Ffellow ffans of Fforde.
I have come to deliver grave news indeed. If you could just take a seat, as this may come as a shock to you.
Whilst Googling the correct spelling of Battenberg, I came across the Wikipedia entry for it, and the last paragraph brought tears to my eyes.
"On 10 April 2008 the British Food Standards Agency asked for a voluntary ban on artificial food colourings and suggested that the ban would be practical by the end of 2009. This would mean that certain foods such as mushy peas, battenberg cakes, Turkish Delight and tinned strawberries might disappear temporarily or permanently, unless an alternative natural food colouring is found"
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en.wikipedia.org]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry