Shipping Reporter on fashion trip
Several puzzling reports have been received from women that the mysterious mermaid at the entrance to Magnetic Island has been seen wearing a variety of clothing , including a skirt and a bikini . Acting on this intriguing information , our waterfront scribe sailed to the island, with his camera , expecting to find the mutilated mermaid staging a fashion parade.
Alas, she was stuck up there on the hard rocks - headless and armless - showing no sign of any new clobber. However, a close examination of a telescopic photo taken of the mermaid revealed a strange figure in the bottom right corner ,which looks like a mediaeval wardrobe mistress. It is possible, says the Shipping Reporter, that because of the recent cyclone threat to Townsville, the mermaid's latest French clothing was stored in the basement for safety , no doubt becoming very mouldy in the process.
When the dry season arrives , he says , it is likely the mutilated mermaid will celebrate the occasion by prancing about in an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow dot bikini , causing more shipwrecks .
