Magazine
Wearing a grass hat to Athens: Czech athletes try out their new sports gear for the summer Olympics. A bull slips through the net to join the Prague cow parade. And, a toothache can be murder - especially if your tooth weighs four and a half kilos. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
This week the athletes themselves gave a small fashion show for the press to show off the new sports wear designed for them. In view of the hot climate the three lines - for representation, for free time and for competing in -are made of "clima-cool" material. The first is in the country's national colours - white red and blue, the other two in summer shades of white, beige, blue, yellow and orange. One thing that's been kept under wraps are the special hats that will be keeping Czech athletes cool in the 40 degrees heat - hats that are reportedly made of grass -not straw. "They are getting the best that money can buy" the designer of the collection said.
It's a far cry from the old days - when our representatives were sometimes forced to travel in hand-me-downs. For instance it was a public secret that in 1962 the Czechoslovak football team travelled to the world championship in Chile in sportswear made for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
Well, not all of us will get to go to the summer Olympics in Athens - but there will be loads of sports competitions right here at home. The town of Radvanovice has organized a sports weekend with a discipline that the crowd in Athens will definitely not get to see- a tomato battle. Local farmers have donated three tons of over ripe tomatoes - and all that's needed is a fun loving crowd of people. Those who like finer things - can head for the ketchup pool for the strongman and woman contests, steeped in ketchup.
The Cow Parade which is currently underway in Prague - already has its black sheep - sorry, cow. Or rather, bull. An artist who decorated one of the 200 cows couldn't resist turning it into a sexy looking bull. The sponsor of that particular cow was a magazine - which claimed that the bull was far more in line with the kind of stuff it published. The organizers put their foot down, since the rules say that none of the cows may bear religious, sexual or political symbols. And so the bull Maxim who stands on Prague's Prikopy street had to be "decently covered up". However the publicity around the offensive bull made Maxim so popular that people started playing a cat and mouse game with the organizers - tearing off the protective covering to show him off to his best advantage. Dressed or not, Maxim has become a Prague landmark.
Gauri's fourth tooth dropped out this week and was found to weigh an incredible four and a half kilos. "I was working nearby when I heard a big thump. I thought that the light fixture must have dropped from the ceiling - and then, on investigating, I found it was one of Gauri's teeth" her keeper said.
The huge tooth has ridges by which you can tell an elephants age - similarly as if you count the rings on a tree stump. Elephants in captivity live to be 55 to 60 and teething problems are simply a fact of elephant life.
If you are a professional lace-maker the place to go is the Czech Republic. The tradition of lace making is 400 years old in this country and the first records of it were chronicled during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II in the first half of the 17th century. The first school of lace making was established in Prague by the Empress Maria Tereza in the mid 18th century. Nowadays the subject is taught at the Prague School of Arts and Crafts and there are numerous specialized courses. The Czech capital will now host an international conference of lace makers - and some 600 professional lace-makers from around the world have confirmed participation. Lace makers either lean towards modern or historic designs - two main branches in lace making. One of the best lace makers in this country is Milca Eremiasova -who is the author of a spellbinding lace art creation - depicting a bird of paradise. She says she finds inspiration in baroque architecture, nature, religious motifs but most of all music. Some of her best creations -which take years to complete - represent music cycles and symphonic poems. She has produced lace inspired by the music of Bohuslav Martinu, Leos Janacek and Johan Sebastian Bach.
The inhabitants of the Prague 1 district - the very centre of the city -have a new service - an emergency helpline that responds to complaints about noise pollution. There's a team of volunteers on standby with the respective monitoring equipment and they cooperate closely with the Prague police force. Most of the calls come in the late evening from people who live near discos and pubs. The incidents of excessive noise are thus documented and in cases of repeated offences the police can slap the owner -or whoever is responsible- with a heavy fine. People are happy with the service because most of them feel more comfortable making a call to a noise pollution helpline than calling the police to explain what's bothering them. If you are listening to us in Prague and happen to live in the area -the noise pollution helpline is: 605 785 948
Tightening your belt as a result of the government's reforms is no laughing matter. A state attorney in Ostrava, the eastern part of the country could tell a tale of woe. His work phone was disconnected after he ran up a bill of 120 crowns - that's about four dollars. Each state attorney has a ceiling of 120 crowns per month - on the orders of the regional office boss. The state attorney, who says he can't work without a phone, is now using his own mobile and paying his own phone bills. He has written a formal complain to the chief state attorney saying that the conditions he is forced to work in are humiliating. Sounds unbelievable? It's just one of the more bizarre realities of the present day.
