Strange news on Thursday

Yet another strange swan story this week, about rivalry on a village pond. I love the fact that the journalist has thrown in a reference to the fact that a swan can break a man's arm. Has this ever happened? When you were little you were always told to give swans a wide berth because of this, and it was always with reference to breaking an arm. Never that they would give you a nasty peck.

Was there some famous arm breaking incident that is now lost in the mists of time, or was it one of those strange warnings that mum used to give you, like not swimming until an hour after you had lunch (even if it was just a sandwich) because you might get cramp and drown. I thought you normally got cramp in your legs. Why would eating a sandwich make that any more likely to happen? I can see that a swan, if annoyed, could theoretically break your arm, but if it's just based on something that might theoretically happen, why single out swans? Nobody ever told you to watch out for that cow, because it could break your arm if it lay on you. And what if you were swimming in a river, and disturbed a swan, and you'd only eaten your sandwich ten minutes ago? There could be carnage.

On the subject of animals, what would you choose as a pet if you lived in a fifteenth floor flat in a cold city like Edinburgh? Would you follow this chap's example?