About 2 weeks ago, my workchum Emily fronted the office with a massive kiddie grin and a challenge for all the team: "come and see the Wurzels!"For the Aussies out there, the Wurzels are of a similar style and vintage to, say, Rolf Harris, and as much a part of English childhoods as Humphrey B Bear, apparently. They're farmers from Somerset (apple growing, cider swilling territory in the south west of England), famous for Pirate-drawl 'rrrr's and such lyrical classics as "I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key", "I am a cider drinker", "Cider, Cider" and "Sunny Weston-Super-Mare" (which would be a bit like singing about Sunny Dandenong).
I went along prepared to laugh and nod along with stuff I'd never heard of - but I had forgotten
that the Company of Chivalry lads and lasses mostly hail from 'Weston'. It turns out that most of the rude songs we sing about the Duke of York are actually take-offs of Wurzel music... (except for the one about someone's bum bein' up for rent....) So it turned out the Aussie ring-in knew more words than the rest of the crew (who were too busy standing on a picnic table throwing beer on each other anyways, so missed the words...)
They also missed the lead singer removing his shirt - a sight I could have done without too, as the chap is older than my dad and hairier than my husband! But the cheeze was worth it for the look on Em's face all night ("I can't beLIEVE I'm seeing the Wurzels!"), and Slovenian Tomaz's response when he heard the accordian fire up: "you don't understand, they're playing one of those things that my country used to invent for the world the polka. It has a lot to answer for...".
And perhaps best of all - Tom from work had quietly sneered at us all week prior to the gig, but on monday morning, the laugh was on him. "I'm really sorry. I'm gonna be late for work. I'm stuck in traffic... behind a combine harvester!"
Karma? Oh I think so!
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