Clare's Collection of Unusual Tales and Pictures

[Lauren Hedgehog]

This is quite old now, but I only just remebered about putting it up

Nothing like it on Brisbane's streets


April 06, 2006

WHEN a Brisbane high school student decided Brisbane was ready to join other cities around the world and hold its own Zombie Walk, he did not have to search too hard to find willing marchers.

From fellow teens to parents with children and even a zombie dog, more than 250 rolled up to participate in Brisbane's first such walk last Sunday.

The colourful locals gathered at the Roma Street Parklands at the zombie-respectable hour of 2.00pm and then proceeded to turn plenty of heads as they marched down to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens - right through the middle of a peace rally in King George Square - all without incident.

With the average age of participants being around 20 years, eccentricities abounded, with marchers dressed up as the "walking dead", draped in ripped, wrinkled clothes and dishevelled hair, complete with fake blood, a good deal of "disaster" makeup and more than a fair dose of street "goth" accessories.

Courier-Mail computer artist Daniel Hammond was one of the participants in this novel parade, but he also had the presence of mind to document on video the day Brisbane stepped into the international clique of Zombie marches

[Dark One]

Pope ruins stag do

A stag do heading to Poland for the weekend ended up sober thanks to the pope.

The Pope visited Krakow in Poland for four days and as a sign of respect the Polish government banned the sale of alcohol during his stay.

Bridegroom Carl Smith and 18 pals didn't know about the ban until they arrived in Poland.

According to The Sun Carl, 23, said: "I couldn't believe it. We were all getting ready for three days of boozing it up and instead we've been playing chess in the market square.

"It may be cultural but it's not my idea of a stag do. I had coffee with some nuns this morning. They were very nice but it's not exactly rock 'n' roll, is it?"

[Dark One]

Pregnant woman due of 6.6.6

A pregnant woman who is due to give birth on June 6 wants to be induced as she is terrified of giving brith to the devil.

Melissa Parker says she has been having nightmares ever since she was told that her due date is 06/06/06 or 666.

According to The Sun she said: "When I got my due date I thought 'Oh God, I'm giving birth to Damien from the Omen'.

"Every day I wake up feeling something bad will happen. I'm terrified the birth will go wrong or the child will have evil in him or her. Even worse my beautiful baby could be the devil himself - the anti-Christ.

"I like The Omen and saw an advert for the remake. Now I'm even more worried."

Melissa, who lives with road worker partner Lee in Caversham, Berks, has been told by Royal Berkshire Hospital that her due date cannot be changed.

A hospital spokesman said: "Due dates are not 100 per cent certain. There is little we can do to change them without a Caesarean or inducing the child, which we try to avoid. We must let nature take its course. The baby will be born when ready, no matter what day it is."

666 is mentioned in the Bible and many cultures believe it represents the date the anti-christ will appear on Earth.

[Dark One]

2,000 mile trip to nowhere

A woman who wanted to fly from Durham to Jersey ended up back where she started - after covering 2,000 miles.

Shirley Tadier's first flight with airline bmibaby got to within a few hundred yards of Jersey airport.

But the pilot decided it was too foggy to land and returned to Durham Tees Valley airport, near Darlington, Co Durham, from where they set off.

Her next flight from Durham was cancelled. So passengers were taken by bus to Birmingham to board another plane.

Again they found Jersey fog-bound - and yet again the plane returned to Durham.

According to The Sun she said: "I can't believe I spent two days trying to get home and am right back where I started. It's crazy.

"All we were given was a £3 voucher at Birmingham, which didn't cover a cup of tea and a piece of cake. There was no offer of accommodation."

Shirley hopes to finally make the trip later this week.

[Lauren Hedgehog]

hehehehe... for Star Trek Fans
For a project for uni, I had to compare amino acid sequences for a protein in human herpesvirus 1. Rather appropriately, considering it's a herpesvirus, I found spelt out in the sequence - KIRK

[Dark One]

Lol! Makes you wonder if Kirk was innoculated against every STD going!

[Dark One]

Man wins right to keep leopard in garden

A London man has won the right to keep a leopard in a cage in his back garden.

Todd Dalton had been banned by Southwark Council from keeping a clouded leopard in a cage in Peckham, reports the BBC.

But Tower Bridge magistrates overturned the decision after a vet deemed the 12ft cages were "suitable" for the animals.

Neighbours had opposed Mr Dalton's bid fearing the animals could escape and pose a threat to pets and even people.

Southwark Council said it was disappointed with the ruling.

"We do not agree with the law which says residents' views cannot be taken into account when considering this type of licence," a council spokesman said.

