| "Overheard & Overboard" |
 There are lies, damned lies and the claimed 52,000 that attended this year’s so called international boat show in Palma. The organisers claim 5,000 more than last year! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Why are they not members of the international boat show organisation that have independently audited visitor figures? Why is it not listed or advertised in any of the international magazines I’ve seen? I’d be most interested in any comments from any of you who visited or exhibited there. Now, may this be a lesson in mixing the two mindless blots on the human landscape namely, football and religion! A friendship-building football match between Muslim and Christian clergy, which was meant to be an enjoyable end to a day-long conference last month in Oslo, Norway, was called off after a row over the participation of women players. Muslim Imams had refused to play against women because it went against their beliefs about close physical contact with the opposite sex. But when the church decided to drop its women players, the priests' team captain walked out in protest. Members of the two faiths had been discussing ways of encouraging greater inter-faith dialogue at the "Shoulder to Shoulder" event. Church of Norway spokesman Olav Fykse Tveit said they had learnt of the imams' objections over the match two days before Saturday's conference: "But because we thought it would be a nice conclusion of the conference we didn't want to call it off, so we decided to stage an all-men's team game instead." The decision outraged the women players in the Christian team, and prompted the captain to resign. Mr Fykse Tveit said the outcome had not been solely negative: "Both sides have learned to better understand our cultures and we have had an open discussion." |
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