Richard Muirhead is an old friend of the CFZ. I have been friends with him for 40 years now, since we were kids together in Hong Kong. He is undoubtedly one of the two best researchers I have ever met; he and Nigel Wright both have what Charlie Fort would have no doubt called a wild talent; a talent for going into a library, unearthing a stack of old newspapers, and coming back with some hitherto overlooked gem of arcane knowledge. Twice a week he wanders into the Macclesfield Public Library and comes out with enough material for a blog post..
Hello again, I`m back with my part of the blog,with another marine story (they seem to be cropping up alot lately) and an old familiar one, the entombed toad.
"On Wednesday, a whale supposed to measure above 80ft was seen of (sic) Rye (1) Bay,going up Channel. About one o` clock in the afternoon of the same day, two whales of the above description were discovered by the Dover fishermen, in Dover roads,which so alarmed them,that they all made for the shore,the fishermen say,that a large sloop was alongside of the fish going up Channel,when one of them spouted up such a large quantity of water as to preclude them from any the least sight of the vessel." Macclesfield Courier December 5th 1812 p.3
"A few days ago,some workmen,employed in a quarry in Byker-hill (2) on splitting a block of freestone, about 3 tons weight, found a live toad in the centre of it." Macclesfield Courier December 12th 1812.p.3
(1) There is a Rye in E.Sussex
(2)There is a Byker today near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
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