Christmas

Marks & Spencer has agreed on a settlement with the confectionary company Swizzels after accusing it of copying its Percy Pig sweets.

The retailer said it had reached an “amicable resolution” with Swizzels after it agreed to change the design of its Pigs Mugs sweets.

In November 2022, M&S lawyers claimed the sweets were so alike customers may have ended up buying the wrong ones.

A M&S spokesperson told Sky News: “Marks & Spencer Plc and Swizzels Matlow Limited confirm that they have agreed to settle on confidential terms the trademark dispute concerning the appearance of Swizzels Matlow’s ‘Pigs Mugs’ sweets and have reached an amicable resolution whereby Swizzels has agreed to change the design of its product.”

A 37-page document filed at the High Court in London at the time said the Percy Pig brand had generated a £131.7 million turnover since its launch in 1993.

A total of 271 bags are sold every minute.

“M&S has a proud history as a leading innovator and for almost 140 years customers have turned to M&S for unique, original, quality products – conceived, created and developed alongside trusted suppliers and produced to the highest standards,” the spokesperson added.

“M&S has made a significant investment in building a strong Percy Pig brand over the past 30 years and believe it is important to protect the registered trademarks relating to Percy Pig’s appearance.”

Read more from Sky News: Ice cream parlour changes the name after legal letter from M&S M&S removes T-shirt from website after being accused of ‘ripping off’ pub name

Sky News has contacted Swizzels for its response.

The Percy Pig saga

Earlier this year, a dessert parlour had to change the name of its gelato after a request from the retail company.

Fabio’s Gelato had named its gelato “Perky Pig Gelato,” which did not go down well with M&S.

A day after the store posted the launch of its product, M&S sent a letter taking issue with the name.

The letter said: “While we are flattered that you have been inspired to create a flavour based on our Percy Pig sweets, and in no way wish to stop you from selling this flavour or from using our sweets to top it, we could be grateful if you could avoid using the name PERCY PIG to do so.”

Fabio Vincenti, the director of the ice cream parlour, captioned the post and said: “Soooooo about that Gelato we made… It’s got a new name ‘Fabios Pig’.”

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Earlier this year, Aldi also lost a court battle against M&S after being accused of copying its light-up Christmas gin bottles .

The High Court ruled Aldi had infringed on the design of the retail store’s product.

In April 2021, M&S also launched legal action against the German discount store, accusing it of copying the design of its Colin the Caterpillar cake.

The supermarket giants reached a settlement in 2022.

JERMAIN Defoe is an ex professional footballer who has played for top Premier League teams during his career.

But what has he been up to since retiring from professional football ? Read on to find out.

Who is former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe and what other teams did he play for?

Jermain Colin Defoe was born on October 7, 1982, in Beckton, England .

He used to be a striker for the Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur.

He got his start in youth football, playing from 1997-1999 before moving up to senior level.

He played professional football from 1994 until 2022 for a variety of Premier League teams.

He began his career with Charlton Athletic , joining their youth team aged 14, before moving to West Ham United when he was 16.

Defoe made his first team appearance for West Ham in 2000 and was then loaned to AFC Bournemouth for a season.

He returned to West Ham, establishing himself in their lineup before the team was relegated in 2003.

Following their relegation, Defoe moved to Tottenham Hotspur in January 2004.

He played for Hotspur for four years before being sold to Portsmouth in January 2008.

He played there for one season before returning to Hotspur in January 2009.

He left Hotspur for the United States in 2014, playing in the MLS for Toronto FC for a season before returning to the UK in 2015 where he signed with Sunderland FC .

He played for Sunderland until the team was relegated from the Premier League in 2017.

He moved to Bournemouth briefly in 2017b before joining Scottish team Rangers in 2018.

He was involved in the Rangers winning the 2020/21 league title, his first and only throughout his career.

The striker also played internationally for the England national football team.

He made his England debut in 2004, making 57 appearances and scoring 20 goals.

During his playing career, Defoe achieved many impressive achievements.

He became the 20th player to score a century (100) of Premier League goals in 2011.

He is in the top ten scorers in Premier League history , as well as being in the top ten scorers in Tottenham’s history.

On November 19, 2016, he scored his 150th Premier League goal, becoming the joint tenth highest goal scorer in Premier League history.

Defoe also holds the record for the most goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League with 24 goals.

Where is Jermain Defoe now?

Defoe now coaches youth football, returning to Tottenham Hotspur as an ambassador and academy coach in 2022.

