Having not written anything for a while, I feel a tad guilty. I appreciate that had I written anything, there is only a very slim chance that anyone would have chosen to read it anyway, and feel on balance that the lack of odd occurences during the exam period is a good enough reason to have neglected this diary until now.
Last weekend I enjoyed a trip to Cosford Airshow, and would like to briefly introduce to you the latest member of my menagerie: Hercules the fish.
I was happily perusing the hangars full of bustling aviation enthusiasts, and enjoying the sounds of the RAF band, when we recieved a phonecall from a member of the group of air cadets we were accompanying.
"No, Cadet So-and-So, we do not want a squadron goldfish..........No, I'm afraid I don't want a goldfish either.......I don't know, I'll ask...."
And so it came to be that shortly afterwards I was transporting a goldfish in a bag around Cosford Air Show.
I have to mention that I don't agree with giving animals away as pets at funfairs, but Bubbles, my other fish, has been thriving happily at home for the last 13 years or more, which is quite incredible considering the average lifespan for a fish kept in a bowl is 5-10 years. Kept in ponds or large aquaria, this figure doubles to 10-20 years. Incidentally, the oldest known goldfish lived to the ripe old age of 43, and I met the owner at a classic car rally a few years back; whether or not the goldfish was older than the car is something I've often wondered but probably will never know the answer to.
Hercules didn't get to see an awful lot of the show apart from the similarly coloured Jaguar seen in the photograph above. He was taken to the local air cadet squadron where he rested away from the bustle of the crowds and aeroplanes until the end of the day. Unfortunately things are never quite simple, and on top of the usual traumas associated with moving house and settling into a new home, poor Hercules also had to deal with a leaky bag. Thankfully, the quick reactions of members of our group meant that Herc was safely relocated to a promotional air cadet bag topped up with bottled water and balanced in the coach driver's lunchbox for the three hour journey back to Cardiff.
He now resides happily in an appropriately sized goldfish bowl and enjoys swimming and water polo.
