A Bristolian pub has been branded the wokest in Britain after its boss made the choice to ban a number of popular drinks from being sold inside.
The landlord at The Red Lion in Bristol, known only as Lemmy, has moved to restrict the sale of Thatcher's cider, Heineken, Coca Cola and Barcadi - citing links to the slave trade, improper land and water use and human rights concerns.
Hid decision follows a campaign launched in the city last week to boycott Thatcher's, the Somerset cider makers, after a local activist group revealed its director and fourth-generation cider-maker was a member of a society with deep links to 17th-century slaver Edward Colston.
After this news came to light, The Red Lion boss said it would be ‘hypocritical’ to continue selling the cider - adding that its quality had also deteriorated since the start of the pandemic.
He then also made the decision to ban Heineken beers, Coca Cola and Bacardi as the companies behind these products are also accused of maintaining unethical production practises around the globe.
Criticism of the pub has come in thick and fast from culture warriors online, but bosses are sticking to their morals on this one.
Landlord Lemmy has since spoken out, telling the South West News Service.: ‘We have taken what we consider to be an ethical stance — it’s part of who we all are.
‘We have been labelled “woke” and all these weaponised words, which have made us feel pretty vulnerable.’
“When we have taken the stance which we believe is ethical, we do not want to be made some kind of target.”
Elaborating on the pub’s decision not to sell Coca Cola and other products deemed unethical, he added: “We don’t serve Coca-Cola because they have a history of seriously bad use of water in third-world countries,”
Image: Google
The pub also does not sell Polish lager Tyskie, because of the company’s apparent links with the anti-LGBTQ movement.
It emerged earlier this month that Thatcher’s cider director and fourth-generation cider-maker Martin Thatcher has been a member of a merchants’ society with deep links to slave trader Edward Colston since 2012.
Bristolian activist group Countering Colston launched the boycott-Thatcher’s campaign last week in protest at the Society of the Merchant Venturers (SMV’s) deep links with Bristol’s historical slave trade.
They tweeted: “Martin Thatcher, director of the company, is a member of the Society of the Merchant Venturers.
“The SMV has deep roots in the historical slave trade in Bristol, and its members were responsible for the suffering and death of tens of thousands of human beings.
“They are a powerful unelected elite who have significant influence on political and civic life in Bristol.”
Feature image – Google
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Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Georgina Pellant -
18th February 2022 
