The following is largely irrelevant, but I felt compelled to share the story anyway.
Being required to head into town this afternoon I espied a small gathering of people excitedly stood in a semi-circle in the near distance. I wandered past out of curiosity and wondered if I'd somehow walked through a portal to another world, the unveiling scene a baffler of monumental proportions.
A van was parked up (in the centre) boasting: 'Phill Gibbons Ridgeside Falconry - Birds of Prey Demonstrators'
About half a dozen huge and magnificent birds of prey had been assembled to form some kind of bizarre presentation to the general public, their feet shackled to small trunks of wood to avoid a fly-off situation. A small picket fence had been erected, about 10cm tall (presumably to keep out hedgehogs) and within the circle a sandwich board beckoned:
Polaroid £4 Your camera £1
Still baffled, I tried to work out what was going on whilst people leaned towards the incapacitated freedom fighters. Then it dawned on me, I worked it out - not easy as nobody was taking the offer up. Big Phill Gibbons and his entourage of bird catchers were hoping to use the creatures as stooges in a photograph, the human the glittering star.
Now, you have to imagine, its freezing cold, overcast, there’s sweet wrappers, newspapers etc. all blowing up and down the road and the entire charade is situated outside a chip shop - so alongside the freakish scene you have the added sensation of salt and vinegar wafting around.
Even now, some hours later - I wonder if I was seeing things. Having had the presence verified from a pal, I wasn’t.
The next time I head down to the centre I might see a chained up bear with a noticeboard asking for people to fight it for a fiver. And to think, people actually knock Nut-Roast.
