COLUMN

DUBLIN: Jimmy, a feisty white mountain goat, was crowned king of Ireland last Friday at one of the country’s oldest fairs. Dating back centuries, the Puck Fair is an annual festival of drinking, music and dancing celebrated in the town of Killorglin in southern Ireland. Each year a male goat is caught in the surrounding mountains, paraded through the town to a beat of drums and pipes, and then placed in a 12m stand where he reigns as king for three days. The origins of the fair are not totally known, but it always falls on Aug 10-12. One theory suggests mountain goats alerted residents of the town to an impending attack by Oliver Cromwell’s forces in the 17th century. Another says it may have pre-Christian links due to the goat being a pagan fertility symbol like the god Pan. “Its origins go way back to the mists of time,” the fair’s financial controller Declan Falvey said. “There is a mingling of fact and fantasy.”
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PODGORICA: Reports of sharks off the Adriatic beaches of Montenegro have had little effect on bathers and tourists, local authorities said last Friday. The sighting of a shark 10 days ago in the waters off the port of Bar at first prompted the local lifeguard to order all swimmers and divers out of the water, but they soon went back. “The appearance of a shark should be accepted as normal. It’s as natural as seeing a bear in the woods,” Capt Krsto Rakocevic, head of maritime security, said. The scare enlivened the tabloid pages in Montenegro and Serbia but was short-lived. The coast of the newly independent republic continues attract record tourist numbers, many from neighbouring Serbia, Montenegro’s partner for nearly 90 years until they split last year. Local fishermen said the creature spotted by water-scooter riders off the southern resort of Ulcinj was a harmless thresher shark, native to the waters.
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LONDON: It’s safe to go back into the waters off Britain – reports of a man-eating shark that have made front page headlines were just a great white lie. Newspapers reported last Thursday about sightings of a killer Great White shark lurking in the waters off Cornwall had in fact been made up. Doorman Kevin Keeble sparked the media feeding frenzy when he sent pictures to his local paper of a shark he photographed during a fishing trip to South Africa, jokingly claiming the photo was taken near the surfing resort of Newquay. “I didn’t expect anyone would be daft enough to take it seriously,” newspapers quoted him as saying. “I can’t believe the story went so big.” – Reuters

Journey to Paradise

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