Mr Dalton will still require planning permission before he can use the cages to house the leopards and other wild cats, including an ocelot and a margay.

The council spokesman said residents would be consulted on Mr Dalton's application for a change of use to his premises.

Mr Dalton, 30, has set up an internet company selling exotic animal food such as green crocodile curry and snake vodka.

[Dark One]

'Ghost' helps acquit murder suspect

Two letters said to be dictated by a ghost helped acquit a woman of murder in Brazil.

The letters, written by a medium who claimed they were from the victim, were used as evidence in a murder trial in Viamao.

The medium claimed the spirit had revealed that the woman accused of his murder was innocent.

A jury declared Iara Marques Barcelos, 63 not guilty of the killing Ercy da Silva Cardoso.

Mr Cardoso was shot dead in his home in 2003. Mrs Barcelos was accused because she was the victim's lover and was angry he wanted to leave her.

The defence lawyer told Folha de Sao Paulo: "The letters were a low blow and they were decisive to the verdict."

A court spokesman said the letters were accepted as evidence because the prosecution lawyers made no objection.

[Dark One]

Erection ban causes chaos

A council planning department has been thrown into chaos - after the word 'erection' was banned from emails.

The word is obviously one of the most commonly used terms in applications for building works, says the Sun.

But it was included in a list of obscene expressions to be filtered out by software used by Rochdale Council.

Local man Ray Kennedy, 51, sent three emails to the council objecting to a neighbour’s new extension.

The first two were blocked because they included the word erection, which the computer thought was a sexual reference.

The third email slipped through the screening net but by then the neighbour had already got permission for the work to go ahead.

Ray, of Middleton, said: “Erection is a normal term in planning. But it was stopped because of its other meaning. I was shocked. Maybe if it didn’t affect me I’d find it funny.

“This proposal was clearly passed without my objections being heard. It is not fair.”

A Rochdale Council spokesman said: “The software is not designed by the council and we don’t control which words are blocked. We will be apologising to the resident.”

[Dark One]

Date my mum or sister

A woman has set up websites to find dates for her mum and sister.

Georgia Edmunds was sick of Corrie, 27, and Vicki, 54, complaining about their love lives so she created the internet sites www.datemysister.co.uk and www.datemymother.co.uk.

Both sites get at least 1,000 visitors a day reports The Sun.

Corrie is currently weighing up "a number" of potential boyfriends. And Vicki, 54, is also planning on finding lasting love.

Georgia said: "Corrie has been a bit unlucky with relationships, but she is such a smashing person that I decided to help her out. I set up the website so we can both run the rule over men who want to take her out.

"But as soon as she started getting asked out on dates, mum asked if I'd do the same for her."

Corrie from Bridgend, South Wales said: "A relationship is the only thing that's missing in my life. I want someone who is quite strong, who is comfortable with themselves, who will listen, and who is honest.

"I'm hoping the website will give me a chance to vet potential boyfriends because I've had my fair share of dating disasters in the past."

Vicki is described on the site as "young at heart and full of fun".

She said: "My husband died five years ago and it's time I had some fun. When I saw the site was working for Corrie I thought, 'That's for me'."

[Dark One]

Cake banned

A pensioner was not allowed to give her friend a homemade birthday cake because it broke a centre's health and safety rules.

Elaine Richards made the cake for her friend's 96th birthday party at their local Age Concern day centre.

But when she arrived she was told the cake broke hygiene regulations and the OAP's were only allowed to eat cakes bought from shops.

According to The Sun Elaine, of Braunton, Devon, said: "It's nonsensical. I couldn't believe it. I have a family of four who will vouch for my cooking. The worst anyone has had is indigestion!

"My cakes are healthy. The rules are completely daft."

Andrea Scott of Age Concern, which runs the centre in Barnstaple, Devon, explained: "We have many frail and elderly come here and some are diabetic.

"If we let one person do this, the floodgates are open. We don't know where these cakes come from. If something went wrong, we could be sued."

Elaine and her friend tucked into the cake at her home instead.

[Dark One]

Home alone teen blows roof off

A teenage boy, left in charge while his parents went on holiday, blew the roof off their bungalow.

Trouble began for Sean Davey, 18, when he placed a washing basket on top of the electric cooker, reports the Times.

He then accidentally knocked one of the hob rings on before going out.

The heated ring set fire to the clothes, which set alight a nearby bag of shopping which caused a can of deodorant to explode, blowing out windows and lifting the roof.

The blaze caused £35,000 of damage to the house in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk.

When the teenager told his mother, Joanne Bray, and step-father Paul, who were on holiday in Scotland, he blamed Jet, the family dog, for jumping on the worktop.

