SIDELINES...
CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
Spanish police arresting two drug dealers discovered a novel scheme – they had been selling 5 (£4.20) tickets for a raffle where winners would get a “narco basket” containing booze, cocaine, hashish, tobacco, cash, and even an eight kilo (17.6lbs) cured ham. One draw was scheduled for Christmas day, the other for 6 January, Epiphany, when Spanish children traditionally receive their presents. There was a list of ticket holders pinned to the wall; they are likely to be rewarded with a police visit rather than a raffle prize. . 22 Dec 2021.
A NAKED MAN….
Gallows Down near Combe in Berkshire has had a gallows on it since the 17th century, but in recent months it has also been the persistent haunt of a naked man. “It’s freaking people out. The guy just stands and stares. He hasn’t got any clothes on,” said one local. He has also been seen riding a bike nearby, still naked, and seems undeterred by cold weather. “It can be windy and cold up there… but he doesn’t seem to worry about being naked, which is a bit disturbing,” said another Combe resident. Sun, 3 Jan 2022.
…AND ANOTHER
When Bethany Coker of Nanaimo, Canada, found mud on her car seats she just cleaned them and forgot about it. Three days later, though, she found the car windows mysteriously fogged up and while investigating heard a voice say “Hey”. She opened the boot, which contained a naked man who admitted having been there for three days, saying, “Yes, it’s a rite of passage.” Coker, who initially had trouble getting police to believe the tale, said: “We’ve been to the grocery store together, we’ve got sushi together, gas together. We’ve been to work twice. Not a single word.” globalnews.ca, 4 Feb 2022.
FROG HORROR
After he began to have epileptic fits, a Shanghai man went to Shanghai First People’s Hospital for a CT scan where he was found to have a three-inch (7.6cm) worm in his brain. He is believed to have contracted it through eating live frogs after a neighbour told him it would cure his bad back. After the parasite was removed, the fits stopped. Metro, 26 Jul 2021.