DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
• The Bank of England this week unveiled it’s new £10 banknote featuring an image of author Jane Austen. And while the image has been welcomed, the quote that goes along with it has been much remarked upon on social media. Taken from Pride and Prejudice, it reads “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” and while the sentiment may be welcomed by many, it’s who utters those words in the book – the obnoxious Caroline Bingley, who makes the comment only in order to impress Mr Darcy – that has many smiling. The new banknote was unveiled at Winchester Cathedral where the author was buried.
• Larry may just be a snail but he has a lot to celebrate this week. He’s just won the World Snail Racing Championships over a field of more than 150 – including ‘Uslime Bolt’ – who had gathered in the English village of Congham for the event earlier this month. Each snail paid an entrance fee of 20 pence to compete on a 33 centimetre long course which was located on a damp cloth set on a table in the middle of a field. Larry completed the course in two minutes, 47 seconds. Owner Tara Beasley was reportedly gobsmacked by the win. “It’s not really sunk in…” she said after the event. The event has been run since the 1960s.
• It’s an uncomfortable way to wake up. A camper in the US state of Idaho reportedly woke up to find a bear’s mouth wrapped around her foot. “She wasn’t injured,”said Fish and Game Conservation Officer Alex Head, adding that while her sleeping bag wasn’t damaged, the bear “did leave some saliva on the sleeping bag”. Camping at the site in the Sawtooth National Forest was subsequently suspended.
