Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 10h

Yes. But this conversation (I thought!) was in context of Lime bikes.

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

Also “grocery shopping” can’t – in most cases – be done by bike. Unless you are single person willing to shop on daily basis.
Lime front baskets are robust but can’t conceivably hold a weekly family shop

2

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

Very good!

1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

Cheese. A food group that @AldiUK continues to treat – at Christmas – with as much love and respect as Joseph Fritzl. We have:
– white chocolate & Ballycastle cheddar. Vile. Tooth strippingly sweet
– 🍍🧀pineapple cheddar. Wrong
– 🔥🍁🧀Smokey maple cheddar. Not awful. But why 🤷

1 6

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

I mentioned on here y’day the vegan “beef steak flank”. Which was disturbingly bovine. Texture was pretty spot on, flavour was decent. With a good sauce & poor lighting you might think this was actual beef. Kinda amazing.
Right. Let’s move onto some lowlights…

2

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

The Aldi 🎄pudding/confectionery products are good. One buyer said they were leaning into “scoffing occasions”.
Hence mini florentines, mini mince pies etc.
Pistachio tiramisu was good & the edible chocolate place setting were clever.

1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

The Aldi wooden toy range is always good. This year, it’s even better. I love the bread oven and Nando’s (sorry, Nando’s inspired) kit

1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 12h

To Aldi Christmas showcase. Where I got to see / taste some of the very best innovation in the UK. And some of the worst.
Strap in… (cheese is involved)

2 2 13

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 19h

In 2004 = peak year for Booze Britain, each adult drank the equivalent of 11.6 litres of pure alcohol. That's comparable to about 406 pints of beer or 41.4 bottles of gin per person, per year.
In 2023 it was 9.3 litres — 325 pints or 33.2 bottles of gin — a 20 per cent drop over 20 years.

1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 19h

The best stats are published by Beer & Pub Assoc, derived from HMRC receipts. As in, they are true measure of the volume drunk.
And the decline is a bit overstated. But...we drinking significantly less than 20yrs ago, but a bit more than a few yrs ago.

1 1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 19h

Never wild on “quaint” either

1 6

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1d

📻 If you’re desperately waiting to hear my views on vegan 🍔🥩🍳 being called “burgers” “steak” and “egg yolks” and the proposed EU ban…
I’m now on just before 5.45pm on BBC Radio4

1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1d

Ha! I’d forgotten that one. Thank you

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1d

Yesterday, at Aldi Christmas show I tried a disturbingly good vegan “no beef steak flank”. Genuinely v close to actual beef short rib in taste & texture.
Should this description be allowed? Is it misleading?

1 2

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1d

🌱🍔🍳Vegan "meat". The EU has now voted to ban manufacturers from using the terms "burger", "sausage" and "egg yolk" when descibing plant-based alternatives.
A cowardly move to protect farmers? Or sensible?
I am discussing this on Radio 4 PM programme at 5.15pm...

4 1 3

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1d

(If you’re an author / publishing PR and have a great book coming out but more importantly are an ace raconteur like Gyles, and want to raise money for @nspcc.bsky.social by being interviewed on stage by me…get in touch! We’ve had Julian Fellowes, Loyd Grossman in recent years)

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1d

Great fun interviewing the irrepressible Gyles Brandteth on stage at The Reform Club for the annual @nspcc.bsky.social literary lunch. Where he talked about his wonderful new book ‘Somewhere a Boy’, a biography of AA Milne.
Gyles knew the real Christopher Robin!

1

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 2d

I'm intrigued by the outrage that Nando's has stopped consumers getting free re-fills of full-sugar Coca Cola.
This isn't the "nanny state gone mad". If you want 2nd glass of sugary coke you can pay for it.
KFC stopped selling *all* full-sugar drinks in 2021
www.lbc.co.uk/article/nand...

Outrage as Nando's restricts customers to one Coke per visit sparking 'nanny state' accusations | LBC

New government measures targeting obesity will see tighter restrictions on junk food adverts, promotions and sugary drink refills.

www.lbc.co.uk

1 2

Reposted by Harry Wallop

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 3d

A pub in London Fields is trying to put up a timber canopy over its outside seating.

The planning process so far has taken FIVE YEARS. That’s longer than it took to build the entire Hoover Dam. capx.co/nimby-watch-...

capx.co

17 37 120

Reposted by Harry Wallop

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 4d

Here's a subst*ck I've written on the weird new trend of lower body sprays, below the belt deodorants and anti-chaffing creams for your boobs.
open.substack.com/pub/harrywal...

Lower body deodorant – the worst innovation of 2025?

Lynx and other consumer goods giants have started selling lower body deodorant. Perfume for your private parts. Why?

open.substack.com

1 2 2

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 3d

Very sad to hear about Jilly Cooper.
But it reminds me of one of the finest bits of fan fiction of all time – when @benmachell.bsky.social imagined what Jilly's football novel might be like...
www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

Spot the balls: it’s Jilly’s footie bonkbuster

Jilly Cooper, our most beloved author of erotic fiction, has revealed that her next novel is going to be about football and that it will be called Tackle! On the one hand, it’s probably worth Jilly

www.thetimes.com

3

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 3d

Times Births from this weekend

5 3 17

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 4d

Here's a subst*ck I've written on the weird new trend of lower body sprays, below the belt deodorants and anti-chaffing creams for your boobs.
open.substack.com/pub/harrywal...

Lower body deodorant – the worst innovation of 2025?

Lynx and other consumer goods giants have started selling lower body deodorant. Perfume for your private parts. Why?

open.substack.com

1 2 2

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 4d

Do women need a deodorant for their boobs? Do men need a lower body spray, a perfume for their private parts?
Are these useful beauty products? Or just another thing to make already anxious teenagers worry about their bodies?
I have taken a look...

1 3

Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 5d

Lovely, nostalgic piece by Giles Coren on the irreplaceable joy of shopping in an old-school department store.
And how “going out to get things” is part of what makes us human.
www.thetimes.com/article/d707...

England’s lost a lot, but please, not Selfridges

The demise of department stores, where I still dream of working, would be as big a loss as clean air and skinny children

www.thetimes.com

1 14