He was then appointed as coach of their under-18 team.

In this role, Defoe said he hopes to inspire more black coaches and managers.

Who is Jermain Defoe married to?

Jermain’s wedding to his Scottish partner Donna Tierney was a lavish £200,000 affair.

The ceremony was featured in OK! Magazine, taking up the cover and 14 pages.

However, it was reported that t he couple split up six months later, spending Christmas thousands of miles apart .

Apparently, there was no record of the couple legally getting married.

In an exclusive with the Sun, she said: “Of course we did. I’ve heard these rumours, I don’t know where they’ve come from.”

What is Jermain Defoe’s net worth?

After a successful professional football career and lucrative deals, the former striker remains quite wealthy in his retirement .

According to reports, Defoe’s net worth is around £20 million.

JOHN ARNE RIISE has recalled the blazing row that led to Craig Bellamy attacking him with a golf club in 2007.

In the build-up to a crucial Champions League match in Barcelona, Liverpool travelled to the Algarve for a stay at Barringtons Golf and Spa hotel.

What was supposed to be a team bonding exercise turned into a nightmare experience for Riise, when Bellamy infamously entered his hotel room with a golf club.

The Norwegian described the events leading up to the incident in his autobiography, beginning at dinner.

In an excerpt in the Guardian , Riise wrote: “A couple of the lads started drinking before the food arrived.

“Among them was Craig Bellamy. Pretty soon a microphone appeared on the table and Bellamy bellowed into it: ‘Riise’s gonna sing! Riise’s gonna sing!’

“He started before the food was served and continued while we ate. He was already quite drunk, and I was already quite annoyed.

“Pretty soon Bellamy was over by the karaoke machine with the microphone in the hand: ‘Riise’s gonna sing! Riise’s gonna sing!’

“Furious, I went over to him: ‘I’m not singing. Shut the f*** up or else I’m gonna smash you!’

“He screamed back: ‘I’m gonna f***ing kill you, you ginger c***!”

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Riise, who was sharing a room with Daniel Agger, soon went back to his room – only to later be joined by an unwanted visitor.

He continued: “I woke in the dark to hear someone opening the door. Obviously, I thought it was Agger. I turned, but my eyes were half-asleep, and I didn’t see anything in the sudden, bright glare.

“But something made me realise that it wasn’t Agger. And soon I could see him – Craig Bellamy at the foot of my bed with a golf club in his hands.

“Steve Finnan, who shared a room with Bellamy, was there too, but he just stood there.

“Bellamy raised the club over his head and swung as hard as he could. He tried to hit my shins, which would have ended my career, but I managed to pull my leg away in time.

“I jumped out of bed, pulled off the sheet and held it between us like I was some kind of half-awake matador. Bellamy sputtered: ‘Nobody disrespects me like that in front of the lads!’ He was completely gone.

“I don’t care if I go to jail! My kids have enough money for school and everything. I don’t care. I’ll f***ing do you!’

“He raised the club and swung again. This time he connected. Full force on my hip. I was so pumped with adrenaline that I didn’t feel the pain, but he hit me hard. It was an iron.

I tried to calm him down: ‘Put down the club and let’s fight with our fists. Come on! A proper fight!’

John Arne Riise

“The next blow smashed into my thigh. I tried to hold up the sheet, but he continued to strike. He could seriously injure me. At the same time, I knew I could take Bellamy if I needed to. I was bigger and stronger.

“I tried to calm him down: ‘Put down the club and let’s fight with our fists. Come on! A proper fight!’ He just stood and glowered at me. Then he said: ‘Tomorrow at nine o’clock we’ll meet and finish this.’ Then he left.”

Boss Rafael Benitez went on to fine Bellamy £80,000, before starting both the Welshman and Riise against Barcelona .

The pair would both go on to score on that famous night in Catalonia, with Bellamy performing a golf swing celebration after his equaliser before teeing Riise up for the winner.

Speaking to Tubes on Golf Life Legends , Bellamy also recounted the incident.

The former striker, now 43, said: “We were playing golf and like I say, I never really played then so it was me, Robbie Fowler, John Arne Riise and I don’t know if Steve Finnan was playing with us. I don’t know, it was hard work all-round.

Me being me, after the day as well, I wasn’t letting him get away with not singing

Craig Bellamy

“I see a ball splash in the water and then I found it outside the water. I haven’t found it, he (Riise) found it and it was difficult. You don’t want to say anything at the time and it just grated on me.

