DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Czech freediver David Vencl dives to 52 metres under the ice of Lake Sils in one breath and wearing only a swimsuit in this picture taken from a video in Sils near St Moritz, Switzerland, on 14th March, 2023. PICTURE: David Vencl Organisation/Handout via Reuters.
• David Vencl emerged from the depths of Switzerland’s Lake Sils on Tuesday after a record dive beneath the ice to a depth of more than 50 metres without a wetsuit. The 40-year-old Czech diver’s record vertical plunge to 52.1 metres in a single breath follows his entry into the Guinness World Records book for swimming the length of a frozen Czech lake in 2021. Vencl dived through a hole in the ice then retrieved a sticker from a depth of 50 metres to prove his feat before re-emerging through the same hole. He spat some blood, sat down for a minute and then opened a bottle of champagne. A later visit to the hospital confirmed there was nothing serious. The Swiss plunge in temperatures of between one and four degrees Celsius took him one minute, 54 seconds, his promoter Pavel Kalous said, which was a bit slower than expected. “He kind of enjoyed it but he admits he was a little more nervous than usual and he had some problems with breathing,” he told Reuters. “There is nothing difficult for him to be in cold water…Lack of oxygen is something normal for him. But this was completely different because it’s really difficult to work with the pressure in your ears in cold water,” he added. “If you combine all these three things: cold water, lack of oxygen and the problem with working with pressure, it’s something very unique,” he added. – DENIS BALIBOUSE, Lake Sils, Switzerland/Reuters
A patient eats her lunch prepared at AZ Groeninge Hospital in Kortrijk, Belgium, on 13th March, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Clement Rossignol
• Hospital food would normally rank alongside school lunches on the culinary charts but a hospital in western Belgium has broken the stereotype after winning approval from a prestigious French restaurant guide. AZ Groeninge in the city of Kortrijk becomes the first hospital in the Benelux to be officially recognised by Gault & Millau for the quality of the food it serves to its patients. Marc Declerck, chief executive of Gault & Millau Benelux, said the guide producer has been collaborating for more than 10 years with the likes of companies and retirement homes on the meals served to employees and residents. The hospital brought in Gault & Millau experts to inspect their food and offer advice for improvement, notably for their fish dishes, their sauces and their potato servings. The guide subsequently determined that the hospital’s food was of a high standard, and Declerck said he would be happy to serve up some of its dishes in his own home. The general advice, he said, is to work with good ingredients and stick to simple recipes. “People don’t want necessarily too complicated things. Make it healthy, make it tasty… Try to cook for them like you would cook for yourself,” he told Reuters. The meals prepared for patients will not actually feature in the annual restaurant guide but have been officially certified by Gault & Millau for 2023. – BART BIESEMANS and CLEMENT ROSSIGNOL, Kortrijk, Belgium/Reuters
A Buddhist monk receives food from an elephant during Thailand’s National Elephant Day celebration at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya, Thailand, on 13th March, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Napat Wesshasartar
• Thailand celebrated National Elephant Day on Monday, honouring the beast that is a beloved symbol of the country with feasts of fruits and vegetables. Thailand in 1998 declared 13th March as a day dedicated to the conservation of its elephants. Traditionally, they have been used as work animals and even in warfare but in modern times their very existence is under threat. The president of the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Chonburi province, where a ceremony was held to mark the day, said elephants were a source of national pride and part of the country’s cultural and historical identity. “We are now trying to maintain those domesticated elephants and give them food and shelter,” Kampon Tansacha said. “If I release all of them to the wild, they won’t survive.” – ARTORN POOKASOOK and NAPAT WESSHASARTAR, Chonburi, Thailand/Reuters
