Times Online - Britain
By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi and Simon de Bruxelles
A WILDLIFE artist who dedicated his career to helping animals in Africa was gored to death by a bull buffalo in front of his wife and a friend.
Simon Combes, 64, was attacked by the one-tonne animal in dense bush as he returned from a clifftop which he had climbed to watch a sunset in the wildlife reserve in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, where he lived.
Last night Kat Combes told how her husband died in her arms in the pitch-dark bush four hours later, just as paramedics arrived.
“We had just started to come back down from a 1,000ft-high precipice called the Sleeping Warrior and were in a patch of quite thick bush,” she said.
“Suddenly the buffalo was right there, right next to us. He was a lone bull, huge, a massive, massive animal, and he came charging out.
“We had no time at all to react. I was walking in the middle, Simon was on my right and it just got to him first. Simon tried to turn and run but the buffalo was too close. It just started throwing him up in the air, over and over and over.”
She and the friend, Mary Wykstra, a cheetah expert, tried throwing sticks and stones at the animal but it continued the attack until it lost interest. Mrs Combes stayed at her husband’s side trying to comfort him and encourage him to stay alive as they waited for help.
She said: “He was so brave and strong. He tried so hard to stay alive. I tried so hard to keep him alive. I don’t remember what I was saying — I was just talking to him, trying my best to make sure that he made it as long as he could.
“He was still alive when the doctor got to him, but even if he could have kept going, there was that very difficult climb down the hill. It is hard enough if you are fit and healthy.”
Mr Combes was renowned for getting perilously close to the animals he loved to paint. One of his best-known works was the portrait of a buffalo, entitled Menace. He was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, in June 1940 but moved to Kenya with his parents and brother at the age of 5. He began painting when he was a young officer in the Kenyan Army, where he served as a major in the guerri-lla conflict with Somalia.
He moved back to England in 1978 so that his children could have an English education and they lived in Bushley, Gloucestershire, for 17 years, but he returned to Kenya every winter to work as a safari guide.
In that time he produced many of his best-known paintings of big cats and other wild animals. He was entirely self-taught, apart from mentoring sessions in later life with the wildlife artist David Shepherd. He published two best-selling books, African Experience and Great Cats.
He claimed to have no fear of dangerous animals, despite having been chased by elephants, forced to climb a tree to escape a rhino and been bitten by a Bengal tiger. He said it was mankind he feared the most.
His daughter, Cindy, who lives in Cheltenham, said: “Dad grew up in Africa. He spent the majority of his youth in the bush. He was very experienced when it came to African living.”
His work achieved worldwide recognition and won many awards, including the Society of Animal Artists’ Award of Excellence. He used his position to further wildlife conservation. Last year he was appointed project director for Kenya by the Rhino Rescue Trust. He married Kat, an American, in August last year.
His family will travel to Kenya in the next few days to be with Mr Combes’s son, Guy, 33, who works there.
Cindy said: “Dad just loved wildlife and he loved painting. He was in his element in Kenya.”
Dec 17, 2004
Dec 14, 2004
Man paid $20,000 in support for nonexistent child
Man paid $20,000 in support for nonexistent child
ALBUQUERQUE — Steve Barreras’ attorney said he had never seen anything like it.
After Barreras was hauled into court, peppered with threats and demands for money for a child he adamantly denied fathering five years ago and even paid out $20,000 to support, his ex-wife was under a judge’s order to produce the child.
So last week, Viola Trevino picked up a 2-year-old girl and her grandmother off the street, promised them a trip to see Santa Claus and $50 and took the girl to court, alleging it was her daughter.
“I have seen hundreds of jury trials and I have never seen anything like this,” said Rob Perry, Barreras’ attorney.
It was the latest chapter in a bizarre case that has prompted Gov. Bill Richardson’s office to call for a full investigation.
The elaborate ruse stretched over five years and involved fake DNA evidence, a forged Social Security number and birth and baptismal certificates, court records show.
Last week, state District Judge Linda Vanzi ruled the child did not exist.
After feeding the standin daughter and her grandmother hamburgers, it seems Trevino parked near the courthouse, where she left the grandmother in the car and took the child into court.
Only when the grandmother followed her into court did Trevino admit that the child was not hers.
