Ankle-biting drama in the meerkat cage
TV FOOTAGE of the week was Sky News’s Dan Whitehead sitting in the meerkat cage at Bristol Zoo speaking to an official about the zoo’s pending move, after 186 years, to another site.
The meerkats had been flung some food, on which they descended. But when they’d finished that they investigated Whitehead, trying to crawl up his trouser leg – not on the outside but from the inside.
Whitehead had quite a time of it fending them off with his hands as they nipped and nibbled around his ankles and some of them actually got inside his trousers to climb to better things.
More food was chucked and that kept the meerkats occupied for a time. But only for a time. Next thing they were back at Whitehead’s ankles with a vengeance, trying to get into the trousers.
Laughing, he concluded the interview while he was still in one piece.
It’s been very hot in Britain. Just as well Whitehead wasn’t wearing shorts. Things could have turned ugly indeed.
Big win
THE scene is the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties.
Her speech bubble: “You’re gullible and financially irresponsible!”
His thinks bubble: “Wait ’til she hears I’ve won the Nigerian lottery.”
See ya later …
PHILADELPHIA, in the US, is home to a celebrity alligator. Kids trying to beat the heat got a glimpse of him the other day being walked on a leash by a young girl and playing in the water fountains, according to CNN.
It’s legal to own an alligator as a pet in Pennsylvania, but it’s against state law to release one into the wild.
This seven-year-old alligator is named Wally. He’s a TikTok star and a licensed emotional support animal. He likes to be petted and “loves to give hugs”.
He’s also a contestant in America’s Favourite Pet: Animal Kingdom, an online competition for pets where the winner will receive $10 000.
Wally’s TikTok account features kids cuddling him. Also his visits to restaurants and swimming pools.
Does St Lucia have anything to compare? Er, not at this stage. It takes time to persuade a crocodile to cuddle. But $10 000 –watch this space!
Familiar ring
PEOPLE living in the Mississippi city of Jackson have been told to shower with their mouths closed. But it’s not what it might seem. The authorities of the US city of 18 000 are not worried that they might drink up water supplies, it’s that supplies of clean water have run out.
Excessive rainfall resulted in damage at one of Jackson’s water treatment facilities, according to Sky News. The entire city is now under a “boil water order”.
This has a familiar ring. But it’s Jackson, Mississippi, not Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
Tailpiece
SINGING in the shower is great until you get shampoo in your mouth. Then it’s more of a soap opera.
Last word
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to defeat an ignorant man in argument. | WILLIAM G
MCADOO