I just had to dash in and share this hilarious news item from (where else?) Birmingham. Looks like even the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police could have lifted his evening’s work straight from the pages of ‘Gravy Train’.
I swear this is a genuine incident and not something I’ve made up. Although given that it involves fishing bags out of canals, I might well have… Just shows those canals really are handy receptacles for all manner of junk!
Here’s another amusing little tale of the sort of bizarre things that go on in Birmingham: West Midlands Police have reported more than 70 calls to their help desks about ghosts, witchcraft and, er, zombies, in the last three years.
Witchcraft I can just about get my head round and ghosts are a whole other matter; whether you believe in them or not there’s no doubting that there are some inexplicable phenomena at times, which you can hardly blame people for associating with the paranormal. I myself experienced sudden drops in temperature, and being touched in an otherwise empty property – and that was in full daylight in a modern flat. Imagine the same sort of thing happening after dark in a spooky environment and it’s no wonder folk phone for help.
But… zombies? In a 21st century city? Seriously? I would love to know what activity sparked that particular report. Was it a rather sick practical joke, or is Birmingham really the location of the next zombie invasion? Can’t wait to find out!
Lost a budgie or a pair of knickers lately? Then look no further than West Midlands police, who have had both of these and a wealth of other bizarre items handed in to them by members of the public. It’s got to the point where they’re so inundated they’re advertising the lost property on Twitter, in the hope of re-uniting it with its rightful owners again.
So, if you’ve been to Birmingham and lost anything unusual, you might want to give the police a call. Rather you than me explaining why your budgie was wearing knickers, mind you…
Tess Makovesky 