QUIRKY WORLD ... Birthday gift sign is right up Van the Man’s street

Here’s a quick look at some of the more light hearted stories from around the world.

THE NORTH: Belfast City Council is to present Van Morrison with the sign of a street which inspired one of his most famous songs to mark his 70th birthday.

Van grew up in a terraced house at Hyndford St in the east of the city, close to the Harland and Wolff Shipyard. He later wrote about the silence of the long summer nights On Hyndford St.

The sign — which is one of the more rare, old-style Belfast versions — will form part of a special art piece by local artist Ross Wilson and is to be presented to the singer and songwriter who will turn 70 on August 31.

Wandering goat

ENGLAND: A pygmy goat was found roaming in a London park.

The light brown female, now named Ruby by the passer-by who discovered her, was discovered wandering in a green area in Carshalton, Surrey.

Ruby had no ear tags or microchip but is in good condition and looks as if she has been well cared for. RSPCA inspector Natasha Wallis said: “We think this sweet little goat is probably an escapee from a nearby garden.”

Missing comma

USA: An appeals court has agreed with an Ohio woman who said her parking citation should be tossed out because the village law was missing a comma.

Andrea Cammelleri said she should not have been issued a citation in 2014 based on the wording of the law enacted by the village of West Jefferson.

The law lists several types of vehicles that cannot be parked longer than 24 hours, including a “motor vehicle camper,” with the comma missing between “vehicle” and “camper”. Cammelleri says her pick-up truck did not fit that definition.

The village says the law’s meaning was clear in context, but Judge Robert Hendrickson of the 12th Ohio District Court of Appeals, said in his ruling that West Jefferson should amend the law if it wants it read differently.

Grenade drama

USA: A Massachusetts State Police bomb squad was called to a convenience store after three inactive grenades were found inside a clothing and toy donation bin.

Police and firefighters arrived at the Dudley Plaza after reports that an employee found items in a box of toys that appeared to be in the shape of grenades. Bomb squad members conducted a search and determined that the items were Vietnam-era military devices. The items were removed and taken to another location.

Pageant woes

USA: One winner of a teenage Miss 4th of July pageant in Maine is upset. The other agreed to share the title but isn’t talking.

And the pageant organiser is defending herself from accusations she rigged the results. Molly Lybrook, 17, of Fairfield, said she won the Winslow Miss 4th of July Pageant. But organisers discovered votes had been miscounted and declared Caitlin Grenier, 14, of Winslow, the winner. As a compromise, organisers said both teenagers would be crowned winners.

The Morning Sentinel reported that Lybrook believes organiser Leah Frost influenced the results. She said Grenier and Frost’s sister are friends.

“This is somebody else’s mistake,” Lybrook said. “I won fair and square, and if it truly was a mistake, then I’m sorry, but that’s something the person who made the mistake has to pay for, not me — the winner.”

Frost said she had nothing to do with the scoring and sent Lybrook copies of the judges’ sheets to show the mistake. She said she hoped the dual queens would allow both girls to be recognised.

“I’m just trying to do what’s fair to both girls because they both worked equally hard for it,” she said.