Most emphatically NOT what I want for Christmas!

I'm aghast at the lengths to which some people will go in pursuit of their 'art' - to use the term loosely, of course.

Thailand's 'Scorpion Queen' might disagree with me, of course . . .

Thailand's self-proclaimed "Scorpion Queen" has set a new world record by holding a live seven-inch scorpion in her mouth for just over two minutes.

In a feat worthy of the reality television programme 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!', Kanchana Kaetkaew, 39, allowed her husband, Boonthawee Siangwong, to place the writhing poisonous arachnid on her tongue, where it stayed for two minutes and three seconds before she spat it out.




Her proud husband – known as Thailand's "Centipede King" – looked on as Miss Kaetkaew, dressed in a white dress covered with more of the stinging creatures, made her record attempt in front of a crowd at a shopping centre in Pattaya, a city on the Gulf of Thailand known for its nightlife and cabaret.

Miss Kaetkaew remains ambitious for more records and, for her next stunt, she is planning to live in a glass compound for 33 days and nights in the company of 5,000 scorpions.

If successful, she will beat her 2002 record of 32 days in a glass house with 3,400 scorpions. Her husband set a Thai record for enduring 28 days with 1,000 centipedes.




The "Scorpion Queen" and the "Centipede King" were married in a haunted house on Valentine's Day in 2006. The couple met while performing their respective stunts at a snake farm on the resort island of Koh Samui.

Uh . . . congratulations . . . I think!

Peter