‘Scrooge’ Highland cow repeatedly steals Christmas decorations from pub
A Scottish pub has been stripped off its Christmas lights by a cheeky cow.
The Keel Row pub in Fionnphort, on the Isle of Mull, hosted festive sing-alongs in the lead-up to December 25.
But staff soon received reports that one grumpy local had refused to share the Christmas spirit.
The Keel Row Pub tweeted: ‘Christmas at The Keel Row, and a Highland cow was last seen heading in the direction of the beach at Fionnphort with most of our tree lights wrapped in its horns.’
Pictures of the bothersome beast were then shared with the caption: ‘If you thought we were joking about the cow and the lights, it came back this morning to get the rest of them…’
The animal was later traced and the lights safely removed from his horns.
Manager of the Keel Row, Simon Wood, told Metro.co.uk: ‘I think he’s [the cow] a bit of a Scrooge.
‘He’s taken the lights about three times over the last week. We repaired them each time but he keeps coming back.’
The weary pub staff have now admitted defeat and taken the lights down once and for all.
Simon added: ‘On Christmas Eve he ended up with a large chunk of the lights wrapped in its horns before it headed to the beach.
‘We had to call the farmer. We ended up without any lights on the tree on Christmas Day.’
Highland cows – often known as the ‘gentle giants’ of Scotland – number around 15 in Fionnphort.
They routinely wander through the village, occasionally bumping into fences or knocking car wingmirrors.
In comparison, around 70 humans call the area home.
Simon, who moved to Mull from the Lake District six years ago, isn’t sure what issue this particular Highland cow had with the lights.
He theorised he had simply placed them ‘too low’ on the tree outside the pub.
Mr Wood added: ‘We had white lights then some nice colourful ones. The cow didn’t like either.’
The Keel Row Pub, which had been under threat of permanent closure at the start of 2022, opened its doors to the public on April 14.
Locals banded together to raise funds to purchase the building and save it from being converted into a home.
Despite the cow-related caper, Mr Wood said a ‘wonderful time’ was still had by all this Christmas in Fionnphort.
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