Retailers are reeling from the latest fuel price cuts at Asda and Tesco. At the end of last month Asda 'rolled back' the price of both diesel and unleaded petrol across the country by up to 2ppl to 93.9ppl.

Wild Bean Café has given its food and drink a major facelift to tempt shoppers with cheaper and more healthy fare.

The first meeting of the Car Wash Campaign Group took place last month in London, during which the nuts and bolts of setting up the group and membership criteria were discussed.

Drivers in remote parts of the Highlands and Islands should pay less duty on fuel than other parts of the UK, according to the Liberal Democrats.

A new prime minister, a new cabinet - will there be anything positive to come out of it for petrol retailers? Doubtful, seems to be the general thrust of opinion. And, as if to confirm that some things never change, almost within hours, certain supermarkets were taking the lead in announcing fuel price cuts. Oh no, comes the collective groan from the industry. Here we go again.

A new 'homebrew' revolution is set to increase biofuel production after the government relaxed duty rules.

Police are stopping and checking petrol tankers travelling into London amid fears they may be used as travelling 'bombs' in a terrorist attack.

A Burnley forecourt has won its appeal to sell alcohol around the clock.

The businesses and trading subsidiaries of Torex Retail have been acquired for £204.4m by Cerberus European Investments through Torex Retail Holdings, an acquisition vehicle owned by Cerberus.

Investment in shops across the continent should sometimes be treated with caution, and retailers could encourage more convenient channels of quick payment for fuel-only customers.

Big chains dominate the motorway service station sector but Westmorland Services, just north of junction 38 on the M6 in the Lake District, is different. And that's because it is an independent, family-run site and it boasts a farm shop.

In last month's forecourt Trader we noted a surge in fuel sales based on the Database figures for March - possibly as a result of the fall-out from the supermarket fuel fiasco in February. We did wonder whether this was a temporary blip or the start of a trend. Well, looking at the latest figures from April, it would seem that all of those motorists who had supposedly forsaken 'cheap' fuel for 'quality' have been unable to kick their addiction to supermarkets. In short, April's fuel volumes were right back to normal.

Long may they serve

Imperial Tobacco's trade communications manager answers questions on the smoking ban...

Independent forecourt operators have become the target of management teams at Londis and Budgens following an extensive review of the positioning of both brands.

The Car Wash Campaign Group got under way in London with its first meeting last month, with independent retailer David Charman at its helm as chairman. But the organisation fundamental to its formation was the Association of Convenience Stores, which is headed up by James Lowman, who took over as chief executive just six months ago.

As margins on fuel are driven further down, and the forecourt sector becomes increasingly competitive, operators are always looking for ways to cut costs - and maintenance is often the first casualty.

How much do you think the sweet and savoury snacks market is worth in the UK? One billion pounds perhaps? Or even two? If those were your answers, then you're way off because according to AC Nielsen, the biscuits, bagged snacks, snack cakes and snack confectionery market was worth a whopping £6.7bn in 2006 and is growing at a rate of 1.4%. Biggest growth comes from cakes up 4.9% and bagged snacks such as crisps, up 3.5%.

Less fat, less sugar and more fruit juice. That basically sums up what's going on in the sugar confectionery market. So we have Maynards Wine Gums Light with 50% less sugar than the standard line, and Haribo Lite, which is a selection of fruit-flavoured, fruit-shaped gums which have 30% fewer calories and 40% less sugar than standard gums. You can see why manufacturers are keen to jump on the healthy bandwagon when you look at Mintel statistics that state sales of healthier confectionery products have grown by 40% since 2001, and are now worth around £400m.

A new 'green' tyre inflation system that aims to conserve energy, save fuel and extend the life of car tyres has been launched by Buckinghamshire-based Car Wash UK.

All BP sites will be capable of accepting PIN verification for all purchases made via fuel cards by the end of the summer.

Six old upright super-market tanks were juggled by giant cranes as part of David Plumb & Co's latest project to decommission them for reuse.

Consumers of Coca-Cola and Coke Zero will get the chance to win tickets to top football matches in a new promotion that kicks off next month.

A raspberry & peach flavour is being added to the Trident Splash gum range. It is the best-selling Splash line in Sweden and also a top seller in Norway so Cadbury Trebor Bassett (CTB) has high hopes for it here. Rrp is 50p.

From July 9, all Walkers crisps will be made with 100% British-farmed potatoes. The move will reduce Walkers' food miles and aims to lower the company's impact on the environment.

Gallaher is launching Brio lighters in the UK. Available in Maxi and Micro formats, they both incorporate a 'smooth spark wheel' system to ensure they are child resistant but at the same time retain a smooth lighting mechanism for adult users.

Magnum is running a £1.5m promotion which brand owner Unilever says is the biggest ever for an ice cream brand. The 'Win a luxury break every day' competition gives consumers the chance to win trips to Europe. The promotion runs throughout July and August and is supported by a dedicated TV ad, poster campaign, press support and pos kits.

Birds Eye is relaunching its entire product portfolio with a fresh new look, as part of a £25m investment for 2007.

Swan has launched a new Combi pack which contains 50 filters and 50 green papers. It has a handy flip-top and is no wider than a packet of papers. A recent consumer survey carried out by Swan brand owner Swedish Match, found that the glue is regarded as the most important element of a cigarette paper. In response to this, Swan papers have been improved with 'extra stick'.

Duracell has teamed up with iTunes for an on-pack promotion as part of its 'Summer of music' activity. Consumers get a free iTunes download with every purchase of special AA4, AAA4, C2 and D2 packs of Duracell Ultra M3 and Plus batteries.

Wrigley is adding four new flavours to its Extra bottle pack range: cool breeze, Extra Ice and Extra Ice with liquid burst in peppermint and spearmint. The cool breeze and Extra Ice bottles contain 60 pieces of gum, rrp £2.29, while the liquid burst bottles have 40 pieces for the same price.

Canadian company Little i is launching its Mirror Mints range onto the UK market via distributors ICA.

Rotella, a selection of fruit jelly sweets shaped like catherine wheels, is the latest addition to Haribo's hanging bag range.

Britvic has introduced a new pack design for Drench in a bid to attract new buyers to the brand.

Fredericks Dairies has added a Chunky Choc Ice to its range of Cadbury ice creams and it's available exclusively to impulse retailers.

Flavoured milk drink Yazoo is running a 'Rocket' on-pack offer to help retailers boost their soft drinks sales over the summer months.

So, after 10 years it's farewell to Uncle Tony. Ten years is a remarkable achievement by anyone's standards and, who knows, if it wasn't for Iraq maybe the 10 could have become 15 (mind you, if it wasn't for the poll tax maybe Maggie would still be prime minister). Well, we know how it's been for you but how has it been for us?