THE legend of a Portuguese man of war landing on the local coastline was revived at Torquay this week.
But this time there was a real sting to the landing as thousands of the modern-day invaders, commonly known as bluebottles, swarmed ashore after strong winds.
Live Saving Victoria’s Paul Shannon said they still had a nasty sting even when out of the water and should be avoided.
He urged victims to pour warm water over any sting and to seek medical attention in the event of a severe reaction.
STILL chuckling about claims the head on the resurrected Edward VII statue in the CBD is oversized.
Wits to this column say it’s not the only inaccuracy. They reckon his girth is significantly undersized. In other words, the sculptor was rather generous in reducing the size of his guts.
Seems an appendage is missing too – the obligatory can of VB or similar beverage in his hand, courtesy of city night revellers.
“It’s only a matter of time in this festive season,” one heritage aficionado suggested.
AUSSIE blues legend Broderick Smith, scheduled to play Geelong’s Motor City Music Festival, let slip some surprising trivia to the Indy this week: he once recorded with Cat Stevens.
Apparently Smith was asked to play some harmonica with him while working in America.
“I was told to call him Steven, not Cat,” Smith revealed.
“He was a very nice fellow, short and slim. It was his last album before converting to Islam.”
Smith reveals more surprises in today’s Indy interview on page 21.
THE Cats have continued their promotion of women in the male-dominated AFL, appointing Deakin-graduated sports scientist Sophia Samartzis as football operations manager.
She’ll work with football operations boss Steve Hocking in the wake of Neil Balme’s defection to Collingwood.
Smartzis completed a sports science placement at the Cats in 2010 as part of her uni studies and was head trainer at Williamstown for two years before returning to Deakin for an honours degree.
That’s a pretty swift elevation from the rookie list into the top 22.
