OK people here’s the thing, climbing up a statue, especially a Lenin statue, can prove deadly. A 21 year old from Belarus has died after he attempted to climb the 7m Vladimir Lenin statue only to have it crumble and fall on him. Bummer. He was attempting to hang from Lenin’s outstretched arm when the upper part disintegrated. The town of Uvaravichy plans to repair the crumbled structure.

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Some poor soul visiting the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition tripped and slid straight into Christina, a 9ft sculpture by the Costa Rican artist Tatiana Echeverri Fernandez. How would you be? The sculpture shattered into a thousands pieces, as I presume the culprit did too. If that was me I think I would play dead or at least pretend I was hurt more than the sculpture. Just to add insult to injury the sculpture, valued at 6,000 pounds, was said to be the artists “star” piece. But she shouldn’t despair, Nick Flynn takes the honors of being the biggest klutz, he tripped over his shoelace at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, sending three Qing dynasty porcelain vases shattering into devaluation.

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Say it aint so ! It seems Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s 2,200 year old terracotta warriors have foot fungi. Good god! Since being unearthed in 1974 and exposed to heat and humidity, tiny spores of tinea pedis have had a field day attacking the clay statues. Yep,it seems good old fungi excrete acid just loves ancient Chinese clay men (who knew?).Scientists examining the statues identified 60 different fungi growing on them, including a variation of athlete’s foot.But before you start checking between your own toes for spores, Johnson and Johnson (of baby powder fame) have found the cure. Bless. J&J invested years and big bucks researching molds on clay tiles and flowerpots before finally developing an assortment of successful fungicides. So, next time you are at Terracotta Warrior exhibition and are tempted to touch one just think ‘tinea pedis’!

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Having a Barramundi with Bon !

You know I wrote a blog entry months ago asking if anyone knew where the hell the Bon Scott statue was in Fremantle, after all the pomp and ceremony. Well, I patiently waited for an announcement of its long awaited unveiling, only to discover it has already been unveiled, at Cicerello’s . Yes, that’s right, but before you get too excited I must warn you it isn’t outside but inside (I couldn’t make this up). Hmm, I am sure Bon Scott would see the funny side of his memorial location. A “fish n chip” shop really doesn’t seem to be that fitting for a rock icon. I am not sure whether I should laugh or cry. Does this mean instead of having a beer with Bon I will have to have Barramundi ?

So, who is to blame for this injustice ? I have a sneaking suspicion local council weren’t exactly shaking all night long with the thought of Bon gracing the streets of their fair city. But in a Fish n Chips shop (no offense to Cicerellos) ! Surely one of the pubs could have plonked him near the bar ?

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Tut, tut, tut, Finnish tourist, you should have known better than damaging a heritage listed piece of public art. Marko Kulju, 26, is looking at a hefty prison sentence, after he was seen tearing off the earlobe off a Moai statue on Easter Island this week.

The island has 400 of these huge stone statues which gaze out over the south Pacific.

Unfortunately for Marko, a local was able to identify him as he took off with a chunk of earlobe, by the tattoo’s on his body (fool).

The 13ft Moai was carved from volcanic rock between 400-1000 years ago as a sign of respect for deceased ancestors. I am guessing the authorities are going to come down on Marko like a ton of bricks and so they should, the Moais were nominated to be one of the new seven wonders of the world.

Outcome : Marko escaped a prison sentence and has been fined $17,000 USD by authorities in Chile, and been told not to come anywhere near Chile for the next three years. Beats 7 years in jail I guess.

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