IRISH TIMES ODDITIES:DOUBLE ACE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS! A hole in one is every golfer's happiest dream and one seldom realised – but what about doing it twice in the same round?
It has happened on a few occasions, but even so Sunday, May 4th, will be a day Frederick Collard, even if he lives to be 100, will never forget. On that day at Howth he holed in one at the fourth (155 yards) and the eighth (150 yards), using a six iron each time.
A 43-years-old superintendent at an engineering factory at Santry, who took up the game only seven or eight years ago and plays off 15 handicap, Collard did not win the monthly medal in which his amazing achievements occurred – he played badly otherwise; but what matter about that, he has written a paragraph of golfing history. May 6th, 1975
MAN KEPT IN TREE
Three kidnapping victims, one of whom was kept chained inside a hollow tree, escaped or were freed in the last two days without any ransom being paid, police in Rome said.
Salvatore Fazzari, abducted near Reggio, Calabria, on September 11th, escaped on Monday night from the hollow tree where his captors kept him with a chain around his neck. He said the two bandits who guarded him were scared away by a police helicopter circling the area and he succeeded in freeing himself. September 28th, 1977
WAR SCARE
Headlines in Würzburg newspapers proclaiming "declaration of war" sent newspaper sales booming – until they were found to be advertisements. February 20th, 1950
A POST OFFICE ROBBER
In the eighth annual report of the Postmaster-General he states that an extraordinary case of post office robbery occurred last year. While a letter carrier was on his round at Kelvedon, in Essex, a tame raven seized a money-letter which the officer had in his hand and flew away with it. After making a circuit over the town he alighted, and before he could be prevented tore the letter to pieces. On putting the fragments together the letter was found to contain a cheque for £30, which was, on representation of this singular incident, renewed. May 30th, 1862
TIGHT SHOES
A man in Oerebro, charged with drunkenness by a policeman who had seen him walking unsteadily down the street, declared that his unsteadiness was due to tight shoes, writes Reuter’s Stockholm correspondent. He told the court that he had brought the shoes in order to “cut a dash”.
When he opened the parcel he found the seller had given him size 7 instead of size 8. It was too late to get the shoes changed so, in spite of the torture, he squeezed his feet into them and tottered forth to keep an appointment. November 14th, 1934
FLYING ANTS ATTACK STEEPLEJACKS
A swarm of red flying ants, which, from the ground, looked like a big, black cloud, forced steeplejacks working on the 404ft spire of Salisbury Cathedral to stop work yesterday. The ants attacked them, bit them badly on the face, neck and arms, and swarmed over their clothing. For two hours the men fought them with sacking and oily rags, trying to rid themselves of the invaders. In the end the ants won, and the men had to scramble to the ground, three hours before their usual time for finishing work.
One of the men taking ants from his clothing told a reporter: "We tried to get rid of them by every means we knew. We left thousands and thousands of them dead in the gutters on the building." The swarming of ants in this way is generally a sign of good weather. August 22nd, 1950