
Just a small thing that's been bugging me. That HSBC ad with the old Chinese guy and his cormorant fishing aid.
Note the bird. Its instincts are to dive for fish ... and eat the catch. The ingenious Chinese, when harnessing its fishing skills, realised that you need to find a way to stop it eating the fruits of its own labours. Know how they do it? They sensibly tie a tether around its neck to stop it swallowing.
I know this because I, and every other tourist to Guilin, have marveled at this co-operation between human and nature and observed the nifty neckwear.
And yet, in the ads, the glossed up avian star sports a bare throat. Some smart cutting going on?
HSBC, formerly the Midland. "We brought you opium. Now we bring you respect."
More on animals. Watching scientists dissecting a giraffe on TV and wondering why they're wearing bright orange gitmo suits.