We drank less champagne during the recession - but still more than Americans, Germans and Belgians combined.

Imports of champagne dropped by five million bottles last year - a 15% fall - as Brits turned to cheaper fizz such as cava and prosecco. For the first time ever, people bought more cheaper bubbly than champagne.

But the UK remains the largest market for champagne. Other countries have seen much bigger falls, with Russian sales down by 57%, Italy by 28% and the US by 27%.

This doesn't bode well for the nation's favourite chocolate brand.

Cadbury's new American owner has admitted that it reneged on its promise to keep the Somerdale factory open, simply because it couldn't be bothered to check out a rival Polish factory.

A Kraft executive has come under fire from British MPs today and the heated exchange has thrown up some hilarious comments... although this is obviously no laughing matter for the workers of Somerdale who are now out of a job.

The Unite union called for a 'Cadbury law' on foreign takeovers.

Hairdryers, bars of soap, lipstick and pitta bread are out – but hair straighteners, liquid soap, lip gloss, garlic bread and Blu-ray disc players are in.

The latest shakeup of the shopping basket used to measure inflation in Britain gives some fascinating insights into our shopping habits.

The Office for National Statistics updates the basket once a year to make sure it tracks the right items to work out the cost of living. Statisticians have found that people are spending a lot more on garlic bread than pitta bread these days, and lip gloss has ousted lipstick in the basket "reflecting a trend towards gloss".

Eek! You've just read that and thought 'is it Mother's Day this weekend?!' haven't you?

The good news is that you're in the right place for loads of ideas on how to treat your mum with the small margin of time you have left, and an even smaller budget.

I've got loads of suggestions on how to pull off some truly thoughtful gestures without having to spend a fortune.

I always say that eating out on occasions like this is overrated, but a nice meal in will definitely get you in your mum's good books. The BBC Food website has loads of good recipe ideas, as well as how to make the perfect breakfast in bed, and if you want to get the kids involved, there are suggestions for cooking with all the family too.

I phoned my friend Toby the other day. "I can't talk now, I'm on an assignment," he growled into the phone. "It could blow my cover."

For Toby, working as a mystery shopper is a very serious business, and not just a way to make money in between acting jobs.

Luckily, he also finds it quite good fun and a chance to play James Bond.

He has occasionally had to pretend to be partially sighted to test whether supermarkets have their pricing in an accessible form and what kind of service he gets from the staff, which he found really interesting.

Mystery shopping is a great way to earn a living for people with unpredictable patterns of employment.

A TV advert for Cadbury's Flake has been banned because it is just too sexy for our screens.

Executives from the chocolate company apparently thought it was so racy it would either corrupt our nation's morals, or portray Flake eaters as some kind of free-love hedonists with lives of wild abandon.

The commercial featured a gorgeous, pouting young model seduced by a Devil-like character, with the suggestion that a Flake was as tempting as Lucifer himself.

The company blew no less than £1 million on the ad. It had been planned for a prime-time slot but will never now be seen. According to the company, research showed it polarised opinion in focus groups.

It happened at the same time that the American company Kraft bought Cadbury.

A spokesman for Cadbury said: "Having researched it, we felt it wasn't working for our core target audience. You try things, but don't always pull it off and that's what happened here."

If you're properly British, then tipping will be a major cause of angst. Who do you tip? How much do you tip them? Should you tip when the service has been poor? Will the staff even get the tip?

Apparently 90% of us will leave a tip every time we eat in a restaurant or cafe, but four in five of us will immediately scuttle off, afraid to ask questions about what will happen to that money.

Today sees the launch of a campaign known as 'Who Gets The Tip,' which is designed to offer a bit of relief in the great tipping dilemma.

But is it really going to help?

A dozen farmers in Yorkshire are celebrating after their rhubarb - which is grown in sheds by candlelight - was given European protected name status.

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb is joining the ranks of European elite foods like champagne, Parma Ham and Roquefort cheese that have their names legally protected. It comes from an area between Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford - known as the Rhubarb Triangle.

Fans of Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb have long argued that thanks to its unique growing method which produces a sweet flavour it is far superior to the tough, stringy rhubarb grown elsewhere. After years of petitioning, the European Commission has finally caved in and recognised its status.

Ocado, the people who deliver your shopping from Waitrose – the Duchess of Cornwall's favourite supermarket – are pressing ahead with a stock exchange listing, despite other big businesses recently deciding now is not the time to be looking for an injection of investment cash.

New Look, the high street fashion chain, and Merlin Entertainments, who own Madame Tussaud's and Legoland, recently dropped their plans for a listing citing the volatility of the market.

It's not just a small investment Ocado is looking for, the online grocer is wanting £1billion and that could be a big ask when you bear in mind that the company hasn't turned a real profit in any of the eight years it's been in business.

Retail sales fell at the fastest rate in 18 months in January, partly because heavy snow and ice kept shoppers away. They cut back on most things from food to furniture.

Sales volumes dropped by 1.8% between December and January, the sharpest fall since June 2008. The Office for National Statistics said the Big Freeze hit sales of household goods and petrol in particular. The fall was much worse than the City had pencilled in.

The figures end a week of bad economic news when inflation surged, unemployment rose and the public deficit hit a fresh record. The sharp drop in highstreet spending raises fresh doubts about the economy's recovery from recession.