Rural biblical plague disturbs Snakes On A Plane

-18/08/06

It was supposed to be a day


Rural biblical plague disturbs Snakes On A Plane

-18/08/06

It was supposed to be a day of cultural triumph for tongue-in-cheek movie ëSnakes On A Planeí. Instead Samuel L. Jackson and his co-stars took a back seat to another soaraway tabloid hitÖ the story of an alleged ìbiblical plagueî in picturesque Wiltshire.

Millions of flies have descended on the peaceful villages of Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston on the edge of Salisbury Plain, causing massive inconvenience to locals and puzzlement to environmental health inspectors.

Residents say they have had to sweep away piles of dead flies every morning since late July 2006. Local shops have sold out of insect repellents.

The villages also suffered invasions of house flies in 2001 and 2003, but this summerís is said to be the worst, according to The Times newspaper.

The swarms, described (somewhat inaccurately, note theologians) as ìa plague of biblical proportionsî, have so far not yielded to the intervention of swot teams.

Indeed, thanks to TV and press coverage they have spread internationally ñ with fly images and stories denying ëSnakes On A Planeí precious column inches.

While described by Flick Philosopherís MaryAnn Johanson as ìvery much in the tradition of that genre of socially aware, psychologically insightful films of the 1960s that Truffaut called cinema du serpentî, ëSnakes On A Planeí is, to David Cornelius, simply ìthe ultimate B movieî.

According to 7M Picturesí Kevin Carr, it ìthrows every known clichÈ at you in the course of 100 minutes, but this works to the filmís advantage.î

Parodying the genre of disaster movies, the cult-before-its-release Hollywood hit revolves around an FBI agent escorting an eyewitness on a flight to justice, while a crime lord tries to eliminate him by unleashing a deadly surprise on the commercial flight.

Up and down the country today, filmgoers were eagerly anticipating just what this surprise might be, and tenaciously ignoring subtle clues in the title.

The media was denied the possibility of a pre-release screening of Snakes On A Plane, but a naturalist and plague expert told Ekklesia that the natural solution for both filmgoers and Wiltshire residents was to put the two phenomena together.

He explained: ìSend Salisbury Plainís environmental health professionals on to that plane to get the snakes off so that they can eat the flies. That way both annoyed villagers and terrified airline passengers can regain control of their lives.î

An associate of stars Samuel L Jackson and Kenan Thomspon said: ìWe appreciate the suggestion, but it would kind of detract from the point of our artistic venture.î

Meanwhile, Wiltshire residents are said to be ìless than cheeredî by the discovery that an American Jewish website offers ìfun activitiesî to ìenable the ten plagues to be re-enactedî before Passover.

To represent the flies ìuse clear scotch tape to tape pepper or small ëdotsí Ö in different areas of the house, the windows, the bathroom mirrors, etcî, it helpfully suggests.

The Egyptian plague stories are recorded in chapters 7-12 of the book of Exodus, recounting the way an oppressive Pharaoh was forced to release Moses and the Israelite slaves.

No snakes were handled in the writing of this story.

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Rural biblical plague disturbs Snakes On A Plane

-18/08/06

It was supposed to be a day of cultural triumph for tongue-in-cheek movie ëSnakes On A Planeí. Instead Samuel L. Jackson and his co-stars took a back seat to another soaraway tabloid hitÖ the story of an alleged ìbiblical plagueî in picturesque Wiltshire.

Millions of flies have descended on the peaceful villages of Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston on the edge of Salisbury Plain, causing massive inconvenience to locals and puzzlement to environmental health inspectors.

Residents say they have had to sweep away piles of dead flies every morning since late July 2006. Local shops have sold out of insect repellents.

The villages also suffered invasions of house flies in 2001 and 2003, but this summerís is said to be the worst, according to The Times newspaper.

The swarms, described (somewhat inaccurately, note theologians) as ìa plague of biblical proportionsî, have so far not yielded to the intervention of swot teams.

Indeed, thanks to TV and press coverage they have spread internationally ñ with fly images and stories denying ëSnakes On A Planeí precious column inches.

While described by Flick Philosopherís MaryAnn Johanson as ìvery much in the tradition of that genre of socially aware, psychologically insightful films of the 1960s that Truffaut called cinema du serpentî, ëSnakes On A Planeí is, to David Cornelius, simply ìthe ultimate B movieî.

According to 7M Picturesí Kevin Carr, it ìthrows every known clichÈ at you in the course of 100 minutes, but this works to the filmís advantage.î

Parodying the genre of disaster movies, the cult-before-its-release Hollywood hit revolves around an FBI agent escorting an eyewitness on a flight to justice, while a crime lord tries to eliminate him by unleashing a deadly surprise on the commercial flight.

Up and down the country today, filmgoers were eagerly anticipating just what this surprise might be, and tenaciously ignoring subtle clues in the title.

The media was denied the possibility of a pre-release screening of Snakes On A Plane, but a naturalist and plague expert told Ekklesia that the natural solution for both filmgoers and Wiltshire residents was to put the two phenomena together.

He explained: ìSend Salisbury Plainís environmental health professionals on to that plane to get the snakes off so that they can eat the flies. That way both annoyed villagers and terrified airline passengers can regain control of their lives.î

An associate of stars Samuel L Jackson and Kenan Thomspon said: ìWe appreciate the suggestion, but it would kind of detract from the point of our artistic venture.î

Meanwhile, Wiltshire residents are said to be ìless than cheeredî by the discovery that an American Jewish website offers ìfun activitiesî to ìenable the ten plagues to be re-enactedî before Passover.

To represent the flies ìuse clear scotch tape to tape pepper or small ëdotsí Ö in different areas of the house, the windows, the bathroom mirrors, etcî, it helpfully suggests.

The Egyptian plague stories are recorded in chapters 7-12 of the book of Exodus, recounting the way an oppressive Pharaoh was forced to release Moses and the Israelite slaves.

No snakes were handled in the writing of this story.

[Snake- and fly-free FairTrade products on Ekklesia: Fair trade clothes for him and her; Fairtrade football gift ideas; Fairtrade chocolate gifts; Fairtrade baby clothes; Fairtrade wine; Become a fairtrade activist; Cafe Direct fairtrade coffee; Fair trade goods; Fairtrade Christmas decorations; Sales of Fair Trade goods double]