Snippets and gleanings - ill omens

Sacrebleu!
As Paris gears up to host the Olympics this summer those of a superstitious bent might be wondering what could possibly go wrong next. As if the catastrophic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral weren't a bad enough blow to national prestige today's news that the sails of the iconic windmill atop the Moulin Rouge fell into the street in the early hours of the morning, will send shockwaves through France. Luckily, no one was hurt in either incident but national pride will have taken a bruising. If I were a Parisian I'd be keeping a close eye on the Eiffel Tower.

Hold your horses
Talking of portents, what are we to make of the horses that bolted from the Royal Mews in London yesterday? The poor creatures ran terrified through the streets of the city having thrown their riders after being frightened by the noise of building work near Buck House. A white horse was seen to be covered in blood but, now recaptured, army vets are treating the animals' injuries. However, with the first anniversary of the coronation of King Charles III coming up shortly it won't just be the horses that will have been spooked at the Palace. All eyes will now be on the ravens at the Tower of London.

For whom the bell tolls
After a five-year silence between 2017-22 while the clock and the Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament received an 80 million quid refurb, Big Ben once again rings out over the capital. Except yesterday morning at around 9am it didn't. The clock inexplicably stopped for about an hour and, once restarted, chimed the wrong number of bongs. Apparently it's fixed now but, with a general election pending, Rishi Sunak must be wondering if his time's up. Well, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Who's carping?
Someone's had a stroke of good fortune, though. According to Angling Times, a lucky angler, Naomi Turner, landed the largest carp caught by a female angler in the UK after "a fairly tricky session" at Holme Fen Fishery near Huntingdon. After a prolonged pursuit she finally landed the giant fish, known to regulars as 'Pashleys', weighing an enormous 72lb 12oz, breaking the current British record of 68lb 1oz. Naomi called it "a session I certainly won't forget". Pashleys wasn't available for comment.

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