Newsflash from the recent local elections here in the UK: H'Angus the Monkey (actually a bloke in a gorilla suit - the mascot for the local football team) was elected mayor of Hartlepool, a town in the North East.

The central plank of H'Angus' manifesto was free bananas for all schoolchildren: much respect for Hartlepool with a monkey as its mayor and Mandelson as its MP

Could you please teach him French, and send him down here tomorrow? We have a job for him!
He can climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower like King Kong, and swing down to the Champs Elysées and check out his new residence.

Sorry just dreaming, is that really true?

Probably won't do much worse than other local politicians!!

Bruyere, try this site www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/monkey

should make everything clear!

It isn't 1st April? That is a wonderful story, hilarious. For £53,000 per year perhaps I would don a money suit and stand for office

Imagine being one of the other candidates? And loosing to a monkey???? Although this comment from that site buffy linked to causes me some concern

quote:

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The win comes in the town whose residents are famously said to have hanged a monkey during the Napoleonic wars because they thought it was a French spy.

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I love it

Did anyone, perhaps, know whom was within the monkey suit? She/he very well MAY have been the best candidate!

As for his(?) platform, I've heard worse...when the candidate was serious! ...except I don't know who Mandelson is....

All right! I've just read the article in the British paper about him, and he has a French degree! The whole idea for having a monkey stems from an old story about their area and a bunch of French sailors.
So that would be wonderful. Please get him on a ship and send him down here quickly, it's almost too late!

By the way, I scooped the British papers with this, I saw a cartoon on the front page of the Telegraph and it said, "Hope the French don't get up to any monkey business in the vote." or something to that effect!

He actually has a degree in French! That's wonderful!
Monkey, come on down!

OK - couldn't resist posting in reply to this on one of my brief visits into FT (will be back when I get some more time in the hols).

Hartlepool is about 30 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England (quite near me), and H'angus is the local football team mascot. The reason they have the monkey is because of the fact that people from Hartlepool are called Monkey Hangers because of a local legend that a ship pulled up into harbour and a monkey got out. Having never seen a monkey before they mistook it for a Frenchman (obviously having never seen one of them before either) - and hung it.

The man inside the suit has now quit his job as H'angus the monkey - having used it mainly for publicity during the campaign. Quite a good idea really - seeing as he's now got this £70,000 a year job.

The photo in the local papers of Mandelson having to congratulate this bloke was hillarious (the smile on his face was more an expression of pain) and the new mayor's been chased about all day by a national newspaper reporter in a gorilla suit!

You know American politicians have to have a good sense of humour in addition to the morals of a used-car salesman. Look at Bush's pretzel incident? Or Ford's frequent tripping over things, or appearances on Saturday Night Live?
Look at Clinton's jogging to McDonald's! And, well let's not look at the rest of his well-publicized private life!
I cannot imagine French politicians really rolling up their sleeves and mixing with the populace. Giscard played the accordeon, Chirac isn't too bad at expressing sincere sympathy, and he does appear with Madonna and stars from time to time, Mitterand actually appeared with comics but one slip could be fatal with him.

In the 1980's a famous French comic named Coluche actually won quite a few votes with his campaign.
That was perhaps the only time we saw someone challenge the humourless look of French political life!

The funny thing is, all monkeys actually are French spies.....

Lets hope the trend to dress up as animals appeals to others during elections. Tony Blair might make an appearance a pantomime horse(I wonder who'd volunteer to be the rear end). Others might follow 'suit' dressed up as other animals. It would make debating sessions in The Houses of Parliament much more entertaining.

Well, we won't be needing him quite yet! There's a relief!
Though I would not have minded having a bit of comic relief!

He would have had to manipulate quite a large flame and I'm wondering if that would have been part of the simian repertoire!

The flame of course was the symbol of the opposing party!

Interesting how the puppets they make for politicians on the television give the right animal to the right person!
Chirac used to be an eagle!

We were talking about this very issue last night at a friend's barbecue (yes, it's hot here in Glesga - yippee !!!).

I for one, felt very heartened by the news, 'Great', i thought,'surely a monkey will be able to play mayor better than any human can?'

It was therefore with great sadness that i read in the article posted by Buffy1, that the monkey isn't even going to get a look-in!

'BOO, BRING BACK THE MONKEY!' - Do you think a campaign with this slogan would carry weight?

I'm sure the people of Hartlepool will be saddened by this news too ...? If i was from Hartlepool, i'd feel betrayed !