Press cutting Lancashire Telegraph, 20 April 2008: Shepherd's pie recipe rumpus. Subhead: Petrol bomb threat in tomato topping row. By ANDREW BELLARD A dispute over the contents of a shepherd's pie proved to be a recipe for brotherly disharmony. Blackburn magistrates heard that John Garvin thought that the pie his brother Michael made should have been topped with tomatoes but Michael disagreed. The upshot was that John, who was hit over the head with a shovel, reacted by threatening to petrol bomb his brother's flat. And he ended up spending a night in custody to allow tempers to cool. John Garvin, 47, of Montague Street, admitted a breach of the peace and was bound over in £100 to keep the peace for 12 months. Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the brothers lived in separate flats next to each other. On the day of the culinary dispute they had been drinking together since 7am. "The argument started because there were no tomatoes on the shepherds pie that Michael made for tea and John thought this was wrong," said Miss Allan. John called his brother an offensive name and then said he was going to petrol bomb his flat. "Michael was concerned by this threat because on a previous occasion John had started a fire in his own flat," said Miss Allan. Liz Parker, defending, said her client did not accept making a remark about petrol bombing his brother's flat. "He does say that his brother hit him over the head with a shovel and it is very clear there was a lot of trouble over nothing," she added. (The article has a pullout quote which says “It is very clear there was a lot of trouble over nothing” - LIZ PARKER in large letters) District Judge Peter Ward, who imposed the bind over, asked in court: "You can make shepherd's pie without tomatoes can't you?" But 'legal' opinion at Blackburn magistrates, where the issue became quite a talking point, was divided. A female defence solicitor said it should be made with lamb and topped with sliced tomatoes and that a pie made with b…
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