Stamp of approval

ODDS AND ENDS

Stamp of approval

A Viennese philatelist was given an absolute discharge by an Austrian court after explaining why he had rushed into the bedroom of his landlady's attractive 21-year-old daughter, tore away the towel with which she was covering herself, and made a close fingertip examination of her bottom.

He explained that he had left a valuable foreign stamp soaking in the bath and it had disappeared and he thought she might have sat on it. The court found this a perfectly reasonable explanation and dismissed the case.

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Merciless moggy

Sarah and Ben Goddard were puzzled when the mail delivery to their house in Derby, England, dried up to a trickle. After making inquiries they discovered that the postman refused to deliver to their house because he was afraid of their pet cat Georgi.

The postman told them Georgi had bitten him three times in a week and had left him with bleeding fingers. He said there was no way he was going to deliver their mail and they would have to pick up letters from the post office.

"I thought he was joking," said Mrs Goddard. "I sympathise completely with postmen getting attacked by dogs, but Georgi is a cat!"

The situation has been resolved by the Goddards installing a new delivery box at the end of the drive so the postman doesn't have to encounter the fearsome moggy.

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What's in a name?

Daddy Fantastic and Bobby Dazzler are two of the record 40,000 people to change their names by deed poll in Britain this year.

Daddy used to be plain Robert Sullivan, a carpenter from Gloucester. He decided he needed something a bit more impressive while out drinking with pals.

Bobby, formerly electrician Paul Lancaster, was also egged on by friends to adopt a more memorable name.

Among the other eccentric names recorded by the UK Deed Poll Service is Something Long And Complicated, who used to be known as William Wood, of Scunthorpe.

One of the strangest recent name changes is Chris Gray, of Bingley, West Yorks, who is now called Mouth Who Wants To Know O'Mighty.

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A fear of driving

A woman who suffers from a clinical fear of driving is facing a ban after police caught her creeping down a motorway at 10mph.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the phobia was revealed in court after Stephanie Cole, 57, pleaded guilty to driving without reasonable consideration.

Police spotted Mrs Cole on the M32 in Bristol in her mini MPV - with a sign in the back which read "I do not drive fast, please overtake".

She was straddling the hard shoulder and the inside lane on the 70mph motorway and, despite driving at a walking pace, repeatedly jammed on her brakes.

Mrs Cole has been ordered to appear in court next week. The magistrate commented: "I hope she doesn't drive here."