Monkey Magic

As children there were very few things my brother & sister & I agreed on or willingly shared without some point of difference. My brother was an outstanding athlete, my sister a genius academic & I could be found being artistic .... if making mud pies decorated with weeds and flowers "baked" lovingly on the front fence brickwork counts as artistic.  (Actually, while I'm here apologies to all the animals and nieghbours I tried to force feed these too & thanks to Jason who actually ate them).   

We all went for different football teams. We would fight for the mixing spoon (cake mixture is so much better uncooked), and all had completely different favourite foods (my sister's favourite was frozen peas ... & no I still don't understand but she did become a lawyer .... maybe there's a connection???). My brother was a Kiss fan & my sister loved ABBA, Wham & Duran Duran. I liked anything that annoyed her & had a film clip that I could reinact in a one person show to entertain the cows in the paddock next door... they were my adoring fans & I believe that my amazing performances helped them to forgive the "mudpie" incidents.

But there was one thing ... one thing that we all agreed was brilliant ... one thing that brought us together as a family...

Cue: Monkey magic, monkey magic, monkey magic, monkey magic oooooo. (The theme song lacked a little complexity).

Every night the house fell silent as we watched Monkey fight off evil whilst on a mission from Buddha to assist the genderless, physically weak, not convincing Trippytarka or Tripitacka or something like that & in doing so would reach enlightenment.  (To be honest the pleasant, calm and spiritual priest was of little interest compared to his side kicks Pigsy and Sandy the fish monster).

The show made very little sense, was badly acted & the special effects were ... well .... special! It was dubbed very very badly and we 100% believed it. 

This year is the lunar new year of the Monkey & this lantern was waiting for fans on the steps of Federation Square! As I sat & watched, a parade of people mimicked his dance for pictures but I could tell some were Monkey magic fans .... 

They were the ones doing the serious kungfu poses :)

Happy new year & much joy to you all in the year of the monkey :)