It’s Australia Day in most of Australia now, with Perth and the west coast, where Grey’s werewolf Ozysseyall setoffee, set to join the rest of Oz in less than halfling a hobbit (half an hour in human time).
English: Madonna during The Virgin Tour of 1985. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Grey’s Australia Day Tribute Song
Hi, it’s Greenygrey. We thought we’d get the Australia Day greenygrey festivities off to a musical start with Grey’s Oz version of Madonna’sDon’t Cry For Me Argentina, with lyrics adapted from the AZ Lyrics.comsite.
Madonna has supported the Greenygrey in the past, as shown in the accompanying photo, which resident archaeological comedian Tony Loboinson has unearthed. He thinks it’s one of the earliest examples of the greenygreying fashion craze in pop culture.
Here’s Grey’s song for Australia:
Don’t Cry For Me Australia
So I chose freedom
Rambling around, trying everything new
And heaps impressed me
I never expected it to
Don’t cry for me Australia
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don’t keep your distance
And as for fortune, and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired
They are illusions
They are not the solutions they promised to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me
Don’t cry for me Australia
Have I said too much?
I know you’d rather be watching the bush telly
But all you have to do is look at me to know
That every word is bonzer.
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.
After the epic reunion in the last chapter/episode, they leave the Emerald Cave in this episode, and meet some new allies along the way. This is of course like what happens in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
It’s the general travel quest formula, creating a story that is enjoyable, as well as exciting.
It’s another long chapter/episode, so I’ll let you rejoin the Werewolf of Ozzers as they head north up the Oz east coast. There’s explanation about the episode in the notes at the end.
The Beatles and Aspinall’s Commer van outside the Cavern Club (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Chapter 131. Churchilla’s Chinchilla Commandos of Goya
Reacquainting with the Collie twins was like digging into the past and striking pure gold; or maybe finding the best buns is a more appropriate metaphor when thinking about Bunbury’s Collie twins.
Everybody was enjoying the moment, although we knew that a bruising battle lay ahead with Bri’s bane.
We partied through the night, with a band of Beatles starring in the Cavern, and then headed north the next morning.
Liaising with the Chinchilla Chinchillas
Emily and Brian led us through the green-lit tunnels for ten hours, until we at last reached the safe haven of Chinchilla.
The Chinchilla chinchillas were also locked in a perennial struggle with Bri’s bane, so we were warmly welcomed.
Winston Churchill in Downing Street giving his famous ‘V’ sign. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Emily and Brian introduced us all to the chinchilla leader, Pancho Churchilla, and he thanked us for our support.
When evening arrived, we all ascended into the fresh air, and basked in the Chinchilla sunset chinchilla style.
Chinchillas of Goya
We rested overnight underground in the burrow barracks of the Chinchillas of Goya (COG); a crack unit of chinchilla commandos that are the teeth of the chinchilla army sprocket.
Capricho nº 50: Los Chinchillas de Goya, serie Los Caprichos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
They gave us their nests and slept on the floor, as their training had hardened them to such inconvenience.
I didn’t like to take the nest, but we had been on a long hard journey; as long as the COG could maintain rotation without such self-maintenance.
Born to Bask
Someone had scrawled a message on the rock next to my nest that haunted my sleep that night. It said: Born to Bask, Live for Task.
It was signed CC, so I guess it must have been Cilla Chinchilla who wrote it; Pancho said she was the one who normally slept there. I thought it was a shame such a chilled chinchilla had to live this way, and dreamt that one day soon the chinchillas would be able to once more bask in peace.
We were awoken early. After a short preparation we started on our final march to Bri’s bane. Nerves, excitement and fear all mixed together to activate anarchic adrenalin.
Pancho Villa (Photo credit: -Chupacabras-)
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Notes
The Beatles found fame at the Cavern club. Pancho Villa (Mexican revolutionary leader). Winston Churchill (British Prime-Minister during World War Two).
Goya was a 19th century painter, and one of his paintings was named Los Chinchillas. The COG idea was set in motion when Los Chinchillas was suggested as an image by Zemanta on the Werewolf of Oz wordpress blog.
Hi, it’s Greenygrey. Yesterday’s good news about Grey’s poem from its Werewolf of Oz book has inspired us to post another episode up today. Here it is:
16. ROCKING IT AT THE ROCK-IT FESTIVAL IN PERTH
Sancho and Don said they were off to the Rock-It festival in Perth, and invited me along. I jumped at the chance; metaphorically of course, because I was in the car at the time.
Cervantes (J. Vancell) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I felt like I needed a bit of fun after a tough time in Latham, and they seemed to be in the same situation having just escaped Cervantes.
Rock-It Festival in Perth
We had difficulty finding the Joondalup area where Rock-It is held, and had to do a loop around the neck of the Swan River. However, once we entered the festival it really rocked.
Tracer started the day off for us with some fantastic space rock. They were followed by a storming Airbourne set, and a great slide-guitar fuelled bluesy show by Rose Tattoo. Brian Johnson era AC/DC played a solid set, and nicely warmed us up for a sensational Bon Scott era AC/DC bad boy boogie headlining show.
We were hot and sweaty after the show, so we headed out to Rottnest Island; or Rotto as it’s known locally. There was certainly nothing rotten about it, and we enjoyed the beautiful beaches on the unspoilt island.
We were joined by some quirky quokkas: animals that are to kangaroos what greenygreys are to werewolves. They were lots of fun, and provided great company before we fell asleep under the rising sun.
Three quokkas—two adults and a juvenile, presumably a family unit—interact at Bathurst, Rottnest Island, Western Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Notes
Quokka – a small macropod (marsupial family Macropodidae) about the size of a domestic cat.
Rock-It Festival in Perth.
Tracer, Airbourne, Rose Tattoo, AC/DC (Aussie bands).
Bon Scott and Brian Johnson (AC/DC vocalists).