In what my colleagues dutifully declared a “Society Diary emergency”, this columnist’s inbox was flooded this week with alerts that a hedgehog had been donated to a charity shop by mistake.
The hedgehog was at the bottom of a charity bag donated to the Farleigh Hospice shop in Witham, Essex. A staff member said the hedgehog must have crawled into it overnight, and advised donors not to leave charity bags outside because of it. Diary would have to disagree – the more hedgehogs in charity shops, the better for this column.
Diary was amused by the idea of a charity shop volunteer opening a bag to discover a small hedgehog donned in other donated items: perhaps a sombrero, sunglasses, and a scarf (for good measure), whilst reading a battered Peter James novel. Unfortunately, photos suggest this was not the case. Diary was disappointed too.
After sharing the post on social media, the hospice was able to discover the man who had donated the bag so they could take the little hedgehog back to whence it came.
The BBC article does not specify how this person was verified. What if it was just someone who wanted a free hedgehog? Diary certainly wouldn’t mind one trundling around the office.
Anyway, the animal was checked over by Anne Taylor at Hedgehog Haven who identified it as a “large adult female”, which Diary thought was a bit rude.
The hedgehog was affectionately named Farleigh after the shop it was donated to, but Diary cannot help but think of this as a missed opportunity. Perhaps Baggie or Baggie McBag Face would have been more suited.
Sleepless nights? That’ll be why you’re an awful person
Scientists discovered this week that when people get less sleep, they are more selfish and less willing to help others, including being less likely to give to charity.
The study analysed charitable donations from 2001 to 2016 and found a 10% decrease in charitable giving the week the clocks changed to daylight saving time in the US. No dip in giving was found in countries that did not change their clocks.
Does this mean getting lots of sleep would have the reverse effect? Would one become the best person to ever have lived, and become extra charitable in the process? Diary may have to clock in late for work for the foreseeable future in quest to be its most altruistic and philanthropic self.
Sculptures that offend God (and everyone else)
This week, Church leaders from Cornwall wrote a letter to St Austell town council to complain about a statue they feel is “offensive to God”. Among the signatories was Rev Pete Godfrey of the charity St Austell Light & Life Church.
The church called for the statue, which is called the Earth Goddess, to be taken down or at least renamed so it had no spiritual connotations.
Diary did not think the sculpture looked much like a goddess in the Rembrandt nude-sculpture-sense. Rather, it’s more akin to an 11.5m kebab that has been scribbled on by an overly confident toddler.
The artist was saddened by the church's demands and the public’s response, with some critics calling it a “gaudy piece of junk more suited to the land of Teletubbies”, which really doesn’t leave much room for misinterpretation. In short, no one likes the big kebab.
