Council turns 'offensive' Spotted Dick into Spotted Richard to spare blushes of diners

Offensive? Spotted Dick has been renamed Spotted Richard by canteen staff at Flintshire County Council



For generations it has risen above all the schoolboy sniggers.



But it appears the smirking has to stop as modern sensitivities struggle to cope with the jokes prompted by one of our most loved puddings - Spotted Dick.



Now those sensitivities have seen a prudish council changing the name to Spotted Richard after canteen staff tired of the giggling.



The latest attempt to censor classic Victorian suet and raisin pudding has angered traditionalists, who have fought several battles in recent years over the name.



The defenders of the old ways have been joined by Klaus Armstrong-Braun, a councillor who was taken aback when he saw the name change in the canteen at the headquarters of Flintshire council in North Wales.



'I couldn't believe it, it seemed ludicrous,' he said.



'Spotted Dick is part of our heritage.



'It just seemed political correctness gone mad.



'There was a sign in the dining room for things like rice pudding and then this Spotted Richard - I had to ask what it was.



'Whoever has changed it needs to be told they are being silly.'







Yesterday a Flintshire spokesman explained that Spotted Richard was now on its menus at Mold county hall because of 'childish comments' from diners.



He said: 'The correct title for this dish is Spotted Dick.



'However, because of several immature comments from a few customers, catering staff renamed the dish Spotted Richard or Sultana Sponge.



'This was not a policy decision - staff simply acted as they thought best to put an end to unwelcome and childish comments, albeit from a very small number of customers.'



It is by no means the first time the name Spotted Dick has come under threat from the PC brigade.



In 2001, Tesco also opted for the name Spotted Richard, claiming women shoppers were offended by having to ask for Spotted Dick.



Others followed suit, with Gloucestershire NHS Trust among those who tried to popularise the 21st century version.



Both eventually admitted defeat, and yesterday the Pudding Club - which seeks to preserve traditional British desserts - predicted that Flintshire would go the same way.



'This is totally bonkers,' said chairman Peter Henderson.



'Spotted Dick is part of our heritage, and I can't believe people are really offended by it.

'If they were changing the name in a tongue-in- cheek way, that would be fair enough - I've seen it sold as Blemished Richard.



'But for a council to ban the name is a waste of time and money.'

