With the World Going to Hell...

it is good to know that we can dream of living in the land of the Ning Nang Nong.

Surely it will be better there?

Pet of the Day - Higgins the Pig

Our friend Joanne has an interesting pet which she inherited from her son, who had a very serious car accident. She got the pig because she is a Buddhist and vegetarian and was the most likely not to roast it.

Every day she prepares a meal like this for him. She has to go around bakers and vegetable shops and pick up supplies, cook up some past and lentils to keep in the style that he is accustomed. Two thirds of her very nice fridge is filled with his supplies.

Personally that is way too much. We could probably feed our whole family for a week with most of this food.

Spotty was extremely nervous when we went to visit last weekend. I am sure Higgins might have him for lunch. I am not sure how long I could share the love with a pig.

My personal ambition is to get a kangaroo or a wallaby. Very impractical. Perhaps we could rent one for a few weeks. I recently watched the Spike Milligan documentary made with the cooperation of his family. I loved his Australian connection and his friend with the steel bath that they lit a fire under who had kangaroos in the back yard. Now that would be stereotypically Aussie.

Update: Nunyaa will save you Higgins if things are looking barbacueish.

Three Generations of Spike Milligan Fans

My kids love the Spike Milligan Poem/Song On the Ning Nang Nong. It was played over and over on some of our early Play School Videos. We all know the words off by heart.

You need to sing sillillilly with gusto.

On the Ning Nang Nong Where the Cows go Bong! and the monkeys all say BOO! There's a Nong Nang Ning Where the trees go Ping! And the tea pots jibber jabber joo. On the Nong Ning Nang All the mice go Clang And you just can't catch 'em when they do! So its Ning Nang Nong Cows go Bong! Nong Nang Ning Trees go ping Nong Ning Nang The mice go Clang What a noisy place to belong is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!! Later on the kids got into Bad Jelly the Witch This is a book about the "horridabilist witch ever" written for his kids. There is a good adaptation available on video, which is narrated and interactively illustrated by Spike. My Dad was often found chuckling in the toilet with Spike's war recollections. I am sure that my Dad identified strongly with the Spike's take on the extremely silly side of national service. He himself was sent to Suez, to "shoot up a few Arabs". I still don't know if he really saw action. I used to like to read his books. Anyway there is a good Spike Milligan site if you are interested.