THE CONSTANT WINNER
Would you like to 'win' when England plays Australia
For 'The Ashes' which are cricket's greatest prize.
Then get dual nationality, such as I have,
And nobody will cut you down to size!
When Australia's on the top I am Australian,
But I'm English if the English rule the roost.
So, whichever side is winning, that is my side,
And my ego gets an extra little boost!
Well, this year I'm gaily singing 'Rule Britannia!',
So you'll surely guess which side is doing well!
The English seem unstoppable, as far as I can see.
For Australia I hear a funeral knell!
And just what are The Ashes? Well, many years ago
Australia beat England at the game.
And The English burnt the wicket on a sort of funeral pyre;
The wicket became 'ashes', hence the name.
As for our dual status, it's something that's allowed;
For, after all, our differences are few,
And we find it really useful on occasions such as this
To belong, not to one country, but to two.
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HABER DASHING?
Would you like to dash some haber? I'm pretty sure you would!
I'd be a haberdasher if I could!
*
Enough of all that nonsense! 'Haprtask' is the right word.
All right! It's rather hard to say, that's why it's rarely heard.
That tricky word's Iclandic, meaning 'small goods' so they say,
The things a pedlar carried round, displaying them on a tray.
Buttons, ribbons, bits and pieces, domestic this and that,
Cottons for my lady's mending, feathers for her hat.
The haberdasher's shop arrived, when pedlars were no more,
And a haberdasher's shop could be a quite substantial store.
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In his 'Canterbury Tale', Chaucer first used the name,
Maybe his was the first one with a claim to fame
The Elephant Man began his life in a haberdasher's shop,
And then he was exhibited at fairs and the Big Top.
Famous people started out as haberdashers, too!
Captain Cook and Johnny Carson, Harry Truman! True!
So the haberdasher's counter has many a tale to tell.
I end with a little personal note;
My Dad was one as well!
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