The 52-year-old Trevino announced to a family-court judge in December 1999 that she gave birth to a girl fathered by Barreras that September.
Barreras, 47, who says he had a vasectomy in 1998, said it was impossible . The couple had two adult children, a son and a daughter.
Paternity tests were ordered, and, in February 2001, Barreras was ordered to pay Trevino child support . Barreras continued to protest.
Trevino was ordered to bring in a birth certificate, but she did not.
Her adult daughter was even fired from a hospital after she was caught attempting to create documents pertaining to the birth of a Stephanie Trevino , according to court records.
Then another DNA paternity test was ordered, this time done by a private doctor, but Trevino did not obey the court order and instead went back to the same company where the first test was done.
Court records show that both DNA tests were done by a friend of the couple’s daughter.
Because of the DNA matches, Perry said the Child Enforcement Division of the state Human Services Department garnisheed Barreras’ paycheck , forcing him to pay child support.
“How can this happen? It is like a plane wreck caused by a cascading series of events,” he said.
Betina Gonzales McCracken, spokeswoman for the department, said her agency is not to blame because the division was only enforcing a court order for payment of child support .
When the agency got a tip that there might be fraud in this case, she said officials investigated.
Meanwhile, Vanzi’s ruling that the child does not exist has prompted reaction from Richardson’s office.
“The governor’s office has asked the Human Services for a complete report on what happened to make sure this mistake is never repeated,” said Billy Sparks, Richardson’s spokesman.
ALBUQUERQUE — Steve Barreras’ attorney said he had never seen anything like it.
After Barreras was hauled into court, peppered with threats and demands for money for a child he adamantly denied fathering five years ago and even paid out $20,000 to support, his ex-wife was under a judge’s order to produce the child.
So last week, Viola Trevino picked up a 2-year-old girl and her grandmother off the street, promised them a trip to see Santa Claus and $50 and took the girl to court, alleging it was her daughter.
“I have seen hundreds of jury trials and I have never seen anything like this,” said Rob Perry, Barreras’ attorney.
It was the latest chapter in a bizarre case that has prompted Gov. Bill Richardson’s office to call for a full investigation.
The elaborate ruse stretched over five years and involved fake DNA evidence, a forged Social Security number and birth and baptismal certificates, court records show.
Last week, state District Judge Linda Vanzi ruled the child did not exist.
After feeding the standin daughter and her grandmother hamburgers, it seems Trevino parked near the courthouse, where she left the grandmother in the car and took the child into court.
Only when the grandmother followed her into court did Trevino admit that the child was not hers.
The 52-year-old Trevino announced to a family-court judge in December 1999 that she gave birth to a girl fathered by Barreras that September.
Barreras, 47, who says he had a vasectomy in 1998, said it was impossible . The couple had two adult children, a son and a daughter.
Paternity tests were ordered, and, in February 2001, Barreras was ordered to pay Trevino child support . Barreras continued to protest.
Trevino was ordered to bring in a birth certificate, but she did not.
Her adult daughter was even fired from a hospital after she was caught attempting to create documents pertaining to the birth of a Stephanie Trevino , according to court records.
Then another DNA paternity test was ordered, this time done by a private doctor, but Trevino did not obey the court order and instead went back to the same company where the first test was done.
Court records show that both DNA tests were done by a friend of the couple’s daughter.
Because of the DNA matches, Perry said the Child Enforcement Division of the state Human Services Department garnisheed Barreras’ paycheck , forcing him to pay child support.
“How can this happen? It is like a plane wreck caused by a cascading series of events,” he said.
Betina Gonzales McCracken, spokeswoman for the department, said her agency is not to blame because the division was only enforcing a court order for payment of child support .
When the agency got a tip that there might be fraud in this case, she said officials investigated.
Meanwhile, Vanzi’s ruling that the child does not exist has prompted reaction from Richardson’s office.
“The governor’s office has asked the Human Services for a complete report on what happened to make sure this mistake is never repeated,” said Billy Sparks, Richardson’s spokesman.
Japanese men lap up new comfort
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japanese men lap up new comfort: "Japanese men without a shoulder to cry on this Christmas are being offered a woman's lap - made out of foam - to rest on instead.
