Lakeland Terrier Banned From Pub
Posted on | November 25, 2008 | No Comments
A dog barred from a pub for chewing beer mats has been allowed back in – but only if she wears a high-visibility vest. Nigel McLelland, the landlord of the Jolly Sailor in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, said Hatty, a Lakeland Terrier, must be seen at all times.
He relented on his ban after he found out his regulars were going to start a petition to let her back in.
“I’m going to lose trade so I let her back in,” he said.
Hatty’s owner Jeff Hughes said his pet started chasing and chewing beer mats after the pub’s assistant manager threw one to her.
“One night we went in there and it was packed, there had been football on or whatever. She just went berserk,” said roofer Mr Hughes, 35, who got Hatty from a rescue centre and takes her to work every day with him.
“I came down one night and all the regulars were throwing beer mats for her so really speaking, we shouldn’t be blaming Hatty, we should be blaming the regulars”.
“Everybody was throwing the mats, they were just all over the place. He (Mr McLelland) got a bit annoyed about this and basically put her on the pub watch scheme.”
Hatty was banned last year but Mr McLelland said she can now come back in the pub if she wears a high-visibility vest, which she usually has on when accompanying Mr Hughes to work on building sites.
“I think it’s just so he can see where she is because she disappears and climbs on the tables and gets them (the mats) herself,” added Mr Hughes.
He said his dog loved going to the pub after work with him and would “sulk” if he left her in the van or took her home while he went there during her ban. “As soon as we pull up (at the pub) she’s out of the van,” he said.
“If the window’s open, as soon as we stop she’s straight out the window to the door. She loves it there because everyone plays with her.”
Mr McLelland said Hatty had often been encouraged by his regulars, who would throw her the mats. Of the vest he said: “I can see her better now if she’s hiding away.”
Mr Hughes’s young daughter Annie said: “She (Hatty) likes everyone playing with her with the beer mats and shaking them about and throwing them. “She should be allowed to stay because she’s a nice and kind dog.”
So raise your glass for the lovable mongrel – but don’t throw her a beer mat or there’ll be trouble!
Red Squirrel Swims Across Lake
Posted on | November 11, 2008 | No Comments
A group of tourists aboard a pleasure boat in the Lake District could not believe their eyes when they spotted a red squirrel in the middle of Ullswater Lake. In a challenge that would deter most of us even, he was attempting to swim across the huge lake to the other side.
The mammals can swim, but they find it very strenuous, and have been known to drown in water troughs.
But this determined squirrel had swum 300 yards – or about the length of six large swimming pools – from the shore. Worried about the Olympic-inspired rodent, passengers lowered a rope and it climbed on board and hitched a lift back to shore.
Robert Benson, chairman of the Penrith and District Red Squirrel Group, said: “I’ve been involved with the conservation of red squirrels for 15 years and I know they can swim, but I have never seen it.
“This squirrel was swimming strongly and had its tail coiled on its back so it didn’t look bedraggled or as if it was struggling.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Once ashore the squirrel ran along a fence and disappeared, apparently none the worse for its dip. Perhaps it had a lover on the other side, or maybe he just likes a bit of exercise in the morning 
Interesting Facts To Make You Smile!
Posted on | November 5, 2008 | No Comments
In the 1400’s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have ‘the rule of thumb’.
Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled ‘Gentlemen Only….Ladies Forbidden’…and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
Coca-Cola was originally green – Yuk!.
It is impossible to lick your elbow – and I bet you try it!
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades – King David
Hearts – Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds – Julius Caesar
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter ‘A’?
A. One thousand
Honey is the only food that doesn’t go off – jars were found in Egyptian tombs and was still ok to eat.
In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase ‘goodnight, sleep tight.’
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.’ It’s where we get the phrase ‘mind your P’s and Q’s’
Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle’ is the phrase inspired by this practice.
Don’t delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it…
I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh?
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2008 when…
1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.
2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail address es.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn’t a #9 on this list.
Logical Thinking Animal Test
Posted on | October 24, 2008 | 1 Comment
The Giraffe Test:
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
Stop and think about it and decide on your answer before you scroll down…
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?
Wrong Answer.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend …. except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer : The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there remember? This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.
Drunken Pony Goes for a Midnight Swim
Posted on | October 17, 2008 | No Comments
A greedy pony ended up drunk after gorging on fermented apples and had to be rescued after falling into a private swimming pool. The affectionately named ‘Fat Boy’ broke into Sarah Penhaligon’s garden in Cornwall to get at the fruit trees and ate so many apples he became “punch drunk”.
Miss Penhaligon, 28, from Newquay, was woken in the early hours on Tuesday by the sounds of the animal in distress. She called the fire brigade and crews managed to rescue the pony using a harness. Fat boy was unhurt.
“When I looked outside I saw this massive animal in the dark and I thought the Beast of Bodmin moor was in the pool,” Miss Penhaligon said. “I was terrified, but when I took a closer look I realised it was a horse!”
A vet said Fat Boy was not injured by his unscheduled midnight swim. “I didn’t have a clue what to do next – who do you call when there’s a horse stuck in your swimming pool?”
A spokeswoman for Trenance Riding Stables, where Fat Boy lives, said horses had been known to get “punch drunk” from eating too many apples. “It looks like he was scrounging for apples in the garden and fell in when he trod on the tarpaulin over the pool,” she said. “It’s a good job he’s got a lot of bulk, as it kept him warm while he was stuck in the water.
“After he got out he was taken back and checked over by a vet, but luckily he’s fine.”
Man Saves Dog From Shark
Posted on | October 2, 2008 | 2 Comments
Greg LeNoir and his pet dog Jake, a terrier cross, were swimming at a Florida Keys marina when a five-feet long shark suddenly came up underneath the dog and attacked the poor thing.
“I saw a big, dark green shape which I realised was a big shark’s head. It zoomed up under from Jake,” said Mr LeNoir.
“Jake screamed – a death scream – and it sucked him under. Before I could react it had disappeared. I thought, ‘Oh, that is a big shark’ but I was his only chance.
“I thought, ‘One hard strike from above’. I put my fists together and dived like a javelin and hard as I could. It was like hitting concrete.”
Mr LeNoir, a 53-year-old carpenter, punched the shark in the back of the neck area. The shark, which is believed to have been either a bull or lemon shark, released the two-year-old rescue dog immediately and Jake swam frantically back to dry land.
The dog is now making good progress recovering from bite wounds to his abdomen, chest and back as well as lacerations on his right side and left front leg. “The shark put almost all of Jake in his mouth, except for his head and three of his legs,” said Mr LeNoir.
He described Jake as “more dolphin than dog” – a “fast and fearless swimmer” who often retrieved jellyfish and soaked coconuts. “We have no children. Jake became our child. When I saw the shark engulf him, I thought, ‘This can’t be the end’. I couldn’t abandon him.”
His wife, Tessalee, said she wasn’t surprised by her husband’s bravery. “People know him as Dr. Doolittle. He’s the one who climbs up a tree to save a possum,” she said. Mr LeNoir said Jake had been having nightmares and may never want to swim again. Can’t blame the poor pup though – I know I wouldn’t go back in the sea after that! I’d like to offer a big thumbs up to Greg for risking his life to save his dog – that’s one cool owner with a lot of love