Shropshire

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/3953408

> > Donkeys have a reputation for being stubborn. But in the case of “poor Amigo”, a donkey who has been rescued by firefighters from a field in Shropshire, it wasn’t stubbornness that kept him stationary – it was mud. > > > > A spokesperson from Shropshire fire and rescue said a team of “10 or 11 firefighters” attended a call to rescue the hapless animal, who got stuck in waist-deep mud after falling into a hidden storm drain covered in leaves. > > > > Logging the incident as “one donkey, stuck in storm drain”, firefighters used straps and lines to pull Amigo out safely, after a vet sedated the trapped animal to ensure it did not panic and injure itself.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/2526339

> > One senior West Midlands detective – a big cat believer – said: “You can get anything into this country. > > > > “For some years, owning a big cat was something of a status symbol for criminal hierarchy – blame Mike Tyson. > > > > “Some of those pets escaped.” > > > > Have the beasts bred in our countryside? Not a chance. We have proof the animals are – or certainly have been – with us. On February 3, 1989, an Asian jungle cat – actually, not much larger than a domestic moggie – was discovered dead on the roadside at Richards Castle, Ludlow. > > > > There have been others. A puma was shot in Inverness in 1980, a lynx captured in Cricklewood a year later. All are believed to have been on the run from captivity. > > > > The British Big Cats Society claims to have evidence of 23 big cat releases into the countryside after the Dangerous Animals Act came into force. The same organisation caused a storm in 2005 when revealing a puma skull discovered by a Devon farmer. It was a puma skull. > > > > Back in 2015, TV naturalist Gordon Buchanan said in an interview: “I said about five years ago that, with everybody carrying mobile phones with cameras, we will soon have conclusive evidence if there were really big cats out there. > > > > “So far, that has yet to materialise. Having spent some time with big cats, I know they are expert at concealing themselves and hiding, so it is possible. > > > >“But in the absence of hard evidence, I think it’s looking less likely. > > > > “That’s not to say that people are making stories up. > > > > “A friend-of-a-friend showed me a picture of what they thought was a big cat, and I thought it looked like the real deal.” > > > >He said: “It didn’t look like a domestic cat, but when I saw where it had been taken, and paced out the distance, I realised it probably was a feral cat. > > > > “But the way the image had been taken, unless you actually went out there and paced the distance you wouldn’t have realised.”

> When you think of Shropshire, giants may not necessarily be the first thing that comes to mind. However, littered across the landscape are tales of giant beings, each with their own unique narratives. These creatures are somewhat underrepresented in discussions regarding our lore, but despite this I believe they are intrinsic to the county. They can symbolise the savage elements of nature, which are in constant conflict with human kind. Furthermore, they come to symbolise the spirit of the land itself, something that is altogether primordial, unrestrained, and untamed. Some of our giants whisper of Celtic influences, however others seem distinctly ‘Shropshire’ in design. Some are successful, whereas others are resigned to a fate that is controlled by humans, or the forces of nature. We are going to explore some of these stories, travelling across the breadth of shropshire, in hope we can discern more about the counties wonderful folklore.

Great read. I know Shropshire reasonably well but a lot of that folklore had passed me by.