You may have heard of the butterfly effect - the theory that when a bug flaps its wings in, say, Brazil, it sets off a causal chain that results in a hurricane on the other side of the globe.

In grocery terms: when a knight of the realm farts on the banks of the Mersey, the boom in a Cheshunt warehouse is deafening.

To that we can add the David Beckham effect, as the frozen food entrepreneur and occasional footballer looks to make permanent his switch from the football wasteland of LA to European giant AC Milan.

Cadbury stumbled into a PR coup of sorts this week when retailers in LA revealed Goldenballs' favourite choc bar is none other than the Curly Wurly.

"David is welcome to limitless Curly Wurlys at pre-credit crunch prices," gushed ex-pat retailer Lorraine Williams, who is battling President Obama's hikes in import tariffs.

" We're worried about having to pass on higher prices," she said. "I hope people will still come in for treats from home."

Blogof suspects Becks' Italian job is simply a PR stunt to promote a new range of pasta ready meals. But with manufacturer Newcastle Productions gone under, he may soon be looking for another batch of new team-mates.