Friday, November 29, 2013

A jolly swagman in Tubingen, Germany.


Channelling the Australian theme in Tubingen, Germany ...
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
A watering hole although not quite a billabong!

What picnic would be complete without beer!



















under the shade of a Coolibah tree 

and he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
you'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Lots to look at while waiting for the billy to boil!
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee
and he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
you'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
Selfie with swagman and jumbuck!
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Up rode the squatter mounted on his thorough-bred
Down came the troopers, one, two, three.
One
Two
Three.
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Up jumped the swagman, sprang in to the billabong
You'll never catch me alive said he,

And his ghost may heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
 Documented by the colourful crew from Mars TV
These students were interviewing passers-by about refugees, inequality and prejudice, and while they were focusing on refugees from war-torn countries, marginalised and poor people, such as the swagman in the ballad,
were/are often poorly treated by dominant, powerful groups. 

From Wikipedia with additional information:
Waltzing Matilda is Australia's most widely known bush ballad written in 1895 by Banjo Paterson and has become our unofficial national anthem.  Waltzing Matilda is slang for travelling on foot with your gear slung over your back in a bag (apparently this is known as waltzing  or auf der Walz in German). 

The song is about an itinerant worker, a swagman, making a cup of tea in a billy, (a kind of tin saucepan), at his bush camp by a billabong (waterhole) and stealing a wandering sheep, (jumbuck) for dinner. The swagman wouldn't have been wealthy and would have seen the sheep as fair game and something nutritious to pad out his meagre supplies. 

We know the sheep's owner is a wealthy landowner (squatter) because he arrives on a thorough-bred horse accompanied by three troopers (police) - he wouldn't have been at all happy about having his sheep stolen, particularly by a poor, itinerant worker!

Naturally, the worker wouldn't want to have been locked up so commits suicide by drowning himself in the billabong, leaving his ghost to haunt the site for evermore.


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Thursday, November 28, 2013

UGG Boots. A great Australian tradition.

What is it about UGG boots that has caught the attention of people around the world and convinced them that they should be worn outdoors?

Admittedly, they keep the toes toasty warm on a cold day, when the heating is down low to save on energy bills, but they're not aesthetically pleasing no matter how much bling they're weighed down with.
Unlike a sheep, they're not waterproof. They have no support. And even if they have heels and solid soles, are in no way a match for dedicated outdoor footwear.

 In short, they're a furry, snuggly slipper. 
And like a slipper, they're designed to be worn indoors. They can be slipped on and off the feet easily so that when, for instance, you need to take some scraps out to the compost heap,  you can slip them off and put on something more suitable for the trudge through the damp grass out into the wilds of the back yard.

Speaking of slip, when UGG boots are worn outdoors have a tendency to slip when the sole, heavy with the weight of a human body, is placed on a wet autumn leaf of which there are many in London at present. Don't be fooled by the use of the word "boots".

They. are. not. outdoor. footwear ... Even if you're feeding a cute squirrel.

Watching relatively well dressed people shuffle around like little old folk in a nursing home is perplexing.
They scuff uncomfortably along through the bleak weather, feet slopping around, unsupported in their furry wrapping, the sheepskin getting wetter by the moment.

How did it happen that this useful item of footwear has become an outdoors fashion (sic) item?

Very clever marketing if you ask me!

But I'll never be convinced. Put the bling on; laden them with bows, jewels and heels, no matter what decoration they're strewn with, they'll always be indoor footwear for me.

 UGGGGGHHHHHH!
Bemused sheep, giggling that people have been "fleeced"
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