if you've seen our traditional April 1st Lamma-zine story by Bike Mike yesterday, here's the original story submitted by Mike by email.
Anything else, text & pictures, have all been added by myself (Extensively edited, extraneously extended, exceedingly illustrated & excessively hyperlinked by L-G.) We seem to make a good team, I hope. Or I completely messed up his nice, clear short story?

"LAMMA ECO-CYCLES  SOON TO OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Another “green” enterprise is about to open its doors on Lamma Island. Local entrepreneur Bike Mike, seeing the demand of Lamma residents for good, cheap, reliable  ecologically friendly transportation, will embark on this new retail business. Lamma Eco-cycles will soon open next door to Tigre Da Luna, Lamma’s fashion and jewelry boutique.
A life long bicycle enthusiast, Bike Mike has evolved, bringing his avocation of cycling to the new vocation of repairing and selling recycled bicycles.
“This new venture just jumped out at me the other day as I was almost run over by a Lamma V V that was carrying old bikes to the junk pier”, said Bike Mike.
“I immediately gave chase on my own bicycle, and after some heated negotiations, I had purchased a plethora of used bicycles from local metal recyclers”, he added.
In keeping with the “3 R’s of Ecology”, reduce, re-use, recycle, Lamma Eco-cycles will re-sell “executive ridden”, and “gently used” bicycles. Purchase of one of these bicycles will save on the energy used to produce a new bike, and our resources, such as iron ore, which goes into the bicycle steel, will be conserved.
“ The reduction in rubber use alone, by patching old tires will probably save several forests of Rubber Trees”, Bike Mike added.
Lamma Eco Cycles will also carry a range of used and nearly new wind surfboards, kayaks, and small sail boats, which have been abandoned in recent months on Power Station Beach. Rumor has it that at least one O C-6 will be available for purchase.
All Lamma residents are invited to the Grand Opening on April 1st."

Maybe you've got a little Lamma story I could "edit, extend, illustrate and hyperlink"?

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Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

.................As with other children's customs, there is a time limit; anyone attempting a trick after midday is taunted:

April Fool is gone and past,
You're the biggest fool at last.

Note the date.

So this is not a joke Alan? What a fantastic idea if it were true!!!!

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
----- Margaret Mead

The fate of the bicycles taken away on the VVs was documented.

The story was originally published on April 1st, as was mentioned several times. Still suckered deviant, though he's since edited his post.

The thing about that story is that it is totally normal, exactly what I'd expect of some people on Lamma ---- selling old bikes, I hear similar ideas every week, no kudos in pulling the wool on that one I'm afraid, and it was out of time!

Try again next year, this year = fail.

Suckered you = win.

The whole point of a good April Fool's is to sound plausible at the beginning, until you think about it and realise it isn't.

In fact, thinking before you shoot your mouth off is a good rule in general. Try it.

Well, it seems to have succeeded to sucker at least one cynic above, as it was supposed to sound believable at first, till you got to the part about the Wild Boar Petting Zoo and Dog Pack Chase amusement park attractions....

And the Lamma-zine story has been published on April 1st, of course. This topic was only started today to get feedback, same as newspapers might tell you the next day which story was the April's Fool one and get comments from their readers on their website.

Well, any other comments?

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Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

There was a pretty good one in the Post magazine yesterday, about a community of foot binders in Paris.

With anorexia, body piercings and so on these days it seemed the kind of thing kinky people might actually do, but like this one it got more and more absurd.

BBC pulled a good one in 1957. Apparently, as spaghetti wasn't so widely consumed at that time and some Britons were ignorant of its true provenance, many actually called in to the BBC inquiring where they could get spaghetti trees to grow for themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... XmaS1ZzpA8

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
----- Margaret Mead

Actually, I bought the story. "Eco-bikes" was sooo Lamma. I was about to write that I'd never give up the nice lady's bike shop for anything with the word "eco" in it.

Wow, that's actually quite a compliment, Anton!

The part about the Lamma Quarry amusement park with "the famous, heart-pounding Dog Pack Chase, the Wild Boar Petting Zoo, plus skinny dipping & nude sunbathing on the Quarry Lake Island" were believable, too?

If so, I might forward to these ideas of mine to the Govt. depts. and consultants who are currently studying future uses of the Lamma Quarry.

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Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.