Moonpig has apologised to dozens of customers who complained about deliveries of Mothers Day cards and flowers.
The online greeting card and gift firm was bombarded with complaints about items that were damaged, late or failed to arrive. Among the complaints posted on social media were photos of flowers with wilted leaves and snapped stems, and a smashed vase. One customer claimed their mother took delivery of a flower box to find it was empty.
The company spent Mothers Day answering the stream of complaints on Twitter and Facebook before reportedly attributing the problems to an issue with a supplier.
Related: Internet flowers the perils of a thoughtful gift
Michael Blair wrote to Moonpig on Twitter: OMG! Flowers just arrived for Mum - broken, ripped, dead, disgusting! And no card til Monday either!
Becky Peters from Newport, South Wales, tweeted: MoonpigUK two years in a row you have disappointed me, youve lost a customer. Dont advertise your cards to be delivered on Mothers Day if theyre not going to arrive.
Helen Palmer tweeted a photo of a sorry-looking bouquet and a damaged vase along with the comment unhappy Mothers Day, while Jakeyjelly tweeted: MoonpigUK ordered my Mothers Day flowers and got the card but no flowers in sight absolute disgrace! alongside a photo of an empty box.
In adverts ahead of Mothers Day the firm said it would take orders for gifts until 2pm on Friday and flower orders up to 4pm on Saturday. Flowers and plants were supposed to be delivered between 8am and 9pm over the Mothers Day weekend, the company said.
A spokesman for Moonpig told the BBC: We can confirm that an issue with one of our suppliers has delayed the delivery of flowers to some of our customers this weekend.
We know how important Mothers Day is and we have apologised to and compensated all customers who have experienced a delay.
Weve been working hard to put things right and by the end of Mothers Day almost all orders have been delivered. We hope our customers accept our sincere apologies.
Donkey of the day: Conor McGregor and Katt Williams (Talking Reckless and Getting Defeated):
Comedian Katt Williams is certainly keeping the social-media embers glowing lately.
The week after his arrest in north Georgia on a simple battery charge, followed by allegations that he pointed a gun at some women in downtown Atlanta, he is trending again on Twitter. This time, his 140-character notoriety is spurred by this fracas at a Philly concert. Someone caught it on video (of course) and it landed on TMZ (where else?)
Getty Images
PAST: Katt Williams says racial slur prompted fracas that led to arrest
He did take a break to refuel in between episodes,rolling up to the Atlanta Fish Market last Thursday night in a caravan including a Lamborghini, a stretch limousine and a van with dark tinted windows to accommodate his 10-person entourage. Were told he took home a doggy bag literally selecting some salmon pieces to take home to his pooch.
Alas, the tranquility apparently didnt last long. Heres the video from TMZ:
Peyton Manning trots into the end zone for his 18th career rushing touchdown. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
DeMarcus Ware may never forget The Peyton Manning n***d Bootleg, even if he tried.
You know the play. Against the Cowboys in Dallas in 2013. The 37-year-old Manning faked a handoff to Knowshon Moreno then curled around to the left as the scrum collapsed on Moreno. Without a defender in sight, Manning trotted into the end zone leaving millions watching in disbelief.
Ware included. He was still with the Cowboys at the time and remembers it vividly. While reflecting on his two years with Manning in Denver and congratulating the quarterback on his Hall of Fame career, Ware looked back to that 2013 play.
You always hear about Peyton Manning and how he controls the game, uplifts other players to his standards, and I was fortunate to see it as a teammate and opponent, Ware said. He was one of those guys who was a great competitor who took chances. When I played against him in Dallas (2013 game), I had the bootleg responsibility and I never thought he would do it. The weird thing is, he looked at me before with this image of, I got you.
Being his teammate, I saw how he carried himself, how meticulous he was, how much of a competitor and how great he was off the field. He was one of those guys that if you had an event, a dinner, he was always engaged in every guys life. He knew what the trash mans name was, the trainers, the cafeteria workersall by name. He always thought about everyone else. When you think of the word champion, hes the image that you see.
