2006-09-07 - 6:31 p.m.

...where goats do not roam...

Occasionally certain aspects of your life come colliding into each other in a spectacularly weird way.

Ever since we moved to Canada, K has been explaining to me how idiosyncrasies of Canadian culture remind him of Switzerland (where he lived for ~six years). We have discussed this topic with our friend bandy over several bottles of my new favorite wine, "Goats Do Roam." (lovely little South African wine).

There is something equally strange and appealing, therefore, to read the following news article from the BBC, which so neatly tied together, Canada, Switzerland, and goats:

*****

'GOAT-FREE ROADS MADE ME SPEED'

A Swiss man caught speeding on a Canadian highway has blamed his actions on the absence of goats on the roads.

The man was caught driving at 161 km/h (100mph) in a 100 km/h (60mph) zone.

A traffic officer's notes said the Swiss driver had said he was taking advantage "of the ability to go faster without risking hitting a goat".

Canadian police spokesman Joel Doiron said he had never found a goat on the highways of eastern Ontario in his 20 years of service.

"Nobody's ever used the lack of goats here as an excuse for speeding," Mr Doiron told the AFP news agency.

"I've never been to Switzerland, but I guess there must be a lot of goats there," he said.

The driver was ordered to pay a fine of C$360 ($330; �175) for speeding.