Scams, UFOs, potatoes
Although I find it difficult to find anything funny in even the most ridiculous reactions to Covid-19, I do think there’s a certain irony in the fact that Lourdes has closed its healing pools [FT391:4].
In ‘Fairies, Folklore and Forteana’ [FT392:31], the “infected money” scam, where you leave your money on the doorstep, along with your bank details, and the government refunds it electronically (not), reminds me of a similar scam in the USA some years ago. When customers went to deposit money in a night deposit box outside a bank, they were met by a security guard who informed them the box was out of order, and they should deposit the money in the bag he was holding. Surprise, surprise, he wasn’t a real security guard! Sometimes the simplest scams seem the most effective.
Peter Brookesmith’s ‘Articles of Faith’ [FT392:32] indirectly brings up an important point. Prompted by the northern lady’s misguided statement, I have to say that I believe it is impossible to be a UFO ‘expert’ (as opposed to a ufologist), as some people claim, as by definition a UFO is unidentified. If you have expertise in particular areas, you may be able to explain many UFO cases, but you can’t be an expert in the unexplained ones. I also think the term ‘UFO’ is often used in place of ‘flying saucer’, as when people ask if you believe in UFOs. Of course I believe in seeing something I can’t necessarily identify.
Regarding ‘Belgian Blame Game’ [FT392:32], I think Belgium has been subjected to unjustified negative press over the years. Older readers may recall Monty Python’s sketch where they run a competition to find a new name to call Belgians, and the winner is “Let’s not call them anything; let’s just ignore them.” From my experience, it is a lovely country, with great beers, attractive cities, friendly people who all seem to understand English, and great beers. As far as I am concerned, they can see as many UFOs as they like.
I found ‘Mulch, Myth and Magic’ [FT392:52-55 ]anamusing read, which illustrated an interesting point. There has been much said on the subject of stone circles, which appear to have calendrical properties, being used by the ancient farming community to tell them when to plant or harvest. I have always thought the farmers would have been far more savvy than that, and would have used the behaviour of other plants as a reference, their equivalent of the dandelions flowering on the Boiler Road. The article also mentions some of the folk beliefs about potatoes. It’s worth remembering that they have been in this country for only a little over 400 years. It would be interesting to know how many beliefs grew from the fact that this was a brand new vegetable in relatively recent history. It would also be worth comparing these beliefs with those of South America, where it has been cultivated for millennia.
Dave Miles
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