Florida candidate for U.S. Senate admits to sacrificing goat, drinking its blood

A goat yesterday

Thanks to a nomination from a reader, the Orlando Sentinel wins our Headline of the Day Award.

Lord Bonkers adds: It is just this willingness to go the extra mile that makes the difference in a closely fought contest.

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How is rewilding different to traditional nature conservation?

Chris Packham explains,

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Lib Dems hold seat on Rutland County Council

Whissendine windmill © Kate Jewell

Good news from Rutland, where the Liberal Democrats comfortably held a seat in a council by-election in Whissendine yesterday.

The result:

Kevin Thomas (Lib Dems)   265
Conservative                      109
Ukip                                    33

The Ukip candidate was Marietta King, who has twice been their general election candidate in Harborough.

Her intervention took a few votes from the Conservatives, but otherwise the result was more or less unchanged from October 2014 when Sam Asplin gained the seat for the Lib Dems in another by-election. He was forced to stand down by poor health.

Rather impressively, there was a 40 per cent turn out, with no spoilt papers.

Martin Brookes has a photo of the victorious Lib Dem candidate.

Incidentally, Lord Bonkers played no part in this triumph. I sent his latest diary off to Liberator last night and it seems he has been in the US state of New Rutland for the Primaries.

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Banning tackling in school rugby

I want to play cricket on the green
Ride my bike across the stream
Cut myself and see my blood
I want to come home all covered in mud

The Who, I'm a Boy


Schoolboy rugby appeals to this blog's prejudices, but the open letter from doctors and other health experts should not be dismissed:

The majority of all injuries occur during contact or collision, such as the tackle and the scrum. 

These injuries which include fractures, ligamentous tears, dislocated shoulders, spinal injuries and head injuries can have short-term, life-long, and life-ending consequences for children."

My impression is that rugby clubs are good at introducing children to the game gradually, whereas one often sees a pack of small boys chasing the ball across a muddy soccer field that is far to big for them.

But an article by Anna Maxted in yesterday's telegraph skilfully brought out the dilemma for rugby parents:

My 13-year-old staggers home pink-cheeked and mud-splattered after rugby practice. I order him up for a bath, and stuff his sodden kit into the wash. 

This ritual gives me a similar feeling to singing 'Lavender’s Blue' to him as a baby. I’m part of a great tradition, upholding the basic tenets of parental duty and care, giving him a textbook happy, healthy childhood. 

But later that night he complains he can’t sleep: he hurt his neck during the game.

At the heart of this debate, I suspect, lies just not a dilemma for parents but one for rugby union itself. What is the game meant to be like?

Robert Kitson wrote a very good article on the subject earlier this year:

What sort of attacking spectacle are we encouraging if up-and-coming young fly-halves and centres keep getting man and ball simultaneously and barely have time to catch the ball, never mind pass or run? When youth teams are kicking penalties as a first resort rather than being encouraged to move the ball?

Boxing used to be taught in state schools, but disappeared in the 1960s after a campaign led by Dr Edith Summerskill.

If rugby union as we know it today does not want to go the same way, it needs to decide what kind of game it aspires to be.

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