Warning to hikers: alien big cat spotted in Scotland

by Sean McLachlan on

If you thought the only monster in Scotland was the one in Loch Ness, you thought wrong. Mysterious giant cats are stalking the land, and while many people consider them as big a hoax as Nessie, one has recently been sighted and filmed. The video, taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defense dog handler, shows what appears to be a black feline measuring, if you judge by some nearby railway tracks, to be about four feet long. It’s certainly way too big to be a normal cat and doesn’t look at all like a dog. In fact it looks for all the world like a jaguar, although jaguars don’t exist in the wild in Scotland or anywhere else in the British Isles.

Sightings of wild cats are fairly common in the British Isles and have been dubbed by the easy to remember moniker Alien Big Cat (that’s ABC). Many look like pumas or jaguars. The Big Cat Research group has gathered data on more than 5,000 sightings and has lots of photos on their website, some laughable, some downright eerie.

You might just fob this off as a bit of harmless mystery, or some pussy on steroids, but one Scottish woman was attacked by an alien big cat and required numerous stitches. After that incident local police warned people not to approach or feed any giant cats they come across. So if you’re planning a hike in Scotland, be careful. Oh wait, I’M planning a hike in Scotland. Uh oh.

Cheap eats in London

by Sean McLachlan on

English food is no longer mushy peas and baked beans on toast. Cities like London have become culinary capitals thanks to large numbers of immigrants saving the English from themselves. Indian, Chinese, Thai, Moroccan, Ethiopian, and many other types of restaurants offer every kind of dish imaginable. There’s only one problem–eating out in England is bloody expensive!

Now there may be a solution, for London at least. A service called EPok offers two-for-one meal deals at selected London restaurants. EPok, which rather tortuously stands for “Eating Places OK”, offers a special London Pack waiting for you at your hotel with vouchers for twenty or more restaurants offering two-for-one deals, plus another two-for-one deal for theatre tickets. At only 27 pounds, this could add up to some serious savings.

There are a few limitations, though. Drinks and service aren’t included, and they pick the show and restaurants.

Despite these limitations this sounds like it could be a pretty good deal, but if you haven’t been around London much here’s a word of warning. The city is filled with people who have more money than taste and who will fork over piles of cash for any old tripe given an exotic name and presented well. Check out your restaurant with a good website like TimeOut London before going. EPok has started its own review page too.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has used this service. It could be good if you don’t know the city well and are just passing through.

Murder on the Orient Express? No, just good eating!

by Sean McLachlan on

If you want to combine fine dining, an historic train ride, and Art Deco elegance, here’s your chance.

The Orient Express is offering a new dining service called simply “The Dinner” which gives passengers a luxury meal aboard the company’s historic British Pullman train.

The trip departs from London’s Victoria station at 7:30pm and returns at 11pm, so don’t expect to pull into Constantinople in time to see the Ottoman Empire fall. An epic rail journey this is not. But what you do get is champagne and an exquisite menu featuring dishes such as Organic Welsh Salt Marsh Lamb, Truffled Welsh Rarebit, and something called the Orange and Chocolate Tasting Plate. All this is served on selected nights in restored Art Deco carriages that make you feel like you’re back in the early twentieth century.

The dinner costs a tooth grinding $640 or more, but if you got the dosh, this sounds like a fun one.

Want to go on a monster hunt?

by Kraig Becker on

Every country and culture has its monster stories. You can wander the globe and hear tales of all kinds of things that go bump in the night. From giant snakes in the Amazon to legendary ape men in the Himalaya, there are enough rumors of strange creatures to keep cryptozoologists out in the field, chasing shadows, for years to come.

If you’d like to go on a monster hunt of your own, Forbes Traveler has put together a list of the top destinations on the planet that are rumored to be the home of one type of monster or another. But as the article mentions, only the bravest, most adventurous travelers need apply, as who knows what awaits you out in these remote corners of the Earth.

Some of the locations that earn a spot on the list include Loch Ness, Scotland, where the legendary Loch Ness Monster is rumored to lurk beneath the icy waters of the lake that reaches more than 50 feet in depth in many areas. Not a fan of aquatic monster hunts? Then head to the Redwood Forests of Calfornia in search of Sasquatch, also known as Bigtoot, the famous giant ape, which has many sightings dating as far back to the mid-1800’s. Looking for something a bit less mundane when you go on a monster hunts? Then how about going to West Virginia to look for the Mothman, a strange creature that looks like a man with bug eyes and giant wings.

So, who wants to organize a monster hunt? After we get done looking for Sasquatch, we can head to Roswell, New Mexico too. We’ll make a road trip out of it!

£100 million budget shortfall for UK’s greatest attractions

by Sean McLachlan on

Some of the United Kingdom’s most-visited sights may have to put off or cancel improvements after it has been revealed that they face a £100 million ($164 million) funding shortfall.

The Guardian newspaper reports the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport has promised far more than it can spend in fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11. Department officials failed to explain why they are so bad at math but claim they are looking into the problem. Well, I guess everything will be OK then.

This can’t be good news for the directors and staff at places like the British Museum or Tate Modern, which both planned large expansions, or Stonehenge, which was promised a visitor center, or the British Film Institute, which was supposed to get a whole new building complex. Some of the funding for these projects is coming from other sources, but the department’s portion is a vital part of the planning and now all of these projects will have to be reviewed.

Now that the Empire’s sun has permanently set, the UK needs to realize its two major sources of income are the financial services sector and tourism. Since the financial services people have shown their utter incompetence, the government should be managing its profitable tourist attractions a little more carefully.