Yes indeed, I warned you not to have high expectations, but here's a House of Pork I spotted in the Meat Pavilion from this year's Ekka. Presumably, Homer Simpson would be very impressed.
This year's expedition was somewhat marred by mild illness, and the kids insisting on buying their stuff too early in the day. Still, my son got to arm himself with enough cheap plastic guns to last a year. (He bought the "Western Ranger" bag, essentially a cowboy set, and was very happy to walk around in the cowboy hat that was far too large for his head. I actually wore it for part of the day. This interest in the Wild West seems to have been caused solely by watching the Martin/Lewis comedy "Pardners" on DVD, which will cost you $8.99 at your nearest Big W or K Mart.)
The evening's arena entertainment continues to be of wildly erratic quality. An exhibition polo match that goes for 30 minutes just isn't interesting. Nor were the German Shepherds that did nothing special at all for 20 minutes. I think whoever thought that these "acts" were going to hold the crowd's interest is regretting it now.
At least the Holden Precision Car Driving Team, which remained unchanged for at least 30 years, has gone. Instead, I fear we are now stuck with a motoX freestyle act that will not change for 20 years.
We need to go back to things being blown up. If I recall correctly from my childhood, there were a few years in which acts based on explosions were all the rage - a clown running into a cardboard outhouse that blew up, for example; or a guy that got in a coffin like box that blew up. But then, outhouses were still known in Brisbane when I was a child - I guess modern kids may not recognise them.
It was only a couple of years ago that we had the human cannonball (video taken by yours truly on a not very good digital camera):
That's more like it. Now if only there was a portable pool of crocodiles between the cannon and the net.
Went on Sunday. There were very large crowds and a twenty minute queue just to get in.
ReplyDeleteAs for ring events, my knees are no longer up to sitting in a confined space watching interminably dull polo games. The dogs were as bad. The godawful bush poet on his bareback horse should be put in the exploding dunny that I too recall fondly.
On the plus side, my son was very impressed with the monster truck that preceded the motocross.
I may have mentioned this before, but the secret to a happy Ekka is having children old enough to pack off to sideshow alley while you and your wife have a very nice meal with a bottle of wine at the meat pavilion restaurant. Somehow the rest of day flows much better.
I missed an Ekka due to measles once. I don't feel able to miss it now - I think it is bred into working class Brisbanites - my children are similarly effected. It is still a straight draught of nostalgia and needs to be endured.
Geoff
Yay that video clip! I've never been to an Ekka, but seeing that human cannon ball made me yahoo and throw my Akubra in the air.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Ross.
ReplyDeleteGeoff, yes I can very much imagine enjoying a long lunch with a couple of reds there. I always used to enjoy drinking there in my younger days. I thought you used to be much more ambivalent about the Ekka, but evidently I was wrong.