“We went out for the evening, there were songs. People had a song and he didn’t go on the Christmas do that year. He said he had to fly to Norway, then we found out there were no flights so he didn’t go and he was fined for it, but he had to sing a song as well.

“Me being me, after the day as well, I wasn’t letting him get away with not singing and I could see he didn’t want to do it.

“Then, he took offence to it, he told me in no uncertain terms he wasn’t singing and to stop mentioning it, but not that polite and the longer the evening went, the more it annoyed me.”

Describing what later happened in Riise’s hotel room, he went on: “I knocked on his door, there’s no good way of it, certainly not proud, I don’t particularly like (it), it’s not a great moment for me at all.

“Honestly, I went in there, smacked him across the a**.”

Half term is over but the summer holidays are fast approaching. Many Brits have already booked to go away whether that’s camping , a seaside break or a trip abroad.

But, others may be more last minute bookers looking to snap up a bargain. The ever popular all-inclusive. often books up over the next few months with families who love the swimming and added activities.

The only down side to the forest parks is that the price of a stay can sky rocket during school holidays. Well, one family has found a way around the cost and saved £600 on their holiday – by booking a Center Parcs in Belgium rather than the UK.

READ MORE: Flight attendant reveals ‘nightmare’ drink they ‘hate’ pouring for travellers

Center Parcs has six resorts in the UK and Ireland, but there are also locations in Europe. There are 24 holiday villages across the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium.

Rebecca Kellett, 36, travelled with her family from Huddersfield in Yorkshire to De Vossemeren in Belgium and still saved an eye-watering £635 including travel costs. The travel blogger and company director drove to Belgium – via the Eurotunnel – with her partner JP, 42, and his two children for their holiday during the Center Parcs .

Rebecca paid a tiny £445 for the four of them for an entire week at the park. The same stay during the holidays at British Center Parcs Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, would have set her back £1699, Rebecca claims.

One of the reasons that bargains can be found on mainland Europe is that the school holidays can differ to British ones. So sometimes you can bag a term-time price instead.

Rebecca did have to spend more on travel due to the cost of petrol and the Eurotunnel – £150 and £220 respectively, as well as £249 for three hotel nights to break up the journey. But, she says they still saved a fortune regardless.

Plus, the family praised the lower cost of activities at the Belgian holiday village. The aerial adventure in the Sherwood Center Parcs was £49 and £19 in Belgium.

Looking at the park’s website there are 49 activities available at the park including an aqua park (£12 per person), paddle boarding (£12.90), paintball (£15.48), archery (£13.75), laser battle (£14.62) and badminton (£13.76).

Plus, families can get stuck into a fun pirate feast with a show and a three course meal or try the escape room. There are also six restaurants to enjoy, a supermarket, cottage delivery service and shops.

Rebecca said: “For the same week in the UK it was £1700 but for this one in Belgium, it was 519 Euros, which is about £445.The Euro Tunnel was £220, we spent about £150 on fuel.

“We added on about three nights in hotels to break up the journey, which you don’t have to do. Even with all of that added on, it was still £635 cheaper than the UK.

“Not to mention that the activities here are so much blooming cheaper, like a lot cheaper. Definitely consider Center Parcs Europe for your next half-term trip.”

Rebecca spent a week in Center Parcs Sherwood Forest over the Christmas period and spent a whopping £900. But, as the kids had such a good time she wanted to take them away again when the weather got warmer.

Rebecca said: “It was out of principle that we didn’t spend £1700 on the trip. I prefer quantity over quality and would much rather spend 10 nights in a half-decent hotel than less in a nice one.

“I did a bit of an investigation into Center Parcs EU and saw the French version had the De Vossemeren site on there.”

She chose the site because of the number of activities they could afford to do in Belgium. Plus, the accommodation didn’t differ much from the UK.

Rebecca added: “The cabins were exactly the same in Belgium as they are in the UK. You could tell they were part of the same company.”

Options on offer include hotel rooms, hotel suites, VIP, comfort and premium cottages and the Wonders of Nature cottage. Most accommodation options at the parks sleep two to four people.

Rebecca has gone viral a number of times for her cheap holiday finds. She’s found £15 return flights to Portugal and headed to Italy for £11.

Currently, you can book a weekend at De Vossemeren Center Parcs Belgium in July from £455 for a family of four. A couple can bag the same trip for just £185; centerparcs.eu.

All prices were accurate at the time of publication according to the exchange rate. However, these are subject to adjustment at any time.