Belly-aching about today's series of minor irritations seems to have done the trick, for the day has now picked up a bit. The annoying young consultant whom I suspected of swiping my chair went into a meeting and I switched the seats back (telltale mint milano residue on the side of the cushioning, not to mention my regained comfort, show that my suspicions were correct), no more work has shown up for the late afternoon, the stifling heatwave outside has finally broken, and best of all the next in Mike's series of mascot tips had led me to a wonderful new world of British mascoting. Mike's tip was the website for The Mascot Grand National, an annual mascot race in the UK, and from some of the mascot names listed on their honour roll I was able to uncover much more of topical interest, including coverage with photos of the 2003 Grand National (which was enlivened by a female streaker) and 2004 Grand National (which features a photo of one of my favorite new mascots, AFC Telford's Benny The Box, who used to be Benny The Buck until his head was stolen). I sadly haven't been able to find much on another intriguing mascot listed as a participant, Spike McPrickle the Safety Hedgehog, but most if not all of the football mascots from across the pond are pictured on this page, including the non-costumed (well, non-big-furry-costumed) Mr. Posh of Peterborough United and my very favorite of them all, Lincoln City's Poacher the Imp. The Lincoln City site, Planet Imp, has many a mascot article to enjoy, mostly concerning Poacher but there's also a story about another mascot competition, the Mascot Olympics (which was where Benny the Buck's head was stolen), and "a look at how pre match entertainment from mascots quickly turned into police investigations for Chaddy the Owl and Bloomfield Bear".