April 23, 2003

Following one of the themes

Following one of the themes of yesterday’s blog, the Tower of London is not the only place where important repairs have been delayed. Much closer to home, in the village of Llangattock Lingoed, very near Mrs Holford’s hometown, the church is awaiting the completion of repairs costing £100,000. It’s not the money that is the problem. It’s the bats.

St Cadog’s Church has become the roosting place for lesser horseshoe bats. This is a rare species, so I guess shooting them is out of the question. Because the bats have been in the way, the rotten roof has not been replaced. Renovations on the church tower have been completed, and there are hopes the bats will move over there while the roof is being finished. Now they just have to find someone who can explain this to the bats.

And speaking of creature of the dark…

If George Galloway is going to sue all the media sources which are publishing information about his dirty dealings, the docket is going to get quite long. After the Sun failed in their attempt to interview him at his £250,000 Portuguese hideaway (and £250,000 will get you a lot in Portugal), despite offering a fee of 50,000 Iraqi dinars, they made him the front page. Other papers, both tabloid and broadsheet followed suit.

Looks like Gorgeous George is neck deep in guano.

And keeping with the subterranean theme…

The largest prehistoric man-made cavern in the world has been discovered in North Wales. It has been found adjacent to part of an elaborate complex of Bronze Age copper mines nearly 4,000 years old which was discovered in 1987.

To quote the article appearing in The Times tomorrow, “Great Ormes copper mines are recognised as making up the largest Bronze Age mining complex in the world, with four miles of tunnels already excavated to depth of more than 200ft. Geological surveys suggest that there are probably about ten miles of tunnels in total. The copper was used to make axes and other implements at the start of the Bronze Age: prehistoric Britain had a far more advanced civilisation than previously thought.” The article also notes, “Some archaeologists rank the mines alongside Stonehenge in historic significance.”

Something positive from the Turks

You may remember that I had less than favourable things to say about the Turks recently. Well, I want you to know that I try to be fair. I have something positive to report. Not from Turkey itself, but from its client rogue state occupying the northern part of Cyprus.

Turkish Cypriot officials have decided to allow day trips across the cease-fire line. This is the first time there has been free movement throughout the island in thirty years. Some residents of both Greek and Turkish backgrounds have not been able to visit their hometowns since they were uprooted in the wake of the Turkish invasion of 1974.

Posted by david at April 23, 2003 10:49 PM
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