DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, visit Indian Streatery, an authentic, family-run independent Indian restaurant based in the city centre, celebrating Birmingham’s rich Asian culture, in Birmingham, Britain, on 20th April, 2023. PICTURE: Arthur Edwards/Pool via Reuters
• Britain’s Prince William helped out an Indian restaurant during a royal visit last Thursday by taking aphone reservation from an unsuspecting customer. The heir to the British throne and his wife Kate were visiting the family-run restaurant Indian Streatery during their trip to Birmingham in central England, when he took the call from someone seeking a booking for two people. After checking with the owners as to the restaurant’s location, he then had a discussion with the caller about when a table was free and whether they would have time to eat before catching their train. “What name is it under?” the prince said as he concluded the conversation, without revealing his own name to the caller. “See you at quarter past two.” William’s office later said on Twitter: “Hope we told this customer to come to the right place…!” As well as taking the booking, the royals also helped out preparing dishes in the restaurant’s kitchen before continuing their visit in the city with a game of darts at an underground bar. – MICHAEL HOLDEN, London, UK/Reuters.
• Italy’s tourism ministry has faced ridicule after an official video to attract tourists to Italy used footage of people in Slovenia drinking Slovenian wine. The video, part of a €9 million campaign produced by the Armando Testa communications group, was widely mocked by critics and on social media even before it emerged that part of it had been shot abroad. Titled “Open to Meraviglia” (Open to Wonder), it uses a computerised “influencer” version of Venus, a symbol of Italian art, as depicted by Sandro Botticelli in his renaissance masterpiece The Birth of Venus. The very modern “Venus” dons a mini-skirt and is shown eating pizza and presenting some of Italy’s main tourist attractions such Rome’s Coliseum or Florence’s cathedral. But the most controversial footage shows a group of young people smiling on a sunlit patio drinking wine in what is presented as a typical Italian scene. However, eagle-eyed viewers spotted that the patio in question is actually in the Cotar region of Slovenia, close to the Italian border, and the bottle on the table has a Cotar wine label. The Armando Testa communications group was not immediately available to comment. Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, called critics of the video “snobs” and said the depiction of Venus as an influencer was aimed at attracting young people. – GAVIN JONES, Rome, Italy/Reuters.
• Mexican multi-sport athlete Perla Lopez, known as Perla Tijerina, challenged herself to spend 32 days alone at 5,636 metres above sea level, on top of the country’s highest mountain. Lopez, who wants to become the first woman to achieve a month-long stay on the Pico de Orizaba, in Veracruz state, started her journey on 20th March. The 31-year-old Mexican woman who said she likes “to push her body to the limit”, intends to stay at the peak until April 20, as part of her challenge called ‘Mujer de altura’ (Woman of Altitude). The weather and low temperatures are some of the dangers she faces, as well as loneliness or storms. Lopez told Reuters she had to run some health tests beforehand to avoid incidents. “That I will not die of hypothermia, that I will not get mountain sickness, that I will not have a heart attack,” she explained. The young climber was inspired by Spanish mountaineer Fernando Garrido, who spent 62 days on Aconcagua in Argentina at 6,888 metres above sea level in 1986. To ensure her survival, Lopez has the support of a medical team, as well as a group of fellow mountaineers who make sure to provide her with the necessary elements during her stay. Every week, Lopez’ support teams Paralelo 19 and Extremers, come up to bring her food and clean clothes, and they take down her garbage and waste so she is not polluting the environment. They help her with the logistics and check on her. Lopez, psychologist by profession, started mountaineering five years ago and so far, she has reached 160 different peaks. After this challenge, she plans to travel to Bolivia, Peru, and Chile to continue hiking. Pico de Orizaba is a dormant volcano in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is the third-highest mountain in North America.- Reuters TV
