DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
• An eight-year-old boy ensured his latest graphic novel was on library book shelves – he snuck in to the local branch and placed it there himself. Dillon Helbig, of Boise in Idaho, announced to his family in November that he had written a book – The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis – and secretly placed it on the shelves at Lake Hazel Branch of the Ada Community Library. After being contacted by Dillon’s mother, staff at the library have since entered the 88-page book, a time-travelling adventure which is credited to Dillon “His Self”, into the catalogue and it’s since reportedly had queues of more than 100 waiting to check it out. It’s not Dillon’s first book – he had previously written stories running up to 10 pages – but it was by far his biggest. The library, meanwhile, has rewarded Dillon’s efforts with the 2021 Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist.
The pub, said to be Britain’s oldest, pictured in 2010. PICTURE: David Adams
• A pub said to be Britain’s oldest – the Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in the town of St Albans – is closing its doors because of financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 crisis, bringing to an end 1,229 years of history. “It goes without saying I am heartbroken: this pub has been so much more than just a business to me, and I feel honoured to have played even a small part in its history,” wrote landlord Christo Tofalli in a Facebook post announcing the pub had gone into administration. The pub’s history apparently goes back as far as 793AD while the current building dates back to the 11th century.
• A priest who had been ringing church bells more than 200 times a day in a Florence suburb has been fined €2,000 for excessive ringing. Don Leonardo Guerri, of the Santa Maria a Coverciano church in the east of Florence, had been engaged in what newspaper Corriere Fiorentino called the “war of the bells” for four years. The priest will still be able to ring the bells, but only for the call to Mass and the last service of the day at 6pm.
