Strange but true

Wedding chaos
A bride was filmed losing her cool and yelling at rude wedding guests to “shut up” from the altar after they talked over the priest. Kaitlin Rooney married Lawrence Rooney at St Gregory’s Church, Northampton, Northamptonshire, recently but was running two hours late due to taking wedding photos. The priest abruptly fell silent as guests continued chattering over him. The furious bride then spun round to face the noisy congregation and bellowed “everyone shut up” before fixing them with a fierce glare. She was shocked and upset when her guests failed to listen, and was grateful when the best man whistled to bring the room to order. “The priest even looked at me with a little grin on his face. I think he wanted to laugh too.” The newlywed, who met her 18 year old husband at a concert in 2024, says she can now look back and laugh at the moment.
What a bargain!
A lost painting by Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie was auctioned for $1.35 million after being bought for US$30 at a Michigan estate sale. Alderman Merriam’s Shells, painted by Abercrombie in 1951, became the most expensive of the artist’s works when Freeman’s Auctions sold it for $1.35 million, far exceeding the expected auction price of US$150,000-250,000. Experts determined the painting had been given to John Reynolds, a Kalamazoo, Michigan, doctor, in exchange for a medical procedure in 1952. The painting remained in family hands until sold to a treasure hunter at a July estate sale in Kalamazoo. The painting depicts seashells from the collection of Chicago Alderman Robert Merriam, who represented the city’s fifth Ward from 1947 to 1955.
Emu wrestling
James Barker while driving in Salcombe, in Devon, encountered a confrontation between a loose emu and a man attempting to steer it through a nearby gate. “I saw the bird on the road, so I pulled up to let the guy get hold of it – but it was too funny not to film,” Barker said. The man successfully wrestled the emu to the ground, but the bird managed to get back on its feet and knock the man on his backside. The emu then walked back to the gate, where an alpaca watched the scene. “He was just trying to get back –  it was hysterical. As soon as it walked back in, the owner closed the gate,” Barker said. Owner Mark Harrington said the bird, named Side Neck due to the way his head moves when he runs, had escaped through a gate accidentally left open.
Bons mots
“Marriage has no guarantees. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a car battery.
– Erma Bombeck, humorist, USA

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