SIDELINES...

FAKE NUN

Rachel Mulcahy was banned by a court from going within 150 yards of Clonard Monastery in Belfast after she continually interrupted services there. “She was showing up at services dressed in a brown habit, even though she is not a nun … throwing her arms in the air, making all sorts of wild claims about God, and then writhing about on the altar,” a spokesperson said. Mulcahy also caused disruption outside the GPO in Dublin by dancing frantically to religious music and repeatedly falling to her knees shouting “Christ, come into me”. belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 3 Apr 2022.

STAIRS MISSING

Attempting to leave her apartment in Milledgeville, Georgia, in late December Olivia Crump was startled to find a crucial part of the building had gone missing: the stairs. “It was impossible to get down without climbing over the ledge with a ladder or scaling the side with a decent drop below,” she said. The building’s management had failed to inform her that the stairs were being removed as part of renovations, and she and her dog were left stuck in her apartment for four hours before they provided her with a way down. D.Mail, 29 Dec 2021.

PERIL IN VENICE

Hoteliers in Venice are now arming their guests with orange water pistols in an effort to drive off the city’s rapacious seagulls, who mob outdoor diners and try to steal anything they think is food. “They really work. They’re also coloured orange, which those birds don’t like,” said Paolo Lorenzoni, director of the Gritti Hotel near the Grand Canal. The birds have learned quickly. “As soon as they see the pistols, they fly away,” he said. “You don’t even need to use them, you just need to keep them on the table.” [UPI] 22 Mar 2022.