Tuesday 1 August 2006

Of horse and wattle

Happy Horses' birthday.

Happy Wattle Day.

Imagine sharing your birthday with such heavyweights. How would you be?

Just remember you are on Non Sequitur Rising, pets, and today’s posting is not going to inform you how these momentous occasions came about but how they relate to the Mistress, natch.

Ok now, got that straight? To things equine. Oh, alright. Well it’s only southern hemisphere’s horses' birthdays today, northern hemisphere horses celebrate their special day on the1st January. And horses share the same birthday so it’s easier to keep records and breed and that. But can we just get back to me now, thankee.

Yeah so horses and me. I have never ridden one, or taken smack for that matter, wo ho, oh. My only understanding of a horse, oh and H, is through books. I loved National Velvet and Black Beauty, oh Ginger, what a darling, I still feel teary thinking about her. My first anti-hero. Also loved the movie National Velvet starring the most beautiful 12 year old who has ever lived as Velvet Brown. Frankly Liz's beauty at that age was verging on the obscene. I must say her vibrato trill calling Mi wore a bit thin last viewing. The tune accompanying the racing of the Grand National was very exciting and it is still the soundtrack in my mind when i have to run for the bus. It's a wonderful pace, and you know what, haven't missed a bus yet.

Oh i liked Follyfoot too.

The closest I came to being a horse was at age 7 and having my older siblings teasingly comparing my appearance to that of Princess Anne. I of course retorted with a hearty "naff orf.” Longing to be Liz but being compared to Princess Anne sums up my life. But it’s cool, it is a-ok, it’s all a long time ago, la, la, laaaaaaaah, it’s in the past, it’s all in the ………

Um, happy Wattle Day too. While Wattle Day was officially declared 1st September nationwide in 1992, it’ll always be Wattle Day on 1st August to me. Has a ring of tomorrow belongs to me doesn't it, sorry but I guess that's in keeping with the idea of Wattle Day.

Wattle Day was celebrated on the first of August in NSW because the wattle is at its peak here/there then, where, when, what, oh cock, what am i talking about.............

Wattle Day started in Hobart, middish 19th century, and I’m proud to be going to Hobart at the end of the month in my capacity as NSW Ambassador for Wattle Day.

What’s your favourite variety of Acacia? Mine is Cootamundra. Lovely, feathery greyish green leaves and gorgeous fragrant puffs of bright yellow blossom. Doesn’t live very long the Cootamundra and is prone to toppling, aren’t we all at times.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favourite wattle?
Acacia longifolia ssp. sophorae.
Short Arse Sydney Golden Wattle. The one that hangs out in the sand dunes.

boy moritz said...

I'm more of a rhodamorgenstern man myself

Mistress Bel said...

But has it inspired a woodblock print, Tom?

that's because you love a kerchief on a dame's head, boy.

Anonymous said...

Possibly...Shelley, Byron, Keats, Yeats,
Rhodamorgenstern

Anonymous said...

Has Valerie Harper seen these, Tom, they're amazing!

Anonymous said...

Naturally, I sent her a set as a thankyou for The Dog's Best Friend

Anonymous said...

I didn't know she was in the Lorne Greene biopic

Anonymous said...

Valerie sang backing vocals on the soundtrack:

On his grave they can't explain
The tarnished star above the name of Ringo... (Ringo.... Ring - oh)

Anonymous said...

Too obscure for me