D'Arcy Developments

I remembered that some of the regular visitors to my blog are not Australians. Did you need an interpretation of the photo below? Well, here is one anyway....It is a Ned Kelly costume. Ned is a folk hero. He was the head of a bushranging family in Victoria. The family was involved in a big shootout with the cops in country Victoria, and so Ned made himself some armour in preparation. He didn't get shot, but was later arrested and hanged in Melbourne in...um..1880(? - sorry, vague moment there). Bushrangers were robbers - Australian highwaymen - and typically are glorified in folklore. Kind of weird. Lots of songs and stories about them.There is a sense of Robin Hood-ness to them, although most were in it for private gain. Ned and the rest of the Kelly Gang in particular. Remember that the country was colonised by criminals and their keepers, and some people who could afford to buy large quantities of land and tell everyone else what to do...

So this has led to some weird conversations in the household....We know that stealing is bad, and that the police are good. The folklore, however, suggests otherwise. The first fantasy role-play based on this legend involved 'helping the police to get the robbers and put them in jail'. Since talking to his daddy over the weekend though, D'Arcy has reverted to the glorified version, and now will 'help the Kelly Gang get away from the police'. Odd, but not too surprising that the country's heroes are criminals.

On a completely different note...I had a birthday recently and on being reminded that it was coming up D'Arcy said "Yes. I was planning on getting you the 'Spooks' DVD (my fav TV show)...or perhaps a new house" I nearly cried.

In the end neither of these eventuated, but as they say "it's the thought that counts".