Cooling His Heels

A British yachtsman is circumnavigating the Arctic sea to draw attention to the rapidly disappearing ice cap that has left the arctic looking like a somewhat cooler version of the Mediterranean.

Unfortunately, the ice cap has not only failed to vanish, but it's heavier than usual this year. So far, the only attention he's drawn has been from the Russians, whose nuclear-powered icebreakers he needs to ferry his boat through the impenetrable ice (if they can even manage it themselves!), and of the polar bears, who are a tad more numerous than he thought and regard his skylark as a crunchy treat with a chewy centre.

Moral: Never believe the hype; it makes for poor advance planning.