Spirit of the age

A Mother’s Day card in Waitrose this year read “Happy You Day”. The retailer said it wanted to make Mothering Sunday more “transgender inclusive”. Meanwhile, at Paperchase, “Mom” appeared on 10% of the Mother’s Day cards, leading to warnings about the Americanisation of English.

Health officials have proposed that office workers stop giving their colleagues birthday cakes, and celebrate with carrot sticks instead. Public Health England says that the tradition of bringing sweet treats into the office may be contributing to the obesity crisis and suggests workers think of healthy alternatives. In response to a public backlash, it pointed out that it was just an idea: “No one is trying to ban cakes.”