There will be seven presidential contests this weekend. Most of them will be small caucuses. Reporters in three states Kentucky, Kansas and Maine describe the races they"re covering.
LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
No doubt the fireworks will continue. Donald Trump is in Kansas today making a last-minute bid for delegates. Kansas is one of five states holding caucuses and other primaries this weekend. We"ll hear now from reporters in three of those states, starting in Kentucky. That state is holding its first Republican presidential caucus since 1984. Kentucky Public Radio"s Ryland Barton reports.
RYLAND BARTON, BYLINE: The reason why there"s a caucus here this year has everything to do with Senator Rand Paul. He convinced the state Republican Party to switch to a caucus so he could run for president and re-election to his Senate seat at the same time. He was skirting a state law that forbids candidates from appearing on the same ballot twice. It also offered Kentucky another benefit, argues Scott Lasley, a local Republican Party chairman.
SCOTT LASLEY: We"re more important than we were, but we"re still - it"d still be nice to be a little bit more important (laughter).
BARTON: Kentucky did get a little bit of attention from the candidates. Ben Carson stopped in Lexington on Monday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BEN CARSON: It"s not the evil, rich people. It"s the evil government. It"s the evil government.
BARTON: And then on Super Tuesday, the Donald Trump show came to Louisville.
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DONALD TRUMP: Trump is best on ISIS. Trump is best on military. Trump is best on security. Yeah, don"t hurt him. Don"t hurt him.
BARTON: But other than that, there hasn"t been a whole lot of politicking for Kentucky"s 46 Republican delegates. Meanwhile, Republican officials are left with a big question - will people come out to caucus? Here"s Scott Lasley.
LASLEY: The biggest challenge is really making sure as many people know about it as possible, and that"s probably been a little bit tougher than maybe was anticipated.
BARTON: Most of Kentucky"s 120 counties will only have one caucus location. That means some voters will have to drive far to participate. And even though Rand Paul dropped out of the race a month ago, his name will still be on the ballot of the caucus he created. For NPR News, I"m Ryland Barton in Frankfurt, Ky.
JENNIFER MITCHELL, BYLINE: I"m Jennifer Mitchell in Bangor, Maine, where the state"s governor, Paul LePage, welcomed a special guest at a political rally this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PAUL LEPAGE: The next president of the United States, Donald Trump.
MITCHELL: LePage endorsed Trump recently. The governor is well-known for being outspoken and combative, not unlike Trump. And LePage"s conservative policies were the target of another political candidate here this week - Democrat Bernie Sanders.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BERNIE SANDERS: If I"m not mistaken, I think I"m right that you have a governor here who likes to beat up on poor people, right?
MITCHELL: Sanders hopes to do well here. He also won next door in New Hampshire and in his home state of Vermont. For a state with only a few dozen delegates on both sides, there"s been an unusual flurry of campaigning.
JIM MELCHER: Timing wise, Maine is hitting this well.
MITCHELL: Maine never gets this many pre-caucus candidate visits, says Jim Melcher, a political science professor at U. Maine Farmington. He says Mainers have a tradition of going their own way, choosing independent candidates or those who fall outside the so-called establishment.
MELCHER: They don"t necessarily need somebody who"s extremely polished and slick and smooth. And Maine has a political character of really turning out and taking politics seriously.
MITCHELL: In general elections, Maine has voted reliably Democratic for president for nearly 30 years. So after this weekend"s caucus, it may be four years before the national political circus stops here again. For NPR News, I"m Jennifer Mitchell.
STEPHEN KORANDA, BYLINE: I"m Stephen Koranda in Kansas where candidates have been campaigning all week. At a Ted Cruz event in Overland Park, Elizabeth Foster says she loves the Texas senator.
ELIZABETH FOSTER: I feel like he"s someone who will do what he said that he would do. I feel that he stands for my principles, which are Christian values primarily.
