From the Lost Property Dept of the Austrian Times we receive a note asking us to be on the look out for a 1100lb cannon which until yesterday was part of a “Napoleon Festival”.

“The weapon – worth 5,000 Euros say police – was taken from a site commemorating a farmers’ insurrection against Napoleon on Lueg Pass between 5am and 7am.

Local police in Golling in Salzburg’s Tennengau said the front-loading cannon used by the historic German grenadier battalion “Von Spiegel” has a Saxon coat of arms engraved on the cannon.”

Right, so if a cannon randomly turns up on your neighbour’s rockery you’ll know exactly how to identify it. Make sure he returns the crane and the low-loader truck he borrowed from you for that “job for a mate” too, and check for scratches.