yesterday was...

A good day for:

Butlers, who have come to the aid of an anonymous American superstar in need of a food-taster. The Ivor Spencer International School for Butler Administrators needed several weeks' research before recruiting a food- taster in Beirut for their superstar client.

A bad day for:

Italian payphone emptiers, who are being paid in coins following difficulties experienced by their employers in finding banks to change the money into notes. One lady's pounds 2,500 redundancy payment was estimated to weigh 150 kilo (330 lb). "It's still money," she said.