While there is no doubt that the satirical comedy epic travel quest Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Mapshas put Australia on the map for the outside world, is there any evidence of it leaving a lasting cultural impact on the land down under.
Australia Still Winning Cricket and Boomeranging
Insignia on the baggy green. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams with a satirical comedy sort of sports report. It seems that as long as the Australia cricket team are winning, the boomerang will continue, and having just won the one-day series, it looks as if the boomerang will continue for a little while more.
In fact, there is now a boomeranging kangaroo on the insignia of the baggy green, personified by Brian in the Werewolf of Oz.
It is surviving in Australia parallel with the more dangerous and unruly neknominate.
Boomeranging Rides Wave of Neknominating
Unfortunately, it is neknominate; which revolves around beer-drinking; that is grabbing the headlines, such as in the Metrolast Wednesday.
Fortunately, a surfer combined a beer-necking with the golden oldie craze greenygreying and a new development in boomeranging.
This meant that the first documented photo of a double one-armed twisting boomerang made it into the British media. Moreover, the surfer showed great skill to vary the boomeranging arms between the closed-armed boomerang seen above, and the open-armed boomerang below.
(Picture: Metro via Facebook)
He is obviously an experienced boomeranger, so please don’t attempt this pose in your nearest sea.
As 2014 gets well under way you would be forgiven for forgetting all about the serialisation of what we think was 2013’s greatest satirical comedy werewolf travel quest across Australia serial: our very own Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps(please look up ‘satire’ if you were offended by that!).
Ashes Over, Endeavour Everest Back for More
First of all we’d like to congratulate the Aussie cricket team for winning the Ashes series 5-0. The England and Wales team had won it three times in a row, so it was becoming a bit boring. Hopefully E&W will bounce back next series.
As the E&W Ashes win in Australia during 2010/11 is remembered in the Greenygrey world as the WoO series, as it took place when Grey was on its epic Ozyssey, this series will be remembered as the Boomerang Ashes, after the Aussies returned to form with their oldest secret weapon.
In the accompanying photo, Aussie series hero, Mitchell Johnson, is celebrating the Ashes win with the first recorded cricketing upside-down boomerang. The first photo showed Johnson in the more conventional boomerang pose.
The above was inspired by the 1932/33 Ashes being remembered as the Bodyline Ashes, because of the number of bouncers bowled by the Aussies.
Secondly, good news if you missed the third Endeavour: Everest episode featured on this blog last week, with a balloon ride over Everest from base camp at Gokyo, because it is back on the BBC iplayer until January 14th (only available in U.K. as far as we know).
Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland
Presbyterian Church at Springsure, Queensland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This episode of the Werewolf of Oz, the fifth from last, combines the two biggest influences on the book, Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, with the real Australian towns of Oakey, Dalby, Roma, Orion and Springsure between Brisbane and Emerald.
On the way, there is an emotional return to Chinchilla. Enjoy!
138. Following the Dust Sandy Path to Emerald
English: Dalby Regional Council customer service centre at Chinchilla, Queensland, formerly the Chinchilla Shire Council offices (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There was a succulent start to the journey, orienteering through an okay oak forest outside Oakey before devouring a delicious dal dinner in Dalby.
Chinchilla is a Killer… Emotionally
It was Chinchilla next, and I prepared myself for an emotional return. I was not disappointed, with chinchillas lining the streets of Chinchilla as we passed. I saw an old chinchilla rush out of the crowd and hug a COG member. When the COG soldier turned around I was delighted to see the name Cilla Chinchilla on her jacket.
Cilla had survived
and achieved her task.
Now I hoped
she’d have time to bask.
Roma, Orion and Spring
Australiana: a cork hat on a sixpack of VB (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We roamed through Roma, before it turned dark over Orion; which was good timing, as there was a belting night sky there. Then it seemed like it was spring for sure in Springsure, as everything was green. It became evermore evergreen as we neared Emerald.