The 'lap pillow', shaped like the bottom half of a kneeling woman, is selling for about 9,429 yen ($90), the French news agency AFP reported.
'Single men find this soothing,' said Mitsuo Takahashi of the manufacturer Trane KK.
He told AFP that the Hizamakura, or lap pillow, fulfilled a primal need.
'From the time people were kids, people have laid their heads on their mothers' laps to get their ears cleaned,' he said. 'This is made to be quite close to the real thing.'
But they are also reported to be proving popular as joke gifts at office parties.
So far the company has sold about 3,000 laps, Mr Takahashi said.
The Hizamakura is similar to a product, shaped like a man's torso with one sturdy arm, which has been on sale since last December.
That product, the Boyfriend's Arm Pillow, was made by Japanese company Kameo, and is being targeted at Japanese single women. "
The 'lap pillow', shaped like the bottom half of a kneeling woman, is selling for about 9,429 yen ($90), the French news agency AFP reported.
'Single men find this soothing,' said Mitsuo Takahashi of the manufacturer Trane KK.
He told AFP that the Hizamakura, or lap pillow, fulfilled a primal need.
'From the time people were kids, people have laid their heads on their mothers' laps to get their ears cleaned,' he said. 'This is made to be quite close to the real thing.'
But they are also reported to be proving popular as joke gifts at office parties.
So far the company has sold about 3,000 laps, Mr Takahashi said.
The Hizamakura is similar to a product, shaped like a man's torso with one sturdy arm, which has been on sale since last December.
That product, the Boyfriend's Arm Pillow, was made by Japanese company Kameo, and is being targeted at Japanese single women. "
Man who howled like werewolf sent to jail
Man who howled like werewolf sent to jail: "A MAN who 'alarmed' his neighbours by making howling noises after watching the film An American Werewolf in London has been jailed.
David Boag was given four months in prison for breaching an anti-social behaviour order handed down after a string of similar incidents.
The 28-year-old stood for several hours at his bedroom window, dancing with a Christmas tree and 'screaming and wailing like a werewolf' at the top of his voice.
Worried neighbours who went to investigate saw Boag at the window with his head thrown back, howling and pretending to dance with the tree.
He then started banging on the window of his home in Dechmont, West Lothian. His wails disturbed several households in the street.
It is understood Boag had been drinking heavily and taking drugs while watching An American Werewolf in London.
In January, Boag, of Knightsridge Road, was issued an anti-social behaviour order at Linlithgow Sheriff Court banning him from shouting, swearing, banging windows, moaning and dumping rubbish in his back garden. But he breached the order twice in February and found himself in the dock once more. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail with the condition that he did not enter the village.
In August, he was jailed for two months for each breach.
And last Saturday, police were called to Boag�s semi-detached house again after he breached his order for the third time with his werewolf impressions.
Neighbours said the noise began at about 4pm, but they did not call police until 7.40pm when the wails reached a deafening crescendo.
Officers had to break down Boag�s door to get in. He was arrested and held in custody until he appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff"
David Boag was given four months in prison for breaching an anti-social behaviour order handed down after a string of similar incidents.
The 28-year-old stood for several hours at his bedroom window, dancing with a Christmas tree and 'screaming and wailing like a werewolf' at the top of his voice.
Worried neighbours who went to investigate saw Boag at the window with his head thrown back, howling and pretending to dance with the tree.
He then started banging on the window of his home in Dechmont, West Lothian. His wails disturbed several households in the street.
It is understood Boag had been drinking heavily and taking drugs while watching An American Werewolf in London.
In January, Boag, of Knightsridge Road, was issued an anti-social behaviour order at Linlithgow Sheriff Court banning him from shouting, swearing, banging windows, moaning and dumping rubbish in his back garden. But he breached the order twice in February and found himself in the dock once more. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail with the condition that he did not enter the village.
In August, he was jailed for two months for each breach.
And last Saturday, police were called to Boag�s semi-detached house again after he breached his order for the third time with his werewolf impressions.
Neighbours said the noise began at about 4pm, but they did not call police until 7.40pm when the wails reached a deafening crescendo.
Officers had to break down Boag�s door to get in. He was arrested and held in custody until he appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff"
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