Strange news on Thursday

A trifle belatedly today, as we are having friends round for lunch tomorrow and I have been cooking. And bloody AOL just crashed and I lost the post I had almost finished.

You may or may not know that it is illegal to kill and eat swans. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the famous composer, has had a spot of bother after finding a dead swan outside his home on Orkney.

Now, the strangest thing about this is not that he used some of the carcass for food, but that he wanted to save the wings as part of a nativity play costume. Now, admittedly, they mainly consist of feathers, but there is also muscle, and bone. Surely they would start to smell a bit before Christmas? Or was he going to freeze them until the big day, and create the only theatrical costume with a use-by date?

I have a certain respect for him; most people, if they found a dead bird outside their home, would just think "yuck", but he sees the opportunity for a tasty snack and a bit of fancy dress. Nothing if not resourceful.