I asked Emily how everything was so green, and she said these were the Alician Fields. They are a natural wonderland for those who have turned the world upside down to improve it before returning it the right way up; where sparkling spring water irrigates the earth from underground, and the sun always shines above.
Elysian Fields by Carlos Schwabe, 1903 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I thought nothing could equal the Alician Fields, but Emerald sparkled like the finest precious stone; the town and fields complemented each other like a jewel on silk.
Hats filled the air when Brian and Emily reached Emerald, and our leaders soon joined in with the hatrobatics.
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Notes
The Elysian Fields of Greek mythology were a heavenly paradise for heroic warriors.
Oakey, Dalby, Roma, Orion and Springsure are real places.
The Ashes 2013/14 series has reached its final destination, and it will soon be time for the England and Wales cricket team to say their farewells and head home. The Werewolf of Ozzers are also reaching that point in our serialisation of their epic virtual travel quest to all regions of what is known as Australia in the human world.
Sydney Memories Emerald Future
Australia are in control of the fifth Ashes test in Sydney, while poetry seemed to take control of the Werewolf of Ozzers in Sydney, with Bronte and Greycliffe House inspiring some literary nonsense sublime rhymes.
Emerald Railway Station (Wikipedia)
This episode has final farewells to the friends made along the Oz way, before Emily the Emerald Cork Hat returns those that remain to the book’s Wizard of Oz-inspired final destination: as the Wizard of Ozzers reached their final destination in the Emerald City, the Werewolf of Ozzers end up in the real Australian town of Emerald.
Chapter 137. Saying Goodbye, and Finding a New Path
After everybody and everything had their bellies full of buns, Emily and Brian addressed us all; it was nice of them to give us a house.
The Ashes Urn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
They also said the locality would now be known as Brisbane, and the region would be called Queensland; in memory of those who had taken part in the battle. They ended by thanking us for freeing Brian from his bane.
The Army Disperses
It was then time to say goodbye to my old friends and comrades, as they departed for home. Captain Dec and Dai were taking Dig, Aus, Vombat and the Collies back to Western Australia, and the cetaceans were swimming that way too. There were of course lots of hugs, and that’s all I’m prepared to write here.
Land of Oz (Photo credit: _rockinfree)
After they left, Emily asked us what we were doing next. I had seen the dust sandy path leading inland, but told Emily I didn’t know if we were still meant to follow it, now that she and Brian were reunited.
Emily said it looked like the dust sandy path was heading their way… to Emerald.
She invited us along,
and it felt right to go,
for in her I could see a glow;
she hadn’t been wrong yet!
English: Graham Swann at Lord’s Cricket Ground 20th July 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, satirical comedy sports correspondent at the Greenygrey.
Unfortunately Graeme Swann has announced his immediate retirement from all forms of cricket.
Swann is getting on in cricketing age, and has been out of form on the England and Wales Ashes tour, which the Aussies lead 3-0 (just realised that now won makes a nice palindrome… before then realising it was a mistake… but didn’t want to waste it!).
Swann becomes the second travelling casualty of the Ashes tour, after Jonathon Trott returned home due to mental health issues.
Werewolf of Oz Swan Lake Tragedy
Swan Lake (Photo credit: Cindy Andrie)
Swann’s retirement is poignant for the Greenygrey, after the Werewolf of Oz featured a Swan Lake tragedy, with the loss of Kalbarri Barry and family in Swan Lake, N.S.W.
The 5th Ashes test will be in N.S.W., but before that, there’s the 4th test in Melbourne, Victoria.
Reports that Australia is changing the Queensland capital’s name from Brisbane to Kevsbane after Kevin Pietersen said nobody had heard of it outside Australia before the first Ashes test (and well after the momentous Battle of Bri’s bane) may never surface into the human world.
English: Brisbane at night from Mount Coot-tha (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We think it would be a shame anyway, now that everybody must finally know about Brisbane!
