a block or two

tralia over a tennis player, Norway

fully, a cheese slicer.

of brown caramel cheese would be

has entered the world stage offering

Gubrandsdalsost translates as

enough to persuade the notoriously

what probably won’t be known as

“the cheese that comes from Gud-

sweet-toothed dictator to stop lobbing

“brown cheese diplomacy”.

brands Valley” so it’s little wonder

flying bombs into the atmosphere.

WEDNESDAY 12TH JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 87 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 55


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Before You Go...

3min
page 55

Now That's A Good Idea

3min
pages 52-53

NPD and Media

10min
pages 46-51

NPD and Media

2min
page 45

NPD and Media

2min
page 44

NPD and Media

2min
page 43

NPD and Media

2min
page 42

NPD and Media

2min
page 41

NPD and Media

2min
page 40

NPD and Media

2min
page 39

Sustainability

2min
page 38

Sustainability

2min
page 37

Sustainability

2min
page 36

Business Intelligence

2min
page 35

Business Intelligence

2min
page 34

Business Intelligence

2min
page 33

Business Intelligence

2min
page 31

Business Intelligence

2min
page 29

Business Intelligence

2min
page 28

Business Intelligence

2min
page 27

Community

2min
page 25

Community

2min
page 24

Trading Standards

2min
page 23

Trading Standards

2min
page 22

Business Services

2min
page 21

Symbol Groups

2min
page 20

Symbol Groups

2min
page 19

Home Delivery

2min
page 17

Symbol Groups

2min
page 16

Community

2min
page 15

Symbol Groups

2min
page 14

Symbol Groups

2min
page 13

Cover Story

4min
pages 10-11
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