On Fri, May 1, 2009 at 2:28 PM, Bob W <[email protected]> wrote: > A few weeks ago I booked today off work and bought myself a cheap train > ticket to go and see the bonobos at Twycross Zoo - my favourite animals, > which I've never seen in real life. This is the only place in Britain where > they can be seen, and has the largest collection of non-human primates in > the world. So I was up bright and early and onto the train looking forward > to a pleasant trip in the spring sunshine, and a nice day out with some > photos to show for it. > > But as the train reached top speed just beyond Northampton someone stepped > onto the track and killed themself. I could hear and feel the bumps as the > the body hit the underside of the carriage. > > The train came to a halt, of course, and there was silence until the driver > asked the guard to come to the cab. There was then a wait of over 2 hours > while a relief driver was brought, the emergency services cleared up the > mess, and the train was driven back to Northampton to be taken out of > service. > > By then it was too late for me to continue - I would not have had enough > time to see the bonobos properly, and my mind was on other things, so I > returned to London where I had a very late lunch in Gordon Square Gardens in > Bloomsbury, which cheered me up somewhat. Here are some pictures of primates > enjoying the sun in a deciduous woodland habitat: > > http://www.web-options.com/Primates/ > > It's a terrible thing for someone to be in such a state of mind that they do > something like that. Terrible for that person's family and friends, and > terribly unfair on the train driver, who is going to have to live with the > memory for the rest of his life. > > Anyway, I'll have to book another day off to see the bonobos. They solve all > their problems by shagging each other senseless, which seems like a much > better solution to me. > > http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/2008/05/11/know_your_primate_pan_paniscus/ > > Bob
I'm glad that it wasn't a bonobo that threw itself under the train. Sounds like a horrific day. Glad the finish was a bit nicer... cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
