Titular Head! Now if that’s not a term to mock and make lewd jokes about, I don’t know what is!
In days of yore, I might have made crass remarks like (shouting out) ’show us your titular heads!’ or ‘BBQ at Fangirl Sings the Blues — $10 a head, less if you bring your titular wif ya!’
Then I matured.
Instead of tittering about a word like that, I remind readers that it comes from the Latin titulus, for ‘title’, and if you haven’t been keeping abreast of your ancient languages, then you’re a boob and you don’t know your knockers from your jugs.
Before this post descends into crud and teenage crudities, it’s best if we focus on the real reason for today’s celebration. In Australia, we adore ‘the long weekend’. It is unofficially decreed, by the people, whenever we win at sport, finish some house painting, stay up a wee bit late and have a hangover, or when visitors come to town and we are in charge of entertaining them.
Officially, we have about a half-dozen a year. Just the number of stubbies it takes some of our countrymen and women to kick into gear and get into the celebratory mood.
Our most relevant gazetted public holidays (that we TRY to make into long weekends, even if they fall on a Wednesday) are Australia Day and Anzac Day. These make sense to us as a nation and are understood, whereas those of religious importance are specific for citizens of that particular denomination.
This leads me to the beloved long weekend we embrace during early to mid-June. It’s the official Queen’s Birthday holiday! Instead of going to bed a little depressed on Sunday night and waking up to a cold, dank Monday morning of work and school, people all over Australia snuggle up ‘neath doonas tonight giving thanks for our ties to Britain and wondering (exactly) what Her Maj is doing for her 80-somethingth birfday.
I’ve had this conversation with a lovely friend from Great Britain for the past four years over at Livejournal, and the funniest thing is that she always ponders why the British don’t get a public holiday for Betsy’s special (non) birthday, but WE do. And we love it!
Don’t get me wrong. I am a Republican. There is a list of a hundred reasons why I think Australia needs its own unique face within the world. We don’t need a titular-headed Queen, it’s time to shed our historical ties to Great Britain, and although we respect and love them, our country needs to move forward. Yep, our early history is cast in the chains of penal settlements and colony, but we have evolved.
Thank goodness! But these impassioned words are best kept for another post.
Suffice to say that many Australians would love a republic. If a suitable, citizen-decided model for electing a President could be devised, it’s thought that the decision of the 1999 referendum could be changed.
However, we remain part of the commonwealth on this coooooold June sunday in 2010. We don’t go to work tomorrow, no Mondayitis. Instead, we pour our freezing VBs or XXXXs and glasses of Barossa Valley red, and we raise them to Elizabeth II, Queen of Oz. Sure, I don’t want you for our titular anymore, fanks lovely lady. You’ve done a great job over the years, but it’s time to go.
But I’ll always keep your holiday.
God Save the Long Weekend, thanks mate!
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8 Responses to Happy Birfday, Eliza!
Ya gotta lurve any excuse to stay abed, on a cold Melbourne winter’s day, dontcha hun??
Hope Pip and Pop remain under(doona)cover long enough for you to enjoy this “tweet” and think of me, slipping from betwixt my sweaty sheets to face a day prepping for some dodgy visitors arriving on Thurs!!!!! Couldn’t Liz adopt us too and become the Monarch of Stinkypore….has a certain ring to it!!!
Miss you all, chat soon xoxoxo
It’s freeeeezing! Hey lady. How exciting about your visitors, hey? And they are almost on your doorstep, which is also really good. Trying to talk Al out of packing a jacket, LOL.
Pip and Pop were very good this morning and I stayed in bed till 8.15. Miss ya lots, cant wait to hear how the hol goes with sister (who is not keen on frogs, fyi).
XX
Thanks for the heads-up, I’ll make sure Frodo stays under the lilly pad whilst she’s here. How’s she do with geckos, monkeys, bats and snakes, lol???
Pity you can’t jump in her suitcase and come on over….. but that would mean less room for the make-up!!!!
Talk soon lovey and try to stay warm xoxoxox
Oh, imagine the bat in her face! That would be terrible. I want to come too, but you know? Someone has to keep the country running, we’re not all made of unlimited hol time.
Seriously, have fun. Can’t wait to hear all about it. Lots of love, Gay.
Hold on…isn’t that why most Aussies would vote against a republic? The holiday we get? I rekon that’s why we cling on, and maybe because we are automatically granted access to the wonders of the UK without a holiday visa. :p
Hope you enjoyed Lizzy’s birthday, I painted something suitably Victorian and even though it’s only half done, I feel like I achieved summat.
You?
Yes, we do hold onto Eliza’s birthday so we get the June hol. If we changed to La Repulique, we might have Republic Day (coz that’d be original) and that mightn’t be in the coldest months of the year.
Hurrah for Queen and no visas required. Cor Blimey!
You painted something Victorian? Nice. I rewrote some old stuff, so didn’t really go forward, but achieved none the less.
Happy Betsy B’day, Sarah girl
Gotta love a long weekend! Any excuse will do. Thanks Liz!
LOVE the long weekend, my darl. Hope all is well and that the markets were good. xx