Fry spy: Last week an angry John Beckett sent a missive to this newspaper's Letters Page after the high price of fried eggs at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin left him completely scrambled. Coffee and toast for four, and two eggs cost him nearly €65, with the eggs accounting for almost half the bill.

When PriceWatch contacted the hotel, a spokesman said there had been no overcharging and that its prices are clearly advertised, both on the menus received by everyone in Beckett's breakfast party and outside the restaurant.

The problem was, however, that Beckett and his colleagues didn't think it necessary to study the menu (or its prices) in any detail before ordering.

By getting his very mini fry, he incurred the full cost of the hotel's breakfast plate, which is fixed at €26.

"I should have been told I would be charged for a full breakfast when I ordered the eggs," Beckett told PriceWatch, adding that his relationship with the Berkeley breakfast was over.

Access denied

Up until very recently, canny shoppers searching for electronic goods could often find bargains online at www.amazon.co.uk. Not any more. Recently the online website stopped taking orders for electronic goods from users in the Republic.

And the reason? Well, it's hard to say as the website is strangely tight-lipped on the topic. "We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to your selected destination," is all users attempting to buy electronic goods are told.

Smartie blues

It is the end of the line for the blue Smartie, following Nestlé Rowntree's decision to stop producing it because it is phasing out all artificial colours from its sweets. Currently there is no natural alternative to the blue chemical used, so by the summer the blue Smartie will be replaced by a white one.