Posted: 13th December 2001

Here we are firmly stuck in the middle of preparing for Christmas and coping with the ice and fog which create hazards in Northern Europe at this time of year.

Which reminds me... a good friend of mine on h2g2 sent me a very true, but entertaining, story this week. In the UK, it appears, many publicans are concerned about safety in their pubs (probably something to do with all the corporate and business parties they are asked to host)

An enterprising policeman, Paul Whittey, decided to host a meeting for 35 publicans in Banbury, Oxfordshire. On the agenda? How to stop bar brawls over the festive season. The meeting appeared to have been a success and the police officer duly left the venue. Minutes later a violent row broke out between rival landlords. It spilled out onto the streets and witnesses reported seeing at least a dozen participants. It was only brought to a halt when yet another publican, who hadn't attended the conference, intervened when the brawl ended up outside his own drinking establishment.

It certainly doesn't bode well for a 'peaceful' Christmas tide if the so-called Pub Watch, set up to co-ordinate information about potential trouble, can't keep its own 'house' in order!

On a completely different tack now. Is someone out there trying to tell us something? The latest excellent pictures from the Hubble Space telescope have revealed a wondrous sight - The Keyhole Nebula. Take a look and see if you think that the formation in the top lefthand corner is aimed at earth... or somewhere else!

Next, a quick update on the cat saga. Quark recovered from the cruelest cut of all and Katy finally accepted him again... until last week. We had fully intended to 'help' Katy at about the same time as Quark but decided to wait because they are 'house cats' in the truest sense of the word - they are never allowed out. So she remains intact. She suddenly started yowling at night and we couldn't work out why until she made it extremely obvious that she wanted 'seeing to'! She had come into season and was determined that Quark, or anything else male in the vicinity, was going to know all about it. Talk about being sex-mad... I've never seen anything like it! Thankfully, after three days of this rampant behaviour, she has now settled down again. Perhaps we will take her to the vets after all!

The Post fully intends to bring you issues right through the festive season which means editions on the 20^th and 27^th of December and also the 3^rd of January. They will probably be slimmer as we cannot reasonably expect all our regulars to keep up the good work at this time. So any stories, poems, quizzes, anything at all would be really welcome. Just drop a note at the Post Office or email shazz.

Sadly Ormy is not only suffering computer problems (I do hope it wasn't any of us who sent him a nasty virus) but is also ill. Get well soon Ormy! Greebo has warned me that her computer is also going in for repair so she may have to miss a couple of weeks also. Please remember: A computer is not just for Christmas!

Last, but by no means least, let us all raise a to Shea and TJ, recently engaged.

shazzPRME

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