20/7/2008 1 Comment A LLAMA ALERTThis is what might have been the report had we not caught the Boys before they chased the llamas which were walking freely at the Country Fair. *********************************************************************************************************************************** Jimmy Jenkins, Event reporter Folkestone Mail, July 20, 2008 Traffic on the M20 in Kent was brought to a standstill on Saturday as the result of a bizarre procession heading west on the eastbound carriageway of the motorway. In the lead were four llamas, hotly pursued by a small brown dog with a red collar, closely followed by an even smaller brown dog with a green collar. Hard on the heels of the leading pack was bespectacled, rotund Joy Pascoe, 60, shouting out in equal measure, encouraging words and obscenities directed at the dogs. Barely a whisker behind them were half a dozen yellow T-shirted members of the Leaping Stars Flyball Team and bringing up the rear, were several children and adults with balloons and ice creams, who believed that this was all meant to happen in Flyball. It all began at the Stelling Minnis country fair where, in the midst of the Morris Dancing, tractor rides and exhibitions of farm animals, a Flyball demonstration was taking place. “The afternoon had started well,” said 27 year-old mother of two, Linda James coach of the Shooting Stars, “and Ronnie was behaving himself – most unusual.”
“Then a woman walked past with four llamas and all hell broke loose!” said Sarah, blond, 29. “Ronnie saw them and he was off, over the backboards, over the netting and away, closely followed by his brother George and their Mum,” said box-loader, Paula. “What could we do but follow?” team members Julie and Debbie asked. By the time the group reached the motorway, ditches along the way were littered with halted vehicles and bemused drivers. “It was really scary when we got onto the M20,” said visibly shaken Jason, 32, husband of Debbie, “because we saw all the traffic coming at us, and when Joy collided with that Eddie Stobart truck, well, we thought that was it!” Our reporter was able to snatch a few words with the driver of the lorry before he was taken to hospital suffering from shock. He said “I managed to miss the llamas and the dogs but then it was horrible. That woman just kept coming straight at me, I thought I was a gonner. Luckily, she swerved at the last minute and all I heard was something about “…sports bra when I need it…” then a big thump and I came round when it was all over. It’s OK though, the damage was mostly to the offside front and the insurance should cover it.” Police action was hampered by the fact that drivers on both sides of the motorway were soon leaping out of cars to join in the excitement and cheer the runners on. Ladbrokes are said to have had the llamas at 5:1, Ronnie at 8:1, George at 20:1 but Ms Pascoe as the clear favourite. Realising they would be unable to halt them any other way, police closed the motorway just south of Ashford. A policewoman caught the llamas, someone threw Ronnie a football and George a piece of cheese which immediately stopped them, and then two rows of police in riot gear prepared for the big one. Several were flattened but injuries were minor. Ms Pascoe only had a few bruises. Cheers could be heard as far away as Ashford and Folkestone as the crowd dispersed, having had a great day out and vowing to go to the next Flyball demo if the Leaping Stars can promise it will be as good as this one. Canine beautician Jane, 46, and her husband, Roy, 47, run the Leaping Stars team, and bronzed Roy, in a revealing vest said “We were well pleased with George and Ronnie today. They were pretty fast. But Joy surprised us all. Her time was much better than I would have expected and she’s a cert for the team from now on.” JP July 2008
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AuthorElderly Cornish woman of substance. Archives
April 2018
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