Funeral for Desmond Drake, the duck of Somerset who reigned supreme for 25-years in the village pond

Desmond Drake is no more. He was a local celebrity in Compton Martin, Somerset, after frightening other birds in the village pond for 25 years and, a bunch of feathers on the banks was proof that he had breathed his last – he had been eaten up by a fox.
Therefore, in his honor, the village in the West Country will lower a church flag to half-mast when residents gather to hold a funeral for a duck.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 28 May 2015.

Desmond had the ability to eat large amounts of stale bread and cake and also had the power to toss upstart young moorhens all over the place. He was a "village icon" and had been a permanent fixture of the pond, for over 25 years. He had outlived all his contemporaries and, there was even a local society named after him.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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