Magazine

Chimneysweeps are few and far between in the Czech Republic and the profession may soon disappear altogether. A proposed amendment to the law says that in the future house owners should be allowed to sweep their own chimneys, on the argument that many of them do anyway, since chimneysweeps are a dying breed. The Association of Czech Chimney Sweeps is up in arms over the proposal calling it dangerous and irresponsible since many people are likely to do a bad job and risk their house being burnt down. According to statistics an average 800 houses a year are ravaged by fire because of poorly-swept chimneys. At present there are an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 people active in this profession – mostly men but the occasional woman as well. Which in practice means that one chimneysweep is expected to service 5,555 homes every autumn. An impossible task – hence the fires. More chimneysweeps would probably be welcome but given the fact that it is seasonal work –and pays little -few young people choose to follow that path in life. Paradoxically though, the fewer of them there are, the more valued chimneysweeps are. In the Czech Republic they are believed to bring good luck and when people sight one in the street you will see them either grab hold of a button or –if they are bolder – go up to the chimneysweep and ask to be allowed to wipe a little soot of him with their finger. That way the luck that he carries is transferred to them with the soot. And at the close of each year you will see candy stores selling miniature porcelain or clay figures of chimneysweeps to be attached to New Years’ presents for good luck. Soon these figures may be all we have to remember them by.

Photo: CTK The male baboon Heiko who has become something of a local celebrity at the Brno zoo is said to be recovering from his latest escapade. The baboon first made headlines when he escaped from his enclosure in 2007 – making use of a power cut – and leading his pursuers a merry dance for four days. In the meantime he made friends with the inhabitants of cottages in the vicinity and was finally caught on a golf course sharing a packet of biscuits with a golfer. This time around the baboon scaled the electric fence of his enclosure after apparently getting panicked by the sight of a tranquilizer gun which was going to be used to tranquilize a sheep that shared the enclosure. Heiko is thought to have developed a fear of tranquilizer guns after being chased with them on his outing two years ago. This time he remained on the loose for two whole days before being captured, to the vast amusement of the public. The zoo’s management issued a statement saying that for his own safety he would be transferred to another zoo – possibly a foreign one – which met with a storm of protest from his fans. Now people in Brno, and indeed around the country, are signing petitions for Heiko to be pardoned and allowed to stay. It is not yet clear if the zoo will be willing to reconsider its decision but clearly the baboon would draw crowds of admirers to his enclosure.

A Czech thief who stole a pair of trousers in a shop in New Zealand has learned the hard way that dishonesty doesn’t pay. A court sentenced him to ten days in jail after which he is to be extradited from the country. The pants cost 25 New Zealand dollars i.e. approximately 300 Czech crowns. Clearly the man must have forgotten he was no longer in the Czech Republic where petty theft (anything under 5,000 crowns) is a misdemeanor not a criminal offense. The thief admitted his guilt saying that his own trousers were in a bad shape and he did not have money to buy new ones, but the judge remained adamant insisting that a clear signal needed to be sent that such behaviour would not be tolerated. A lesson there not only for the thief but for Czech lawmakers, who have frequently come under fire for setting such a benevolent “thieving limit”.

Feeling too shy to approach a good-looking woman at the bar? Shy Czech men have the option of taking a crash-course in pick-up techniques and fast seduction strategies. The course was set up eight years ago by Vladimír Hujer. And he knows exactly how his clients feel because he once needed help himself. “As an IT employee I was a bit of a geek – no idea how to approach a woman, much less hold her attention –so I started looking for information,” he says. He found it on the web – where else – and everything was outside the Czech Republic. But the good news was that with a bit of guidance he found that the tips really worked. And having built up his own self confidence in this respect he decided to fill a gap on the Czech market. Today his crash course helps men learn the art of seduction both on a theoretical and practical level – on a night out with the instructor at their side, providing tips and encouragement, working undercover of course. The course appears to be highly successful and this summer it was extended to women – separately, since the reverse pick-up techniques are entirely different. Vladimír Hujer says that Czech women have a lot to catch up on in this respect – they rarely approach a man themselves, but wait to be approached first, which he thinks is a great pity. The moto for both men and women is don’t be afraid to take the plunge and keep trying. After all, practice makes perfect. But – don’t take too long. A weekend of fast-seduction strategies with a tutor can cost you fifteen thousand crowns – and at that rate you could soon be broke.