The Cadbury Flake is an icon of British confectionary.
First developed all the way back in 1920, and surprisingly discovered just by chance thanks to Cadbury Bournville factory employee, Ralph Thompson – who noticed thin streams of excess chocolate falling from moulds cooled into flaky ripples – the Flake has gone on to become a beloved sweet treat, not just in the UK, but in several other countries worldwide too.
Due to the success of the chocolate bar, by 1930, Cadbury began selling half-sized Flakes specifically for sticking in the top of vanilla soft serve ice cream, known as ’99 Flakes’, which were served by ice cream vendors nationwide.
Many will be familiar with the famous 1983 advert, where Cadbury chose to brand Flakes as “the crumbliest, flakiest milk chocolate in the world”.
But could the day finally be here? The day when the “the crumbliest, flakiest milk chocolate in the world” is now just too crumbly to stick in 99 cone? Well, according to a growing number of ice cream sellers, this is apparently the case.
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Ice cream sellers are complaining Cadbury Flakes are now ‘too crumbly’ for 99s / Credit: Flickr
With the UK having been treated to some warm weather recently, and the hottest day of the year even on the horizon this bank holiday weekend, it’s led to ice cream traders across the country complaining that 99 Flakes have started deteriorating in quality since the production of the chocolate treats was moved over to Egypt in 2020.
Vendor John Taylor, who owns of C&M Creamery Ices in North Yorkshire, complained to the BBC that the quality of 99 Flakes nowadays is “embarrassing for an ice cream man”.
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“You can’t give someone a 99 with a broken Flake,” he added.
Lawrence Glauser, owner of Lorenzo’s Ices in East Yorkshire, agreed with fellow vendor John and described the situation as a “big issue” because often at least a quarter of the Flake boxes are “unusable” – which has left him having to resorting to more creative measures.
“I now serve trays of ice cream and sprinkle bits of Flake on top,” Lawrence revealed, “I shouldn’t have to do that. I’m fed up of the wastage”.
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Is the “crumbliest, flakiest milk chocolate in the world” now… too crumbly? / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Katy Alston, who is the president of The Ice Cream Alliance, says she won’t be using Cadbury Flakes in the 99s she sells from her ice cream van in Bognor Regis for the first time ever this year, as she claims she sometimes has to throw at least half the box away because “they’ve all been broken”, which doesn’t help when she has a reputation to maintain.
“If you order a 99, you want a good solid Flake in it,” she concluded.
Addressing the growing concerns, a spokesperson for manufacturer Mondelēz International said: “Cadbury Flake 99 is a naturally delicate and crumbly product, and we have processes in place within our supply chain to avoid any breakage as much as possible.
“We are aware that recently some customers have received product which does not meet our usual high standards. This has been addressed following recent improvements to our production processes although some prior stock may remain in circulation.
“We are in the process of liaising with our customers (wholesalers) to support those potentially impacted.
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“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused”.
Featured Image – Flickr
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Sankeys nightclub is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
It’s officially happening: iconic local club Sankeys is coming back to Manchester city centre almost a decade on from its gutting closure.
The iconic ‘Sankey’s Soap’ nightlife space – which started out over in Ancoats during the mid-’90s – enjoyed numerous stints during its time in the clubbing world, as well as opening multiple partnered venues in the country and even overseas.
Now, approaching nine years after the shutdown, Sankeys is returning to Manchester in the new year, and Mancs are currently losing their minds.
Whether you are one of those who ‘remember it when’, or someone who sadly missed out on the halcyon days in the old Beehive Mill, we assure you that everyone is in agreement that this is nothing short of massive news…
First teasing the comeback back in July, as our city and the world at large were gripped by ‘Britpop Mania’ 2.0, the largely dormant Instagram account posted: “This week Manchester, and the UK, has been blessed with a homecoming of our very own, Oasis.
“We think Manchester deserves another homecoming… Definitely, maybe?”
