DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Beatriz Flamini, a Spanish mountaineer who has been isolated for 500 days in a cave is pictured during her daily life at the cave in Motril, Spain in this screen grab taken from a handout video in November, 2021. PICTURE: Dokumalia Producciones/Handout via Reuters.
• A 50-year-old Spanish extreme athlete emerged last Friday from a 500-day challenge living 70 metres deep in a cave outside Granada with minimal contact outside. Wearing dark glasses and smiling as she adjusted to the light of spring in southern Spain, elite mountaineer Beatriz Flamini told reporters that time had flown by and she did not want to come out. “When they came in to get me, I was asleep. I thought something had happened. I said: ‘Already? Surely not.’ I hadn’t finished my book,” she said. Flamini’s support team said she broke a world record for the longest time spent in a cave in an experiment monitored by scientists studying the human mind and circadian rhythms. She was 48 when she went into the cave, celebrating two birthdays alone underground. Flamini began her challenge on Saturday, 20th November, 2021 – before the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the end of Spain’s COVID mask requirement and the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. She did come out for eight days, her team disclosed, but stayed isolated in a tent waiting for repairs to a router used to send audios and videos to tell her team how she was doing. On Friday, she was greeted by a phalanx of cameras and her support team who encircled her in a hug. Asked if she ever thought about pressing her panic button or leaving the cave, she replied: “Never. In fact I didn’t want to come out.” Flamini was monitored by a group of psychologists, researchers, cave specialists and physical trainers looking for insight into how social isolation and disorientation can affect time, brain patterns and sleep. She was looking forward to a shower and sharing a plate of fried eggs and chips with friends. She said she would put herself in the hands of doctors to study the impact on her body and mind before planning new mountaineering and caving projects. The Guinness Book of Records website awards the “longest time survived trapped underground” to 33 Chilean and Bolivian miners who spent 69 days 688 m (2,257 ft) trapped in 2010. A spokesperson for Guinness was not able to immediately confirm whether there was a separate record for voluntary time living in a cave and whether Flamini had broken it. – AISLINN LAING, ELENA RODROGUEZ, INTI LANDAURO and EMMA PINEDO, Madrid, Spain/Reuters
People browse a souvenir kiosk that is displaying items designed for the Coronation of King Charles III in London, Britain, on 14th April, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Henry Nicholls
• Britain’s King Charles III and his wife Camilla have picked a recipe for “Coronation Quiche” for celebrations to be held next month when they are crowned, Buckingham Palace said this week. The dish, featuring spinach, broad beans and tarragon, is a nod to Coronation Chicken, a curry and mayonnaise-based dish which was invented for the 1953 coronation of Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II that is still enjoyed today. The palace said on its website that the dish had been chosen personally by Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, and was “easily adapted to different tastes and preferences,” presenting it as a recipe for hundreds of community lunches planned across Britain to mark the 6th May event. Charles will be crowned at London’s Westminster Abbey in a ceremony resplendent with pomp and pageantry, with traditions dating back 1,000 years, in an event attended by foreign heads of state and dignitaries. “A deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon. Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes,” said the recipe on the royal family’s website, which accompanied a video clip featuring a royal chef preparing the dish. The palace has been slowly releasing details of the coronation, which is set to be smaller in its scale than that of Elizabeth, partly reflecting the modern age and the cost of living crisis. – SACHIN RAVIKUMAR, London, UK/Reuters
Artist Satja Grabuloski in his workshop in Skopje. PICTURE: Reuters TV
• From a workshop in the North Macedonian capital Skopje, artist Satja Grabuloski and his colleagues paint intricate designs on sneakers that have been shipped worldwide. The company’s clients range from soccer and basketball players to celebrities from the music and entertainment world. Artist Satja Grabuloski says Swithadot Studio “has so far shipped sneakers to over 80 countries”. We have more than 300 ‘A-List’ clients, including celebrities. LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dua Lipa, Jamie Foxx and Zendaya. All wear our sneakers and nearly all the well-known footballers in Europe, including Lewandowski, Aubameyang, Kovacic, etc., The list is extensive.” A customized project can take up to 150 hours to complete. “Generally, it takes between 50 and 80 hours, and sometimes even 120 or 150 hours, to complete one project, depending on how complicated and demanding the design is and the size of the sneakers which is the case with most of the sneakers that are mostly ordered by athletes, particularly basketball players, and need to be delivered quickly to their destinations.” – Reuters TV
