Anger as Southend bakery launches Hot Cross Buns WITHOUT ‘offensive’ cross
A bakery in Southend has upset a number of people in the local community by launching Hot Cross Buns WITHOUT a cross on them – the managing director has said that this ‘difficult decision’ was taken to ensure that nobody in the community gets offended by the cake over the next few weeks.
Michael Prove has been in charge of the Baker’s Cupboard on Hamlet Street since 2002, and he explained his decision to the Chief Reporter. He said: ‘We have produced thousands of Hot Cross Buns in the past without anybody getting upset, but 2016 has been very different. As soon as our traditional Hot Cross Buns went on sale last week, a maths teacher came in and demanded that we stop selling them as they can be rotated slightly, leaving an ‘X’ – he felt that the buns do not give out a clear signal about whether or not they are a ‘plus’ symbol or a ‘multiply’ symbol.’
He continued: ‘He accused us of confusing children who are just starting to truly understand the world of mathematics, and to be honest I told him in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t be willing to remove the cross from the buns. He stormed out of the bakery shop area, and at closing time he came back with four other Maths teachers and they used baseball bats to smash everything up. I don’t want any more trouble in my shop, so regretfully we will no longer be putting crosses on our buns.’
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that fundamentalist maths teachers have gone on the rampage in Southend. Police were called to Southend seafront in 2013 when a group of them stormed Three Shells Beach and threw blankets over women sunbathing in bikinis. According to their ‘leader,’ a pair of contained breasts could be interpreted as a number ‘8’ that has been written the wrong way up, and so the action was necessary to ensure that child numeracy rates remained at an acceptable level in the area.
A bakery in Southend has upset a number of people in the local community by launching Hot Cross Buns WITHOUT a cross on them – the managing director has said that this ‘difficult decision’ was taken to ensure that nobody in the community gets offended by the cake over the next few weeks.
Michael Prove has been in charge of the Baker’s Cupboard on Hamlet Street since 2002, and he explained his decision to the Chief Reporter. He said: ‘We have produced thousands of Hot Cross Buns in the past without anybody getting upset, but 2016 has been very different. As soon as our traditional Hot Cross Buns went on sale last week, a maths teacher came in and demanded that we stop selling them as they can be rotated slightly, leaving an ‘X’ – he felt that the buns do not give out a clear signal about whether or not they are a ‘plus’ symbol or a ‘multiply’ symbol.’
He continued: ‘He accused us of confusing children who are just starting to truly understand the world of mathematics, and to be honest I told him in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t be willing to remove the cross from the buns. He stormed out of the bakery shop area, and at closing time he came back with four other Maths teachers and they used baseball bats to smash everything up. I don’t want any more trouble in my shop, so regretfully we will no longer be putting crosses on our buns.’
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that fundamentalist maths teachers have gone on the rampage in Southend. Police were called to Southend seafront in 2013 when a group of them stormed Three Shells Beach and threw blankets over women sunbathing in bikinis. According to their ‘leader,’ a pair of contained breasts could be interpreted as a number ‘8’ that has been written the wrong way up, and so the action was necessary to ensure that child numeracy rates remained at an acceptable level in the area.
Where the hell would you find four maths teachers these days. 
