SIDELINES...

BOUNCY GANNET

A Norfolk resident was surprised to find a huge seabird in her North Wootton garden, resting on her trampoline. Dawn Austin called the RSPCA who confirmed it to be a gannet, more commonly found in the North Atlantic. The animal welfare charity believe the bird had been blown off course. BBC News, 5 June 2020.

TEPES’ DES RES

Bran Castle in Transylvania is on the market. The former home of Vlad Dracula (aka Vlad Tepes, the Impaler), the Wallachian ruler thought to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula is available for $66m (£50m). It is 800 years old and has 57 rooms, but no indoor plumbing. buzznicked.com, 3 June 2020.

BAD DOG

A curious dog that grabbed hold of a fibre optic cable running between a courthouse and a Justice Court building in Mississippi caused over $7,000 (£5,250) worth of damage after chewing it to pieces. The cable was mostly elevated, but at one point lay close to the ground. The sheriff said he had not yet made any arrests, but had a suspect in mind after viewing CCTV images. apnews.com, 26 Aug 2020.

FLYING MYSTERY MAN

A man in a jetpack has been spotted flying thousands of feet in the air above Los Angeles. An American Airlines pilot called air traffic control to report an unidentified flying person at the same altitude as his plane, 3,000ft (914m). Another pilot, on a Southwest Airlines flight also saw the flying jetpack man. The Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. nbcnews.com, 1 Sep 2020.

FALLING SNAKES

Two huge snakes crashed through the ceiling of a Brisbane house, startling the owner when he returned home. The 2.9m (9.5ft) and 2.5m (8.2ft) carpet pythons had fallen into the kitchen. When Australian professional snake catcher Steve Brown arrived, he found one snake sitting by the front door and another in a bedroom. “These snakes were two of the fattest I’ve seen.” [CNN] 1 Sep 2020.