Fuzzy Rules To This Game Of Football
A football game where rules were bent attracted a huge crowd in England, says a report. Hundreds of people descended on the town of Ashbourne in central England recently to play a traditional football game in which the rules are hazy and the goals three miles apart, says the Reuters report.
The Royal Shrovetide Football Match involves teams called the Up’ards and the Down’ards, who battle to try and tap the ball three times on stone plinths that act as goals.
Well aware of the passions involved, local shops close early and board up as if preparing for a riot. Due to the large numbers taking part, there is little kicking of the ball with players instead tending to carry the ball across the boundary-free pitch.
The match is played from 2pm to 10 pm on both Shrove Tuesday and the following day, Ash Wednesday, but goals are rare because of the size of the pitch, with last year’s match finishing 1-1.
The centuries-old event in Derbyshire gained its “royal” title when the future Edward VIII started the game in 1928 by throwing up the ball in traditional fashion, an act since repeated by present heir to the throne Prince Charles in 2003.
Goat Voted As Pet Mayor
A town in the US has got itself an animal as mayor on a honorary basis, says a report.
A three-year-old Nubian goat named Lincoln is poised to become the first honorary pet mayor of the small Vermont town of Fair Haven, says an AP report.
The nanny goat was chosen by townspeople for the one-year post at the community’s Town Meeting Day. Lincoln takes office soon.
The ballot of 16 pets was open to all town residents. Most of the other candidates were dogs and cats; a gerbil named Crystal also was a candidate.
Lincoln, with 13 votes, beat out a dog named Sammie that received 10 votes. The other candidates combined for 30 votes. During its time as mayor, Lincoln will be expected to attend local events, such as marching in the Memorial Day parade wearing a custom-made sash.
Fair Haven, a town of about 2,500 along the border with New York just west of Rutland, does not have a human mayor.
Drunk Woman Sparks Murder Panic
A murder call by a woman in Germany turned out to be just a ruse to get something else done, says a report.
German police say officers called to investigate a murder arrived to find that the woman who had reported it just wanted someone to remove a car blocking her garage, says an AP report.
The woman rang emergency dispatchers and claimed that her husband had been killed, sending police and first responders rushing to the scene in the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden.
German news agency dpa quoted a spokesman for southern Upper Bavaria police as saying: “The woman thought, if she calls in a murder the police will get there faster.”
The woman, who was visibly drunk, attempted to get into her car before officers took away her keys.
Putting More Bite Into An Ordinance
A New Jersey town is putting some bite in an ordinance that could result in hefty fines and even jail time for owners of barking dogs, according to a report.
The Saddle River council is amending a one-sentence noise rule by placing time restrictions that would prohibit dogs from barking, howling or yelping for more than 20 minutes between 7am and 10pm or for more than 15 minutes between 10pm and 7am, says the AP report.
Violators would face a fine of up to $1,000, up to 90 days or up to 90 days of community service. A vote is scheduled for March 18
Escaping Not a Bright Idea For Detainee
The choice of clothing can sometimes be a big hurdle as a detainee found out in the US, says a report.
A detainee briefly escaped after a court hearing and ran through a North Carolina town, but his orange jumpsuit gave him away, says the AP report.
The Shelby Star reports that Joseph Lee Short had just appeared in court nd was waiting with others to be taken back to jail when he removed a leg restraint and ran out of a parking garage.
Short ran through several parking lots as deputies tracked him down after about five minutes. Police say the “orange jumpsuit helped him stand out.”
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