Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

A university graduate from Norfolk finds work as a scarecrow, frightening the birds from a field of crops.

 

It sounds like the ideal job - the chance to sit down, read a book and perhaps idly strum a ukulele.

 

But Bangor University graduate Jamie Fox has to do it in all weathers, as a human scarecrow in a field in Norfolk.

 

Mr Fox, 22, has been employed to scare partridges from a field of oilseed rape at Aylsham because conventional birdscarers have not worked.

 

As well as wearing a bright orange coat, Mr Fox uses an accordion and a cowbell to frighten the birds.

 

Mr Fox, who graduated in the summer with a degree in music and English, earns about £250 a week scaring the partridges from the 10-acre (four-hectare) field.

 

I ring a cowbell and I've even played the accordion, but the ukulele doesn't seem to have any effect on them”

"The farmer said to me, 'Bring a deckchair and a good book'," said Mr Fox, who hopes to find a job in music and is learning to play the ukulele during quiet moments in the field....

 

[I knew my English degree would come in handy someday ~ Jeff]

Does Friday the 13th freak you out? If so, hold on to your rabbit's foot extra tight, because there are three of these supposedly unlucky dates in 2012, and today (April 13) is one of them.

 

[Got triskaidekaphobia? Don't be afraid. Read this fun article instead. - JD]

It turns out that if there are current magazines around, people steal them.

Jerks.

Within a month, 41 magazines—almost half—had been taken. To make sure staff didn't take any magazines, they were told that doing so would invoke "the death penalty," for which Arroll would seek retrospective approval from an ethics committee.

Current magazines (less than two months old) were taken more than older magazines. Of the 47 magazines in that category, 60 percent disappeared, while only 29 percent of older magazines disappeared. But it turns out some magazines are stolen even more frequently than current ones. What the researchers termed "gossipy" magazines, which they didn't name but defined as having at least five celebrities on the cover (with 10 celebrities, they earned the term "most gossipy"), were stolen most of all. Patients took 26 of the 27 "gossipy" and "most gossipy" magazines. They also took National Geographic, BBC History, and the Australian Women's Weekly, just less frequently. No one stole any of the four Time magazines or 15 Economist issues.

Prepare to be stunned, baffled, confused and probably offended! We've selected 10 abominations that are the legitimate covers, of some of the least read books in the world.

 

[Trust me! What a great collection. These are the funniest, real book or magazine  covers you'll see. Enjoy - JD]