The North West corners of the internet and veteran revellers alike were understandably quick to get excited by the potential revival, but nothing else had been said for months – until now.
Confirmed on Tuesday, 25 November, the infamous and storied nightclub’s social media team began by writing, simply: “The Legend Returns” and beckoning “a new era for Sankeys”.
It is still unclear as to where exactly the new and improved club(s) will be, but we do know that the events will be in the city centre. However, we do know we’ll be getting a familiar matrix grid installation as part of the design once again.
They will also be enforcing a strict new no-phones policy, which has become increasingly popular across the scene, thanks to the likes of Amber’s right here in Manchester.
Sankeys first opened in Manchester as "Sankeys Soap" in June 1994.[3] It was so called due to its residence inside Beehive Mill, Ancoats, which once was used to manufacture soap. The basement of the mill was transformed into a club and live music venue#pub#historypic.twitter.com/cnM6Nt23uZ
Sankeys may have remained an active promoter in the days since the building on the corner of Radium and Jersey Street (M4 6JG) closed – going on to become an unsuspecting office development – this will be the first event of the aforementioned next chapter in a flagship venue.
Promising a limited capacity of no more than 500 people, Sankeys is set to make its landmark return on
“We will only be open one night a week on Saturday. There will be no VIP or phones allowed on the dancefloor — everyone is a VIP. People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat.”
Hordes of clubbers, ravers, students and more are already signing up for early access and general admission tickets for the first two nights on Friday and Saturday, 30-31 January 2026 go on sale at 9am this Friday (28 Nov).
Get ready to grab yours HERE and party like it’s, well, 1994, 2017 – take your pick.
Liam Gallagher thanks Oasis fans with typically unserious and X-rated post on social media
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher has taken to X to appreciate Oasis fans for what we can all agree was one of the best years of our gigging careers, as the Live ’25 world tour officially ended this month.
The Oasis reunion kicked off back in July and, just like the greatest hits compilation, Time Flies… Their globetrotting series made it possibly the greatest summer of live music in decades, and even after the hometown shows in Manchester were long gone, they took us right through to the winter.
Heaton Park was truly magical, but even those who didn’t manage to get tickets for any of the UK dates got to watch it through the lens of countless fans worldwide, and believe us, the crowds and mania online were a big part of what will see this particular tour go down in history.
It’s clear that fact was not lost on Liam either, as not long after the final show at the Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil, the younger Gallagher brother shared a typically nonsensical, expletive-filled, but nevertheless heartfelt message of gratitude to the legions of Oasis fans who made it happen.
Even after all is said and done, he’s another year older, and Oasis are once again the biggest band on the planet; he’s still as irreverent and unapologetically himself as ever.
We’ll be honest, we’re not entirely confident we know what “absolutely licked it up to ras” even means, but we’re pretty sure it’s a good thing.
In fairness, he isn’t entirely unserious in the post – he still thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart and said he will be “forever grateful for your energy”.
As he sums up everything perfectly in that final line: “without you were just a good band, with you were the BEST BAND ON THE ***ING PLANET”.
He signed off with the trademark “LG x”, but the fanbase now feels bigger than ever and won’t be going anywhere. Personally, we intend to watch every one of those clips from across South America, as those audiences have always ‘got it’ just as much as we did here in Manchester.
Although Noel has yet to share any kind of post following the end of Live ’25, he was one of the very first members of the tour to talk about how the reunion was going.
After taking a scheduled break to look after his health, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs has also been pretty active on socials over the months, simply replying with a trio of love hearts underneath lead singer Liam’s humorous response to the outpouring of love following the final gig.
We can only hope and pray that we get to do this all over again in 2026, and whether there ends up being new Oasis songs on the setlist or not, we’ll just be happy to be back jumping up and down and crying our hearts out – no matter how many times they tell us to stop.
Emily Sergeant -
26th May 2023 
