Quack medicine - Telegraph Up and down the country, thousands if not millions of people will be marking the new year by going on a diet, desperately trying to shed a few of the pounds gained over the festive season. But it is not just humans who could do with a visit from the nutritionist. The RSPB has warned that Britain's waterfowl, having gorged themselves on donated bread, are becoming too fat to fly: apparently, the excess of starch brings on an unpleasant condition known as "angel wing." The experts" prescription is simple: like Doctor Atkins, they suggest replacing bread with vegetables. Sound advice - but it could have had a profound impact on the course of the Cold War. After all, what self-respecting spymaster, arriving for a clandestine meeting by the duck pond at St James's Park, would feel comfortable whipping out a stick of broccoli?