Or not, as the case may be.
Nothing quite says "Have a great Australia Day" like a pair of moccasins left to loiter in our school carpark.
But really, when did Australia Day become a greeting day? Tones Delroy greeted callers to last night's Challenge: "Have a great Straya Day, Pat from Mt Lawley." Karen Tighe welcomes listeners to Grandstand: "Happy Straya Day." Once upon a time this business was restricted to Christmas and other birthdays, then it was Mother's Day, then Father's Day, now Australia Day. It can't be long before celebration day creep encourages people to "Have a great Tuesday."
Today used to be a nice, peaceful day of watching cricket from Adelaide - Go the Aussies! - with maybe a Roulettes flypast. Now, because we just have to overegg the golden goose, Straya Day has become a Have A Great Day Day with simulcasted fireworks. It gets right on my tits.
The public holiday is fuckin' grouse, but.
Just when does one slip out of ya moccies?
Can ya pass the
etiquite,etaquit,ettequetbloody manners book tones.Anyway have a great oz day mate.
Posted by: Francis Xavier Holden | 26 January 2007 at 17:37
Someone was bound to beat me to it.
All right, well... congrats on the cricket then!
Posted by: anne | 26 January 2007 at 18:52
One can NEVER have too many paid public holidays, old chap.
Happy 'Strayaday.
Posted by: Pedro the Ignorant | 26 January 2007 at 20:22
It's a happy Straya Day, too, at the Groan's OBO:
Posted by: Tony.T | 26 January 2007 at 22:26
OBO made especially sweet reading on Australia Day.
That and Sam Kekovic. His monologues crack me up.
Posted by: Scott Wickstein | 27 January 2007 at 02:49
You are officially an old grouch. Time to start looking for a trash can to live in. I mean rubbish bin.
Posted by: Yobbo | 27 January 2007 at 03:39
You lot are lucky.
In England on St Georges Day the authorities or publicans hardly acknowledge it at all.
As for St Patricks day,St Andrews Day, St Davids Day, ramadan the pricks cant get enough of it.
As soon as we show a bit of national pride we normally get nicked, and tarred with being a member of NF or Combat 18.
Keep enjoying the day ladies and gents, and keep being proud of your nationality. As soon as the pc brigade get in or it starts slipping, well its a cancer that cannot be stopped
Posted by: Vaughny | 27 January 2007 at 05:29
I confess I employed the phrase "Happy Strayaday" often and often yesterday. When one is drunk amongst a large group of people he cares but little for -- your typical Oz Day Hottest Hundred party -- he is grateful for everything that remotely resembles conversation. Hell, any variation from the usual "Gdayowsitgoinmateorrite?" is welcome indeed.
Posted by: Harry | 27 January 2007 at 12:08
Call me Ozcar The Grouch. Just don't call me late for tea.
Posted by: Tony.T | 27 January 2007 at 16:25
Well said, Vaughny. How's the knee? No chance of your lot being late for tea - they were in before sunset!
Posted by: nick | 27 January 2007 at 16:34
Chloe Saltau in today's Age wasn't the only reporter to slam England, but she was the only reporter to tell them to &^%* off. In the print edition, anyway, not online.
Posted by: Tony.T | 27 January 2007 at 17:02
Straya day was the day when my most disliked relative popped out her whining potato-faced offspring (who was duly given a ragingly patriotic moniker) so every Straya day I am doomed to front up, with rictus in place to "celebrate" potato-face's birth. It's therefore a dead loss to me.
Posted by: Helen | 28 January 2007 at 11:09
Yeah, get them the wingdings out of here.
Nah, seriously, keep 'em here as long as possible. Ever since 1981, I've taken an unholy glee in seeing English cricketers get done. The Ashes last year just sharpened that edge, really.
Posted by: carneagles | 28 January 2007 at 11:57
Oh, and as for Strayaday, I'm sick of the whole flag fetish thing.
Posted by: carneagles | 28 January 2007 at 11:58
This shits me about Straya Day. We spend 16 months shitcanning the decision to give the Poms gongs for winning the Ashes, and then the Hun says Our Boys not winning them a "snub". The reason Jones, Collingwood, Giles & co won a gong is PRECISELY the reason I don't want Our Boys to win them.
Posted by: Tony.T | 28 January 2007 at 13:30
We had a most interesting round table "discussion" regarding burning the flag. We had pro burners and anti burners and don't care burners. Fair enough. Then I asked wether it was OK to burn the aboriginal flag. Well well splutter splutter!
Posted by: chrisl | 28 January 2007 at 13:36
I want my moccies back.
Posted by: Darlene | 28 January 2007 at 14:38
Forget the flag, I'd rather burn Darlene's moccies.
Posted by: Tony.T | 29 January 2007 at 10:50
The Australian Sports Medal was instituted for the very purpose. If they didn't even get those awarded by a self-confessed cricket tragic, then it makes a mockery of the awards system. Hang on...
Posted by: CB | 29 January 2007 at 20:21
easy for the mother of a most beautiful child to call another's "potato face', but WHAT? is the "suitably patriotic name" of potato face?
I rilly want to know ...
Banjo
Matilda
Bonzer
Shirley
Ned
Dirk Hartog
Sherrin
Bradman .... tell us please.
Posted by: brownie | 30 January 2007 at 16:16
Bruce!!
Posted by: Helen | 30 January 2007 at 16:40