Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Laughing it off

I do not think I have ever heard so many jokes on a single topic. Newspapers & radio are full of them, from the tabloids to The Times, from Today to Up All Night. This business about horsemeat in processed burgers & bolognese has really struck a nerve – the jokes as much a sign of nervousness as wit.

Retailers, farmers, caterers, ministers & EU spokesmen … all scrambling to reassure us that they are taking all possible steps & the greatest possible care – as they have always done (fingers crossed) – to make sure that, if we are what we eat, we will not all soon start neighing.

Pie-makers are especially anxious to ensure us that there is nothing nasty hidden under the crust. There really are a lot of such businesses in the North West. Today’s You & Yours on Radio 4 took us round one in Wigan, with the reporter given access all areas (suitably covered up to ensure he did not himself contaminate the product) to ensure that all is well.

Even he could not resist a joke, slipping in a reference to The Life of Pie.

Link
Pies in the North West
Related post
Met a pieman