(Stranger than fiction).
Another year, another night shift. But just one. I’m back in – tomorrow now – early, so this will be another week of “where and who and when”. Of course, that’s running with the casual and unfounded assumption that the shifts won’t change -again.
Enough of the complaining! ’25 another year replete with birthdays of a “significant” nature (20-40 ths). So much celebrating to get in shape for, and this year, THIS YEAR, there’s going to be more on the performing and writing music front…you read it here first.
I suspect that there will be nothing to rival last year’s Japanese excursion (possibly for the rest of time, my time anyway), but certain birthdays will involve some travel plans.
During a lull in the hurly-burly, I was impelled to check a detail on the McWhirter Bros. (Guinness Book of Records/ Record Breakers, for those of an age), and despite my recent resolution to avoid scrolling needlessly, I was caught by a short list of discontinued world records.
Most are victims of Health and Safety of our times; you may no longer attempt to explode yourself by consuming a whole ox in the fastest time. The most beer ever drunk will always officially be 36 pints in a hour, although unofficial attempts doubtless continue. Your pet can no longer be entered as “most obese (name of species) ever”.
But the thing that drew me in, the words I could not escape, was the discontinuation of the “World Camel Wrestling” record !
I even briefly wondered if it was some kind of typo (racing perhaps?).
SO…. is(was) it man v’s camel? How would that even work? or specially bred “fighting camels” face-off – cruelly – in a pit?
Turn out it’s more nearly the latter, but seemingly, the males wrestle in the wild, competing for breeding dominance. They have to pin their rivals shoulders onto the sand for a count of…. no I’m kidding. They lock necks and try to make the other fall over or run away (usual).
So, if they do it au natural, why is it discontinued?
The risk. Not to the camels.
Crowds of 20,000! (the final record) are very poor a dodging a flailing fleeing camel, and very good at starting a barny over who’s camel cheated. Alas, I have no information on how one could cheat – false humps? it was really a horse? a giraffe?
Frankly, as a piece of mental chewing gum, it just gets better. Or maybe I’ve just done too many nights.
I may have to compose a piece – “Your cheatin’ Camel…”
Next week on IaDL: From this dizzying opening ’25 can only go up…
Dalmallyfest the Asylum 