"It's ironic," Mrs Bray said. "Sean didn't cook anything while we were away - he survived on microwave meals and takeaways."

[Dark One]

Shepherd seeks record for lost sheep

A Croatian shepherd is hoping for a place in the Guinness Book of Records after he lost 230 animals in a freak storm.

Milan Prpic has written to Guinness asking if he can be included for having the most sheep killed by a single lightning strike.

He included the veterinary certificate for the animals, which represented half his flock, with his letter to Guinness.

He said: "I might as well get something out of it, after all, it will cost me £15,000 to replace my lost animals."

Prpic, who is from Senj, added: "It all happened so quickly I didn't have time to get them all to shelter.

"The clouds suddenly came down, the sky went black and the heavens opened. It wiped out half my flock. I had to go round collecting hundreds of dead sheep afterwards."

A spokesman for the Guinness Book of Records said they had no similar record and would not comment on whether it was a suitable entry until they had seen the request.

[Dark One]

Teachers left boy by motorway

A 15-year old Dutch schoolboy was left alone in a layby off a motorway after he smuggled himself aboard a school trip.

The boy, from a school in Amsterdam, was kicked off the bus while the rest of the class continued their school trip to Germany, reports Nu.nl.

After a long walk along the verge of the motorway, the boy arrived in the Dutch village of Holten where he caught a train 90 miles back to Amsterdam.

Headmaster Mieke Van Leusden admitted: "This should not have happened. The teachers should have arranged something more safe.

"They could have called the school to take the boy back to school or ask for a taxi. I promise they will have a lot to explain when they return from Germany."

Teachers say the boy hid himself on the coach after he was banned from the trip after his parents failed to pay for both this year and last year's trip.

"We informed them he could not go with the rest of the class. But leaving the boy on his own in the middle of nowhere is not done either."

[Dark One]

Kitten caused sqeaky car

Mechanics who examined a car after the owner complained of a squeaking noise found a kitten hiding in the wing.

Italian motorist Vincenzo Frustaci eventually pulled over and called for help after a 900 mile trip to the Austrian capital Vienna.

He told the Austrian equivalent of the AA that he had heard the strange sound throughout the drive from Avellino in the Campania region of Italy.

It was only when he reached the capital that a mechanic found the problem - a young kitten trapped in the wing.

Mechanic Hans-Juergen Heindl said: "I could hear the sound coming from above the wheel, even when the car was not going, which was strange for a start. I couldn't believe it when I saw a kitten in the wheel bearing."

The young cat was handed over to a local vet who said it was scared but amazingly unharmed.

[Dark One]

Farmer drove three miles with severed hand

A farmer who accidentally sliced off his hand packed it in his lunchbox, climbed in his tractor and drove three miles home.

His wife put the severed hand in the fridge and it was later successfully reattached by surgeons in hospital.

Austrian Gerhard Frank, 64, had been using an automatic log splitter in a field three miles from his farm in the village of Steeg.

It sliced down unexpectedly, severing his handm, but Mr Frank had the presence of mind to put it in his refrigerated lunchbox.

A spokesman at Innsbruck Hospital in Austria where the severed limb was successfully reattached said that Frank acted with "remarkable calm and good sense".

[Kangaruth]

Warning sign seen while hiking in the alps:


I thought it was worth sharing.

[Dark One]

Europe's biggest rail station has only one toilet

Operators of Europe's largest railway station have admitted their mistake in building only one set of toilets.

Passengers at Berlin's new £480m train station have already been complaining about the queues for the loos.

About 30,000 people use the new multi-level station each day and it has also attracted visits from shoppers and tourists.

Station spokesman Holger Auferkamp admitted the lack of washroom facilities was a problem, in particular for women.

"We realise there is a problem and are now planning to build a second set of toilets as quickly as possible," he said.

[Dark One]

Man hands over wife to pay debt

A Romanian man has handed over his wife to a creditor as payment for his debts.

Emil Iancu, from tIghisu Nou, gave his wife Daniela to 72-year-old Jozef Justien Lostrie when he turned up on his doorstep to collect a £1,800 debt.

Iancu said: "I had no money to pay the debt and when I told Lostrie he said he would take my wife instead.

"I was scared of what he would do and so I signed a document saying Daniela would live with him."

But Daniela says the deal has proved better for her.

"Before I had to clean the house and look after our three children on my own, while Emil did nothing, but now I'm treated like a guest and hardly have to raise a finger," she said.

[Dark One]

Dog follows plane on runway

A couple halted a packed jet just before take-off - after seeing their dog bounding alongside on the runway.