KORANDA: Cruz and Senator Marco Rubio are making their pitches to evangelical Kansas voters, a major constituency here. Many of the state"s prominent elected officials, including Governor Sam Brownback, have endorsed Rubio. At a Rubio event in Topeka, Chris Maher says he likes some of Donald Trump"s policies but thinks Trump goes a little too far at times.
CHRIS MAHER: I like the whole make America great again thing that he does, however, I think it"s more than just saying that. You actually have to try to work with other countries rather than just building a wall.
KORANDA: But Trump has been endorsed by the state"s well-known secretary of state, Kris Kobach, who told the "PBS Newshour" that Trump is attracting new blood to the party.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PBS NEWSHOUR")
KRIS KOBACH: The Republican establishment is looking a gift horse in the mouth and saying, yeah, we don"t really want those blue-collar workers who are coming over to the Republican Party.
KORANDA: Polls have Trump leading the field here, but in a low turnout caucus, the results will depend on whose supporters are the most passionate. For NPR News, I"m Stephen Koranda in Topeka, Kan.
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2015-16 College Basketball: (#20) Duke vs. (#5) North Carolina (Full Game) If you"re trying to watch the Duke-versus-UNC basketball game Saturday night but have pulled the plug on cable and can"t afford tickets that are going for up to eight thousand dollars on StubHub, here"s an interesting viewing option:The Cookery,on Durham"s Chapel Hill Street, will open its doors for Belly Up, an open house of sorts that will feature local food vendors as well as a giant screen to watch the game.
Pie Pushers will be on hand slinging wings and two variations on knots: dough b***s filled with chicken and parmesan cheese, with either buffalo or Cackalacky sauce. The Sweeter Side will have macarons, cake pops, cookies, and more sweets. Both operations are among several area institutions using The Cookery for mobile food operations.
This is the third open house-style "pub night" that The Cookery has hosted. The interior space is generally reserved for private events, such as wedding receptions. Owner Rochelle Johnson says these nights allow the public to learn about The Cookery as much as their own neighbors.
Its an opportunity for The Cookery to open its doors to the neighborhood," she says."Most of the folks that attend these events live pretty close to The Cookery, and a lot of people are able to gather that wouldnt normally hang out together.
There"s no cover charge or registration required, but Johnson is requesting that people interested in attending RSVP via Facebook, to help Pie Pushers and Sweeter Side plan their prep.
Pat Conroy gave the 2001 commencement speech atThe Citadel,something he once thought Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein or feminist actress Jane Fonda had a better shot at.
UPDATE: Pat Conroys funeral arrangements announced; services open to the public
PAST: A year before he died, Pat Conroy opened a gym..Pat Conroy dies at 70 ..Conroy revealed cancer diagnosis and said I intend to fight
AP photo
Conroy, who died Friday at 70 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, was estranged from his alma mater for decades over Lords of Discipline, the novel set in a brutal military academy. Many in The Citadel community took issue with the jarring depiction of the school.
The school and writer reconciled, though, and Conroy was invited to speak at commencement in 2001. His speech was as unflinching as his novel had been.
Class of 2001, listen up. I dont have much time, he said. They dont give you much time for graduation speeches. Because of various aspects of my character and fate, I did not get to address the corps of cadets in the last century.There were many years when I thought that Saddam Hussein or Jane Fonda had a better chance of addressing this class than I did.
He then took a graceful turn in citing the first line of his controversial book.
In 1979, the year most of yall were born, I was finishing up The Lords of Discipline, and I tried to think of a line or words that would sum up better than anything how I felt and how other people feel about this college. I wanted it to be something ringing and affirmative, something true, something that would be true for every person whos every gone through the Long Gray Line. I came up with this line: I wear the ring. I think it is the best line I have ever written and the best English sentence I am capable of writing.
Toward the end, he issues a very touching invitation to the cadets in the audience that day: He said he wanted them all to attend his funeral.
