Magazine

David Rath The arrest of MP David Rath with seven million crowns in cash packed into a wine box has given rise to a great many jokes at his expense. After the police found another thirty million under the MPs floorboards betting agencies started talking bets how much the MP had squirreled away in total. People cracked jokes that while Jesus could turn water into wine Rath could turn wine into money and there were reports of wine-sellers taking boxes of expensive wine from the shelves because they had been found to contain “too many banknotes per box”.

A drunk driver stopped by traffic police in the town of Frýdek-Místek last week tried to convince officers his dog had been driving the car. A police spokesman reporting on the incident said the police had signaled the driver to stop and by the time they reached the car the man had quickly swapped seats –getting into the front passenger seat and putting his dog behind the stirring wheel. The man was extremely drunk and had earlier had his license confiscated.

History and military buffs who like to take part in reconstructions of historic battles can be extremely pedantic about details. For instance a recent reconstruction of one of the last battles of WWII at Slivice ( when German troops -frantically trying to surrender to the nearby Americans - defended themselves against partisans and the Soviet Army) gave cause to plenty of complaints from the organizers. Jiří Fejfar, a long-time member of the military history club is one of the watchdogs on the lookout for individuals who just want to have a bit of fun and come dressed in whatever uniform they happen to find. “We’ve had people come in period dress that is way out” he complains. “We’ve even had people come in a uniform from the Korean war!” People wanting to take part in the reconstruction must not only be wearing the right military uniform –and know what they are supposed to be doing – they must also look the part. “Long hair and hippie style is out” Fejfar says, but adds that one must not be too groomed either. “Remember this was the end of the war. The soldiers had crew cuts but they had not shaved in several days and were most likely dirty. We don’t want any clean and tidy soldiers strutting around in this battle!” A bit extreme, you may think, but members of the military history club take this particular hobby seriously and don’t want jokers spoiling it. Fejfar says that since the right uniforms are hard to find they get a tailor to make a perfect replica –which costs on average 12,000 crowns. Of course once delivered it must be rumpled up a bit to make it look like it had seen some action. So when you next see the reconstruction of a historic battle keep in mind how much effort and money is involved to get it right –and if you plan to join one –make sure not to wash or shave for a day or two!

Jakub Vágner Extreme angler Jakub Vágner whom you may know from his television series Fish Warrior on National Geographic Channel has a new project in the Czech Republic. He has rented out a lake for 25 years in the vicinity of Kutná Hora where he wants to establish a breeding ground for threatened freshwater fish species. In time he plans to have a fishing camp for children on its embankment and organize fishing competitions. Naturally –according to his own golden rule – any fish caught will be released.

Photo: Musée Grevin The famous Paris wax museum Musée Grevin will open a branch in Prague in 2014, Compagnie des Alpes representatives confirmed this week. The Prague museum will be located in Prague’s Celetná Street and the company is allegedly investing 10 million euro into the project. It will be the second Grevin museum outside Paris after Montreal where such a museum is due to open in the spring of 2013.

Photo: CTK Copies of the famous Maoi statues on Easter Island may soon be on show in Moravia. As of this week a precise cement copy of one of those statues is to be seen in the town Bohdalice, in the Výškov region. A group of ten enthusiasts visited Easter Island took precise measurements of the 3.5 meter-tall statue and photographs according to which they made a mold. The statue was erected last week and another 11 are in the pipeline to be completed within the next two years. The highest of them should be seven meters tall.

Photo: CTK Fans of historical planes are in for a treat in the town of Jindřichuv Hradec where members of the Old Timer aviation club have brought out two dozen veteran gliders for a spectacular air show. The 60-year-old machines were slated for scrapping years ago but aviation enthusiasts got them back into shape and occasionally fly them. Among those in action this week is the Zlín 24 Krajánek glider made in 1947. Others now sailing the skies were made in the 50s and 60s. All of these planes are now in private hands and are only aired on occasion.

Photo: pivolzickou.cz A teambuilding exercise in Brno –setting a record in sipping a pint of beer with a spoon - has metamorphosed into a nationwide competition open to beer fans around the country. People can now qualify for the tournament which is to take place in September. Originally the race was for restaurant and pub employees but it turned out to be so popular and spread so quickly among the locals that the organizers decided to go nation-wide with it. The present record in sipping a pint of beer from a soup place with a spoon –is one minute and one second flat in the men’s category and one minute thirteen seconds for the ladies. People can put their results on the competition’s web page but to take part in the September contest they must travel to Brno in person. The interest is so great that the organizers are now looking for a brewer to sponsor the event.

Photo: CTK Technodat –an engineering, product design and development company is promising adventurous-minded people something spectacular in the fall – an electric powered flying bike. The bike, which is to be unveiled at the Brno Engineering fair in September, has the parameters of a normal bike but, thanks to a set of horizontally placed propellers it should be capable of undertaking what the company describes as “short, coordinated flight”. The head of the company says that the flying bike is a boyhood dream come true for many employees and a present that the firm gave itself on its 20th birthday.