Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing.
Blame it on the cow
This is a rather heartwarming tale about an elderly gentleman in Shropshire, UK who lost his Rolex watch on his farm over 50 years ago and believed that one of his cows must have eaten it. Well, Father Time and a vigilant detectorist have proven that assertion wrong.
In the 1970s James Steele was working on his farm and realised the bracelet on his Rolex was broken and the watch was gone. A helpful vet explained that a cow may have eaten it with a big mouthful of grass and Mr Steele believed that. Fast forward to this year – one of Mr Steele’s sons commissioned a detectorist to have a look around on the farm, as over the years, historical artefacts had shown up regularly – and low and behold, the lost long Rolex was unearthed.
“Mr Steele praised the metal detectorist who found the watch, saying he could have quite easily not owned up to his discovery. More valuables could still be found, the farmer said, encouraging the metal detectorist to keep working his land. As for the watch, Mr Steele said it will now just be a keepsake as it would ‘cost a bomb’ to do anything with.” (Source: “Rolex ‘eaten by cow’ reappears after 50 years,” by Charlotte Benton and Elliot Ball, 18th June, www.bbc.com).
5 stars – cracking yearn, although I’m sad the cow didn’t live long enough to prove the farmer and the vet wrong.
Common sense and the law prevails
I read the headline for this story and thought it was so ridiculous that must be a wind-up. Well, curiosity got the better of me and no, it’s true and although far fetched has an ending that will have many throughout the country sighing in deep relief.
The abridged version goes like this – a woman books flights and tickets to attend a concert with some friends and her boyfriend agrees to take her to the airport. Only problem is he doesn’t show up and she misses her flights. Seeking satisfaction the woman took the case to the Disputes Tribunal. The boyfriend, true to form, didn’t attend.
As it happens – the law was not in her favour and the case was dismissed.
“The tribunal referee Krysia Cowie said for an agreement to be enforceable there needed to be an intention to create a ‘legally binding relationship’. ‘Partners, friends and colleagues make social arrangements, but it is unlikely they can be legally enforced unless the parties perform some act that demonstrates an intention that they will be bound by their promises,’ she wrote. ‘When friends fail to keep their promises, the other person may suffer a financial consequence but it may be that they cannot be compensated for that loss.'” (Source: “New Zealand woman takes boyfriend to disputes tribunal because he didn’t take her to the airport,” by Caitlin Cassidy, 21st June, www.guardian.com).
5 stars – if this hadn’t been the result imagine how clogged our tribunals would be if friends, relatives, and loved ones who hadn’t kept up their end of a bargain were held to account?
Donkey runs away from home to ‘live his best life’
This story has it all, a donkey named Diesel, a dash for freedom, and a new life with a herd of elk.
A hunter in California stumbled across a rather original scene and uploaded it to Youtube. The clip of a donkey hanging out happily with his elk pals went viral and came to the attention of what may be the donkey’s original human herd.
“Terrie Drewry and her husband, Dave, have told CBS news that they are convinced the free-roaming burro is their missing pet Diesel, who had scarpered into the wilderness five years earlier. ‘It was amazing. It was like, “Oh my gosh.” Finally, we saw him. Finally, we know he’s good. He’s living his best life. He’s happy. He’s healthy, and it was just a relief.’
“The Drewrys revealed that Diesel had gone missing after getting scared on a trail while on a hiking trip with his human family. They searched for him in vain, though a trail camera spotted him, and hoof prints showed that he was still alive. Despite their joy, in seeing Diesel alive and apparently thriving as a want-to-be elk, they have no plans to try to capture him.” (Source: “Diesel the escaped pet donkey found living with elk after five years,” 21st June, www.guardian.com).
5 stars – win win for everyone. Nice work Diesel!
Image credit: @maxfennell via Instagram
