27 Dec 2010

THE HOLLEY'S AND THE CHRISTMAS PUDDING.

THE GUARDIAN.

I collected all manner of things as a girl - novelty soaps, badges, anything to do with Elvis Presley, the list goes on ..... and on. However I was surprised to learn what the latest 'collectable' was amongst today's  youngsters . Would you believe it if I was to tell you elastic bands? But not just any old elastic band - only the red variety (pictured below) as used by the postmen/women of the Royal Mail.


Apparently a must have amongst the three to six year old about town with their own wheels (I'm talking scooters here rather), elastic bands as far as collectables go .....

have several advantages: they're free, there are lots of them and they're on your level, generally in places your parents don't want you to go, ie the gutter. - Jon Henley (21/12/2010) (Read full story by clicking HERE)

(That said the British Hedgehog Preservation Society put out the following appeal after several hedgehogs were found injured or killed by said elastic bands.
PLEASE pick up any elastic bands and dispose of them properly, also please call Royal Mail Customer Care on 08457 740 740 and ask them to instruct their delivery people to take more care.

It looks like another hat may be needed. Yes, a second Royal wedding has just been announced - I wonder if it will mean another day off work?

Buckingham Palace has said that Zara Phillips (12th in line to the throne), the 29-year-old daughter of Princess Anne and her former husband, Captain Mark Phillips, is to marry her long-time partner, the England rugby union international player Mike Tindall. - Stephen Bates (22/12/2010)

THE TELEGRAPH.

Two international stories from the 23rd of December.

Firstly, in Poland ......

A man was arrested by police on suspicion of drunk cycling faces up to 10 years in prison after allegedly trying to bribe the officers with .... chocolate fudge.

And, meanwhile in Norway .......

Reindeer are being fitted with reflectors (if only all of them had red noses) to cut the number of car crashes.
About 2000 reindeer have been fitted with reflective yellow collars or small antler tags this month.
A test drive on a snowmobile showed that marked reindeer were far more visible in the dark.

THE METRO.

Two seasonal stories also from the 23rd of December.

A dad turned his garden into a winter wonderland by carving unusual sculptures of snowmen barbecuing in the snow.


Green-fingered Roger and Valerie Holley (shown above) have clipped two trees into the shape of a giant Christmas pudding, complete with a giant robin perched on top.
It took the Holleys six years to prune the evergreens into the perfectly round shape it is today and just a fortnight to create the huge robin that sits on top of it eating a berry.

THE BBC NEWS.

Thanks to Husband dearest for this sad story that thankfully ends well.


An animal charity is hoping to find the owner of a dog which boarded a Glasgow bus in freezing conditions and refused to leave.
The male cairn terrier,which had icicles attached to its coat, hopped aboard the bus, curled up in a warm spot and refused to move.
The dog, nicknamed Claus (pictured above), was later taken to the Scottish SPCA's animal rescue and rehoming centre in Glasgow.
Centre assistant manager, Anna O'Donnell, said: "Claus is a cheeky wee lad who we think is around eight years old. He isn't micro chipped so we don't know who his owner is.
"The passengers on the bus must have had a real surprise when he jumped on and refused to get off. He was so cold he had icicles attached to his coat so maybe he made a dash for somewhere warmer.
"Even when he arrived here he went straight to a warm spot, curled up and didn't want to move. He's still to have a full vet check though he does seem to be walking gingerly, so he may have arthritis.
"Hopefully his owner will be missing him and will come forward."

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this fun post.

Happy holiday from Boonie and Mrs S

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Oh the poor lost doggie. His fir looks dyed yellow LOL

chitra said...

Interesting snippets, was a nice read.

Melissa Gill said...

I don't think the red rubber band fad has made it over here yet, and we don't have hedgehogs to worry about, but I hope that if children start diving into the gutters to collect the things, it will save some hedgehog lives.

What an interesting tree.

And I hope the poor doggie finds his owner, or a new home. I bet he will easily though. Stories like that always attract lots of homes for pets. My mom's cat was found in the middle of the freeway when she was 4 weeks old and rescued. It was all over the news at the time. My mom is friends with the vet so she got to adopt her, but they had hundreds of people who wanted her.

Misha said...

I love these posts of yours! They never fail to make me smile! :)

Oddyoddyo13 said...

Six years to carve those trees....they need some new hobbies.

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

Dad told me about that dog the other day! Hehe, poor thing.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas... All teh best for 2011! :)

Golden Eagle said...

Snowmen BBQing? :D

Poor dog!

Kelly said...

Awww, poor little dog! He just wanted to get warm.

Interesting about the bands. Remember my rubberband ball?

Also, I like the big Christmas pudding!

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

Poor pup. Makes me want to snuggle with him and my doberman. With lots of blankets. :)

Gina said...

Hmm...interesting on the elastic bands. Over here they are popular as well although in a different sort of way. Kids right now are collecting and trading (etc) "silly bands" or "crazy bands". They are rubber (okay maybe some other material now too but function the same way) bands in a rainbow of colors in different shapes...as in when they aren't in use they may resemble when lying flat a horse, a car, or some famous cartoon or comic character. Yep... what will they think of next.

Su said...

I wish I had the talent & dedication required to shape a tree into a Christmas pud!

Poor wee dog!