Ashes Series Nearly Burnt Out
Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, satirical comedy sports correspondent at the Greenygrey, with a wacky pitch-side report from the Waca, Perth, Western Australia; WA where the WoO all began; before the latest episode of the Werewolf of Oz begins.
cog (Photo credit: plenty.r.)
Yes, the Ashes series could be all over tomorrow (later today in human Oz), with England and Wales needing to bat out the day to have a chance of drawing the series. Australia are 2-0 up, and in the ascendancy in the third test.
Brisbane, Brisbane So Good They Named it Bri’s Bane
I hope you like the headline’s little pastiche of the New York, New York song. Yes, in this thrilling episode you will not only get to know Brisbane, but also some of its coolest named neighbourhoods.
I think it provides the perfect warm-up for the cricket’s tense situation, as Emily the Emerald Cork Hat and Brian the Baggy Green lead the Werewolf of Ozzers and COG on the final march to battle with Bri’s bane.
Chapter 132. The Climb to Bri’s Bane Greenslopes without Ropes
Three hours after leaving Chinchilla we received word that a rock fall had blocked the tunnel. Colin and Ollie were informed, and soon raced ahead to clear the way. Their colliering skills meant we surfaced at The Gap gap on schedule. The sun was reaching its apex as the COG led us into the daylight of our destiny. I had faded to grey, and felt comfortable that way.
English: Mt Coot-tha and the television towers – as seen from The Gap, Brisbane ( this photograph was taken by Figaro ) Category:Images of Brisbane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Emily and Brian led the COG commandos at the head of our line; I had never seen such courage from a pair of hats. Although they shone with a golden hue when first meeting again, nobody could accuse them of being yella in a cowardly way.
Talking of yellow, I was missing Emily not being on my head, with the scorching sun sizzling my sight and cooking my cranium! It was a relief when we reached some tree cover.
We covertly met a covert of coots in the Mount Coot-Tha forest, and they escorted us easterly to rendezvous with a python called Pilly; it showed us a short-cut through a secret door at Indooroopilly.
indooroopilly bridges (Photo credit: bertknot)
Arriving at Greenslopes for the Battle of Bri’s bane
Emerging through the outdoor, a river lay below us. Churchilla said it was Bri’s bane’s main defensive line. I couldn’t imagine how all the furry little chinchillas were going to cross the river. I was in for another nice surprise.
When we arrived at the river I saw that more of my West Coast friends were in it: Winona, Walter, Wendy, William and Dweezil whale sharks; and Dolly the Dolphin. Moreover, there was also a ship moored there that seemed to ooze decorum amongst all the bedlam. I should have guessed who was skippering it, but I hadn’t seen him for a few months.
Greenslopes SCIP – after (Photo credit: Brisbane City Council)
‘Hello, Grey, my ol’ matey, how’s it going?’ roared a voice from the deck. It was none other than our ol’ skipper, Captain Dec O’ Rum. I told him I was doing fine, and it was great to see him, before asking where Dai ‘on the Seas’ was. Dec said Dai’d sailed in with him the previous day, but had gone into town looking for wine and women, and hadn’t returned yet.
It was a magnificent morale booster to see them all again, and a renewed confidence surged through me. After introductions and hugs they helped us cross the river.
Although it was a relief that we’d all traversed the water safely, arriving on the other side felt like being on the sharp end of a double-edged sword; because we were now at the foot of Greenslopes, with battalions of Bri’s bane protecting the peak.
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Notes
The Gap is a Brisbane suburb; as is Indooroopilly.
The England and Wales cricket team has arrived in Alice Springs on the journey from the first test in Brisbane to the second one in Adelaide.
Alice Springs city (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ashes Tour in Alice Springs
Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, satirical comedy sports correspondent at the Greenygrey, inspired by darts legend Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams.
That means the cricketers will be travelling from Alice Springs to Adelaide; a journey made famous by Grey, Bonzo and Elle in Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps over eleven magical episodes starting at 29.
