In Pure Spirit

The Weird and the Wonderful

Thousands overcome Swine Flu fears to visit miracle Malaysian boars

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Thousands have travelled to a temple in the Malaysian state of Perak to visit a Hindu temple. Visitors have come as far as Thailand and Singapore to see the boars which started to appear by the temple about a year ago.

Some Hindu devotees believe that the boars possess magical powers and are capable of brining good luck. Despite fears of swine flu the visitors, who are bussed in to the temple, attempt to touch the animals. Others will try and feed the animal and rub a four-digit number on the boar’s flank in order to maximise their chances of benefitting.

Oxtales at the Oxford Playhouse

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Author of the acclaimed and controversial His Dark Materials trilogy Philip Pullman will visit volunteers at the Oxfam bookshop in St Giles, Oxford, during Bookfest. Oxfam Bookfest runs across the country from July 4-18th.

Last year a volunteer at the St Giles store spotted an early Graham Greene novel, Rumour at Nightfall, in a box of donated books. The first edition from 1931 was later sold at auction for £15,000 on behalf of Oxfam.

Mother drowned in Maori exorcism

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A court in Wellington, New Zealand, was told that a family drowned Janet Moses in an attempt to remove a makutu or curse from her.

All nine people charged with manslaughter, three men and six women, are members of Moses’ family.

Trouble began for Janet Moses when her sister stole a lion statue from a local pub. Janet started acting oddly and a kaumatua, a tribal elder, explained to the family she would continue to do so until the statue was returned.

Chattanooga: The pothole battles between PETA and KFC

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Fast food powerhouse KFC has donated $3,000 to the American town of Chattanooga to help repair potholes in the road. In exchange for the money the road repair crews use chalk sprays to mark the repairs as “Refreshed by KFC”.

Until the temporary chalk logos wear off over time they act as advertisements for KFC. This has enraged the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) who approached Chattanooga with a counter offer.

PETA offered Chattanooga $6,000 and vegetarian lunches for the road crew. In exchange PETA wished to chalk the repairs with a caricature of KFC’s Col. Harlan Sanders and the phrase “KFC Tortures Animals”.

Mary King’s Ghost Fest 2009

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The fifth Mary King’s Ghost Fest runs from May 8th to May 17th and features a number of famous ghost hunters. Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe and Steve Parsons from Most Haunted will be headlining the investigations.

The Close – or narrow street in Edinburgh, Scotland – is named after Mary King who lived above one until she died in 1644. The ‘Real Mary King’s Close” was built over in 1853. This act, however, helped preseve the ancient street and today it can be accessed as a small underground capsule of houses, history and strangely dark shadows.

The 2009 Mary King’s Ghost Fest is not restricted to the Real Mary King’s Close and features over a dozen locations in Edinburgh.

Extinction Sucks: Sea Turtles

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There have been sea turtles on Earth for over 100 million years. In this week’s Extinction Sucks Aleisha Caruso and Ashleigh Young spring in to action to try and ensure we have sea turtles for many years to come.

There are seven species of sea turtles and all of them are under the threat of extinction. Problems range from turtle eggs being eaten by pigs, turtles choking on plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish and ghost nets.

Ghost nets are fishing nets either lost or abandoned which trap the sea turtle, keeping them below the surface until they suffer a horrible and slow death.

Hood Hill’s Druid crash site desecrated

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The North York Moors National Park and the Forestry Commission was joined by The Ministry of Defence in calls to put an end to the macabre and dangerous quest for the remains of a British aircraft.

A mystery crash brought Flying Officer Colin “Snatch” Grabham’s Sabre aircraft down on Hood Hill in 1954.

Collectors with metal detectors have be seen with metal detectors attemping to find either pieces of the historic Sabre aircraft or the crash site.

The meaning of May

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May means Maia’s month.  Maia was an Italic goddess of spring and known as Maia Maiestas or Fauna by the Romans. She was seen as a good goddess and the 15th of May was dedicated to her. Events in May Beltane May Day Born in May? Birthstone: Emerald Flower: Lily of the Valley Tropical Zodiac: […]

The ghost family of The Chequers pub

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The Chequers pub on Reading Road in the Hampshire town of Eversley is believed to be haunted by up to eight different ghosts.

The pub has been the centre of haunting phenomena for some time now; lights turning themselves on, sudden cold spots and kitchen items moving themselves. The presence of a little boy known as “Jack” has been reported by others – including the previous landlord.

Angela Turner, the landlady, told local press one story which featured a young girl who became separated from her parents. She was found in the restaurant toilets, “Her parents heard her scream and she said ‘Mummy, there has been a lady talking to me’, but there was no-one there.”

Protester Arthur Pendragon ordered from Stonehenge

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Arthur Pendragon, formerly known as John Rothwell before his deed poll name change 30 years ago, has been ordered by the English Courts to leave Stonehenge.

The pagan protester is 10 months into a Stonehenge sit-in against the enforced restricted access to the world famous stone circle. Pendragon believes not only should visitors be able to walk through the stone circles at any time but they should be able to touch them.

In particular, Pendragon is upset at the fence that has been added to the site in order to keep visitors away. The druid suggested the religious site was now “in a stranglehold like a snared animal”. The visitor centre is also under criticism. He said: “It was supposed to be a temporary building. It’s awful. It is a national disgrace so what I am hoping to do by my protest is embarrass the government.”

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