Kathy Foley

It was only while peruing the front page of The Observer last night that I remembered the newspaper tradition of inserting one or two ridiculous stories on April 1. So I began to flick through its pages to find the April Fool’s story.

I thought for a minute this might be it: Nine years late, Dad’s lost ashes come home. Then I realised it would be in incredibly poor taste if it were.

There were a few other contenders. This story, about a threatened walkout by teachers if classroom temperatures exceeded 27C, and this brief:

‘Baa’ humbug to EU
A European Union proposal for an electronic identity system for sheep has been rejected by Welsh MP Mark Williams. ‘We already have a robust system of identifying a species. If it’s woolly and goes “baa”, it’s a sheep,’ he said in a parliamentary question.

I’m still in two minds about that sheep story but the definite April Fool piece was on p15: Blair: I’ll be treading the boards again.

Having found that, I had a look at the Sunday Tribune. Not only were their two April Fool stories pretty obvious (FG plans to change ‘unfair’ national anthem and Right Toole for the job) they also let us in on the secret on p21, just in case anyone was dozy enough to believe those doozies.

Satisified that I had found the April Fools, I sat back to read the papers properly. Then I realised that I had read the Sunday Times news section front to back in the morning and hadn’t twigged that one or more of its stories might not actually be true.

Feeling a bit panicked, I found the ST and went through it. I guess the tall tale has to be this one about Gromit the cartoon dog being co-opted into HMV advertising. All I remember thinking on reading it first was that it was a shame the old logo was going and wondering if they would bring it back once Gromit’s novelty value had run its course.

I hold my hands up. I was ‘ad. At least I think I was.

Update: My sources indicate that the Gromit story may actually be true. Oh dear.