Travelling Through Australia’s Centre
The Ghan route map. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yes, back then Bonzo was still with the party, while Angry and Cathy had not yet joined the quest.
Of course, the England and Wales cricket team arrived in Alice Springs from Brisbane on the Australian east coast, while the Werewolf of Ozzers arrived there from Darwin on the Oz north coast.
When our ol’ pal Marc Latham was in Australia back in 1989 he travelled down to Alice Springs from Cairns, north of Brisbane. He then travelled north to Darwin, never visiting Adelaide and Melbourne in the south.
Travelling Alice Springs to Adelaide
While in Alice Springs, I wonder if the England and Wales cricket team will meet Alice as Grey and the travel questers did, or go to the Uluru/Ayer’s Rock Oo-loo-roo Air’s Rock Great Gig in the Sky festival with Wally and the macropods.
The Ghan at Alice Springs Railway Station in the middle of Australia (also known as The Red Centre). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Maybe they’ll travel on the Ghan and miss out the Rainbow Valley, which are very different in the human and werewolf worlds.
In the Oz world the Ghan was a mysterious creature, and the Werewolf of Ozzers were lost for a time in the intoxicating colours of the Rainbow Valley.
I hope they travel south a little faster than the Werewolf of Ozzers, as the second test starts in Adelaide on December 5th.
It should be a great experience anyway, and we wish them luck.
Grey thought he’d put Australia on the map with its epic travel quest across Oz, and especially Brisbane, which is of course the scene of the epic concluding battle with Bri’s bane. Brisbane’s Gabba (we would have preferred it to be called baGGa!) is also the venue for the first Ashes cricket test on Thursday.
English: Aerial view of the Brisbane River, Queensland, Australia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
However, this week England’s star player Kevin Pietersen responded to some Aussie pommie-bashing calling him arrogant by tweeting that nobody outside Australia has heard of Brisbane.
Kevin Peitersen Versus Brisbane
Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams with a sports round-up ahead of the first Ashes cricket test in Australia.
One theory in the Greenygrey world is that Kevin Pietersen; also known as KP, as the Greenygrey is known as GG; has read Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps, and is re-enacting the blockbusting Battle of Bri’s bane with himself as the hero.
However, the opposing theory counters that if KP has read WoO he’d think that everybody has now heard of Brisbane, and knows it’s on the Australian east coast.
We’re taking another step towards Brisbane here with another episode of the Werewolf of Oz. However, it’s only a literary step rather than geographical, as the travel quest quartet are still in the middle of the Boomerang Beach trilogy. The body, mind and spirit are getting it together though, and there’s hope for a return to the dust sandy path by the end.
Chapter 124. Spirit Lifts, Mind Plans, Body Gives Hope
I was getting sick of the sight of Boomerang Beach and Green Point by the twenty-ninth return journey, and told Cathy I was losing hope.
She said, ‘That’s not the spirit!’
Tada! (Photo credit: candiceecidnac)
That was the lift I needed; mentally I might add, as I certainly didn’t need more physical lifting!
Spirit to Mind
After Cathy raised my spirits, I wondered if Angry might have a solution to our situation, as he’d been using his mind well recently. So I asked him if he could think of any way out of our repetitive return rebounding.
He thought for a few minutes, before suggesting we’d been playing into the phantom boomerang’s hands; or wings to be more precise.
Angry explained his rationale through the whistling wind: it was because the four of us had been keeping to a straight two-two formation, and this kept the boomerang on its preferred trajectory.
Angry suggested that Elle might be the key to changing our course, as she’d been using her body well recently.
English: The Eye Water flowing under the bridge carrying the B6438 road at Reston. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If we kept an eye on her, whether they were watery or not, and she pulled in one direction, we could all follow her, and that would hopefully release us from our eternal boomeranging.
You know what, it didn’t sound nonsense at all, and I had high hopes that it would finally ground us. We agreed to attempt it on our next northerly journey.
mistYmuse 