IMPERIALTREASURES
On 8 Novemberan8in(20cm)
yellowvase,boughtfor£1at
aHertfordshirecharityshop,
sold for £484,000 at auction in
Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.
From the Qing dynasty,itborethe
stampofthe QianlongEmperor
(reigned 1735-1796). Three days
later,apear-shaped teapot,5in
(13cm) tall, fetched £1,040,
at auction in Dorchester.This too
bore the stamp of the Qianlong
Emperor.Mail on Sunday,10Nov;
D.Mail, 13+14 Nov 2019.
JESUSSAVES
Tyler Moon, 25, had“J esus saves”
printed on his running bib when
he took partina10-milerace in
Minneapolis.When he collapsed
with an irregular heartbeat at
the eight-mile mark,anurse
anæsthetist named Jesus Bueno
running behind him performed
CPR and savedhis life.D.Mirror,
26 Oct 2019.
MUSHROOM MONSTER
Walking inaforest near Santa
Lucia de Gordon in northern
Spain,achef found what could be
the world’s biggest mushroom,
weighing 152lb (69kg). Sergio
MartinezValledor decided to pick
the monsterMeripilus giganteus,
but needed several friends to help
him. They had to split it in two and
dragthe pieces to theirvehicle.
The previous recordweightwas
53lb (24kg).Sun,2Nov 2019.
FALSEALARM
Aman reported lying dead in the
street turned out to be “taking
anap”andwalked home after
police were called to the scene
in Gloucester.Sun, 26 Sept 2019.
RUPERTRETURNS
Steven Herring boughta1 964
RupertBear annual atajumble
sale in Barkingintheearly
1980s.Rediscovering it recently
duringaclear-outat his home in
HemingfordGrey,Cambridgeshire,
where he has lived since 2007,
he noticed itwassignedbyhis
local vicar.MrHerring, 66, and
his wife,Esther Harrod, 67, were
married by theReverendPeter
Cunliffe in 2015. Mr Cunliffe
wrote his name in the book in
1964 when hewas10andliving
in Letchworth.BBC News,20Nov
2019.
SIDELINES...STRANGEDAYS10 FTSOMESEASONAL STOWAWAYSOWLINACHRISTMASTREEThe Newmanfamilyfrom the USstateof
GeorgiaweredecoratingtheirChristmas tree
whentheyweresurprised to findasmall owl
roosting amongthebaublesand branches.
Katie McBride Newman toldCNNthat her
daughterIndia, 10,wasthefirsttospot the
stowaway birdone evening after dinner.“She
comesvery dramaticallyinto the dining room
and goes, ‘Mama,that ornamentscared me’”,
saidthe motheroftwo.“Then she bursts into
tears”. Ms Newman, an owl enthusiast, had
placed severalowldecorations inthelarge,
10ft(3m) tree,soshe assumed oneofthese
had alarmedherdaughter. However,upon
checking,sherealiseditwas an actualowl
whenit swivelleditsheadroundtolookather
as sheapproached.
The familyopenedwindows in effortsto
encourage thebird to depart, but next morning
it wasstill perchedinthe fir.Eventually, staff
fromalocalwildlife centre wereableto
capturetheowl, which they identified as an
Easternscreechowl, commonin Georgia.
They remarked thatthebird wasquite thin,
suggesting itmay havebeenhiding in the
fir tree since thefamily bought it back in
November.After checkingfor injuriesand
feeding it, the familywaiteduntil darkwhen
theytooktheowl intoanearby forest and
releasedit.
Regularupdates about thestriginesaga
werepostedon MrsNewman’s Facebook page,
with theowl andits host familygainingaloyal
following on social media.Afinal Facebook
postbore MrsNewman’s tribute to the
Christmas owl:“Thankyoufor the honoryou
bestowed on ourfamily–for makingthemagic
&mystery of Advent come aliveinour home,
and for inspiring connectionamongall who
followedtheadventure.God’s peaceto youas
youmakeyournew homeoutsideourhome.
Wehope to seeyouagain...And to allagood
night”.inde pendent. co.uk,20 Dec2019.FESTIVEPYTHON
In December 2019, Queensland residentand
Britishex-patLeanneChapman founda10ft
(3m) pythonadorningher Christmas tree, on
the balcony of her Brisbaneapartment. The
snakestayed in the treefor aroundfivehours
beforeslithering off. “Itwasabitofashock to
beginwith,”shesaid.“Yo udon’t really expect
to seeasnakeinyourChristmas tree”–but
after theirinitialsurprise, Ms Chapmanand
her partner let thescaly reptilestay there
untilit departed around10.30pm. “Itwas
actually quitenice to see it that close up”, she
said,“because I’veneverseenanythinglike
it before”.7news.com.au, upi.com, 13 Dec
2019.