Pole-sitting
drama in
Dullstroom
IF YOU think things are dull in Dullstroom, Limpopo province, just imagine what it's like if you're sitting in a small barrel on top of a 30m pole.
A fellow named Vernon Kruger has been doing just that and he's been there more than two months now, breaking his own world pole-sitting record of 67 days, which he set up in 1997. He's trying to push it to 80 days.
It's not all dullness though. Electric storms get quite exciting, and the barrel has been scorched by lightning a few times.
Pole-sitting doesn't exactly get splash coverage on our sports pages, but Vernon's vigil has attracted overseas attention, including the London Times, the Guardian and Sky News.
He told Sky News: "I've forgotten why I am up here. I had some good reasons, but I've forgotten them since I have been here.
"I have broken my own record now - 22 years ago I broke it, it was a British record of 54 days. I took it to 67 and this time I'm going to try to push it to about 80."
He said it was "not too lonely" adding: that: "This time we have social media so I feel more connected.
"I talk to people below and so it's not so isolated."
Answering the question on everyone's mind as to how he manages bodily functions, he says: "Everything comes up by bucket and I have ground crew below. Restaurants are providing me with food so I have different food.
"It all comes up by bucket and down again."
Dullstroom is well-known for its fly-fishing. To that add pole-sitting. And now a new world record. Sigh! But it's small compensation for the cricket disaster..
Mark Royden, wielding a hammer, was frustrated by a member of the cathedral staff and some American tourists, according to the BBC.
The Magna Carta was signed by King John of England in 1215 and is the basis of the rule of law and human rights world-wide. It seems Royden – accused of criminal damage and attempted theft - challenged its authenticity.
Could this be another side-effect of the Brexit issue that has caused such convulsions in Britain?
Shower thoughts
THE shower isn't just a place to sing. Separated from our cellphones, standing under running water often allows people's minds to run free. A selection from Huffington Post:
· There are probably tortoises still alive that saw Charles Darwin at the Galapagos Islands.
· You would never drive that close to a car coming at speed in the opposite direction to you if it weren't for the line of paint on the road between you.
· One of the biggest lies in the world is that the customer is always right.
· The truest example of Pavlovian conditioning is that every time you hear "Pavlov" you automatically think of a dog.
· As an adult having a "boring desk job" is seen as a bad thing, but we force children to have boring desk jobs for 12+ years.
· It must be hard for dragons to blow out candles.
Tailpiece
SCOTLAND have got a goalkeeper they call the Ancient Mariner. He stoppeth one in three.
Last word
Football is a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life. Violence and committee meetings.
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