Terry and Susan Smith, both 58, were set to fly to a new life in Lanzarote when they spotted spaniel Poppy pursued by airport security staff.

They shouted for the pilot to halt the Boeing 767 and dashed out to help catch their pet at Manchester Airport, reports the Mirror.

Terry and Susan, from Blackburn, had paid £800 for Poppy and collie Pelayo to travel in an animal cage on the cargo deck.

But Poppy is believed to have chewed her way out of her crate as the plane was about to taxi to the runway.

The plane left 15 minutes late - without the Smiths, who paid £400 for later flights after Poppy was quarantined overnight.

Retired lorry driver Terry said: "We were in our seats ready for take-off and looking forward to our new life when we suddenly saw Poppy on the runway.

"We obviously had to get off the plane and it took us 10 minutes to catch her. She was terrified by the noise and wouldn't let anyone get near to her. I was really worried about her."

Pet transport firm Animal Airlines said it was the first time a dog had escaped in their 40 years of business.

[Dark One]

Real life Lassie saves the day

A dog made a Lassie-style rescue after a boy of eight fell 30ft from a rope swing into a river, breaking both arms.

Nye Thomas wrapped Bud's lead around himself and the collie labrador cross dragged him out of the water and up the bank of the Tawe in Swansea.

Bud then ran back to the nearby family home where his barks alerted Nye's parents, reports the BBC.

"You hear about dogs helping people but until it happens to you, you don't release how grateful you are to have good pets," said Nye's father Richard.

Nye was hurt when he was playing on the swing while taking Bud for a walk.

"I was just having fun and I fell off," he said. "Bud just dragged me out. It was really, really painful."

Covered in mud, Nye was taken to hospital where X-rays revealed he had broken bones in both arms.

[Dark One]

Dog survives 450ft fall

A Jack Russell terrier had a miraculous escape after chasing a rabbit over a 450ft cliff.

Owner Martin Coombes saw six-year-old Russett fly over the edge after the rabbit did a U-turn at the edge, says the Sun.

A coastguard spotted the dog's motionless body though binoculars, on the rocks below Tennyson Down, at Freshwater, Isle of Wight.

But despite falling nearly twice the height of Nelson's Column, Russett merely had concussion, a cut lip and a bruised paw.

Martin, 51, said: "When the radio message came back that he was OK I couldn't believe it."

[Dark One]

Ramsay says Cliff used the f-word

Gordon Ramsay says Sir Cliff Richard told him to "go f*** yourself" during a wine tasting session.

The famously foul-mouthed chef and the squeaky clean singer clashed on Ramsay's TV show The F Word.

Sir Cliff, 65, owns a vineyard in Portugal and even produces bottles under his own name.

But he riled Ramsay by first rubbishing a £40 bottle of wine - and then failing to recognise his own wine.

The chef said: "Cliff had been boasting that he has a vineyard but I realised he knows f*** all about wine.

"He said he wasn't keen on this £40 bottle... and then he said the second glass of wine was rough.

"So I said: "Cliff, that was your f****ing wine - f*** off". He couldn't even recognise his own f***ing wine."

But Ramsay was even more surprised by Sir Cliff's reaction.

"He leant over and (beckoned me) with his finger and said: "Young man, go f*** yourself". Sirs can't swear like that. It was extraordinary."

[Dark One]

Mechanic is 99, not out

Britain's oldest mechanic is still working full-time - at the age of 99.

Former Second World War Sergeant Major Buster Martin maintains a fleet of 100 vans for a plumbing firm, reports the Sun.

He retired at 97 but he applied for his current job after three months because he found retirement 'boring'.

He said: "There's nothing like a good day's hard grafting. I'm going to work until I die - which I reckon will be 125.

"There's nothing doddery about me. I love getting my hands dirty and bossing these youngsters about."

Buster, who is 100 in September, puts his good health down to "the odd daily pint, a walk to the library and press-ups".

[Dark One]

Parrot delays take-off

A parrot stopped a plane from taking off when she escaped from her box and began nibbling passengers.

Polly the parrot managed to free herself while perched on her owner's lap as the plane taxied for take-off.

She started circling passengers' heads and nipping their shoulders, reports the Sun.

Travellers on the trip from Alderney to Southampton shouted at the pilot to brake.

And the Aurigny Air Services flight was delayed ten minutes as crew emptied the cabin, scooped up the grey and white parrot and put her back in her box.

Duty officer Steve Roberts confirmed: "There was a bit of a problem with Polly. It was a bit of unscripted in-flight entertainment and it was ironic that the plane in use was called Joey.

"We deal with all sorts of things here."