June 4, 2005
MISSING LANCELOT LINK:
Monkey bone fuels British town's curious simian myth (AFP, 6/03/05)
A bone found on a British beach has sparked renewed interest in one of the country's most curious myths -- that a monkey washed ashore during the Napoleonic Wars was executed by suspicious locals for being a French spy.Posted by Orrin Judd at June 4, 2005 11:51 AMPolice in Hartlepool, on the northeast coast of England, confirmed Friday that the one-foot (30 centimetre) long bone found on a beach last month was not human, but came instead from a monkey or gorilla.
The discovery has intrigued locals, given the town's curious folklore from the Anglo-French Napoleonic conflict, which lasted from 1793 to 1815.
According to popular legend, a monkey dressed in a French uniform was washed ashore at Hartlepool and tried by local magistrates on suspicion of being a French spy.
Because it did not answer questions they presumed the animal was guilty, and it was hanged from a lamppost.
Although the tale's authenticity is unknown, Hartlepool's football team has long used a man dressed in a monkey suit -- dubbed "H'Angus" -- as its mascot.
Speaking of football: any one else od'ing on world cup qualifying games to day?
I've watched the better part of 5 matches today -- Russia/Latvia, Scotland/Moldova, Faroe Isl/Switzerland,Norway/Italy, and Serbia/Belgium.
3 more to go later" Portugal/Slovakia, USA/CostaRica, and Guatemala/Mexico.
Doesn't get much better than a satellite dish, a Saturday afternoon and lots of footie.
Ah, now back to the Fire/Chivas match.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at June 4, 2005 5:00 PMno
Posted by: oj at June 4, 2005 5:10 PM