Charles Nevin: Abundant berries... a cold winter
Start the week: Sri Lanka has more elephants than it thought it had
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Happy Monday. You will be looking for some good news. Well, following a survey, Sri Lanka has more elephants than it thought it had. We should be celebrating, too, the patenting 131 years ago on Wednesday of the clay pigeon by George Ligowsky of Cincinnati, which was certainly excellent news for proper pigeons. There is also a truly rich crop of berries currently and, thankfully, the Health and Safety Executive employee who tripped over one of those bright yellow "Caution:Wet Floor" bollards at his office last year seemingly sustained nothing more serious than a groin strain.
Dedicated to correcting the lazy assumptions widely proposed re the British character, I note a survey revealing that one in 10 of us has had sex on a plane, often with a complete stranger. Having given the matter further thought, though, I have concluded that this is an example of that traditional strength, making our own entertainment, and is clearly a direct result of all these airlines charging for sandwiches.
Were you playing golf at the weekend? A warning about those checked trousers and other accoutrements: a golfer in Batavia, New York, has been arrested after police received reports that a man dressed as a clown was stealing a golf buggy. I'm not sure if all the wheels fell off.
Wednesday and Friday would have been the 118th and 121st birthdays respectively of Leslie Hore-Belisha, the 1930s Transport Minister of beacon fame, and Colonel Sanders of fried chicken fame. Why not ask for a special discount on Friday? I've always liked, too, Queen Mary's inquiry to King George V: "Who is this Hore-Belisha?"; and His Majesty's reply: "Don't ask me. Never heard of the woman."
More research reveals our brains are programmed to be especially alert to other living things. This might prove useful presently, as the warm spring and cool summer have been perfect for spiders. Those big ones, by the way, will be False Widows, not the rare, potentially-lethal Black Widows. Look closely: if they have red markings, that's really bad luck. And, apparently, the abundant berries mentioned earlier portend a very cold winter. Happy Monday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments