I can't resist it, I've just gotta congratulate Banjo upon his reasons for choosing his OLO moniker in the second post to this thread.

He's brought back a flood of memories of my late Dad who passed away 18 years ago. He had an enormous repertoire of verse that he could recite (not just of Paterson's) from memory. Whilst if I heard any of it recited today I would probably recognise it instantly, I never developed the skill myself.

Probably around ten years before his passing, there came on the market a three volume limited edition of Paterson's complete works. It was, relative to the sort of money I had at the time, very expensive. I think he would have liked it. It is one of the greatest regrets of my life that I decided at the time not to buy it, on the rationalisation that he had virtually all of it in his head anyway. Sadly, it wasn't just the colt from Old Regret that had got away. By the time I had the money, the edition was no longer available.

Strangely enough, I never heard him recite 'The Pearl Diver'. I read that while later perusing a copy of the Complete Works belonging to a friend. Doubly regrettable.

DUM
dum

DA DUM
da dum

DA-DA-DA DUM DUM DUM DUM DUMM DUMMMM
da-da-da dum dum dum dum dumm dummmm

DA-DA DUM DUM DUM DAH DAH DAHHH DAHHHHH
da-da dum dum dum dah dah dahhh dahhhhh

[DAda]-[DAda] [DUMdum] [DUMdum] [DUMdum] [DAHdah] [DAHdah] [DAHHHdahhh] [DAHHHHHdahhhhh] .....

There must be something about banjos and deliverance.

Onya Banjo. Right choice for all the right reasons.

We have a saying in our family, if something is starting to appear a bit outlandish, or from way out of left field, that "I can hear banjos". Do you hear banjos here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7725#120702 It was posted the day before Ludwig had started this thread. Be careful.

Mine? :)

here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarp

then for those interested:

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm

His most famous words are:

"Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?"

as he was about to be burned at the stake.

BANJO.. BP is one of my favorites also. Should be compulsory for all primary school children.

Saint Polycarp of Smugboazia!!

D’Oh…sorry Polycarp….just counldna resist that (:>)

It is actually a very interesting moniker.

Pity though that it has nothing to do with the great grey bloodwood of northern Australia; Eucalyptus polycarpa (or as lesser botanists would call it; Corymbia polycarpa)….which is at the centre of a very complex group of taxa, that have variously been described as new species or subspecies, some which have then been sunk back again into E. polycarpa….the whole group of which remains most unsatisfactorily taxonomically dealt with.

Sort of fits with the complex nature of Polycarp very nicely!

Oh but I do waffle on sometimes (:>/

Yep I’m a fan of ol’ AB Paterson as well.

He had a bit of a botanical bent…..

‘… "Murder! Bloody murder!" yelled the man from Ironbark.’

‘ Once a jolly swagman sat beside the billabong, under the shade of a coolibah tree…’

‘So he went; they found the horses by the big mimosa clump…’

‘…Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide…’

.

Um yes, this thread has proven to be very interesting indeed. Thanks to all contributors.

Yeah but, no but, yeah but, no but, no but (apologies to little Britain)

I wanna know WHY Boaz changed his moniker to Polycarp.

Why? Why? Why?

Its not like he's fooling anyone.

As one who chooses to not use a pseudonym, I must say I've found reading this thread interesting.

However, like Fractelle I'm more intrigued about why Boazy changed his pseudonym from "BOAZ_David" to "Polycarp", than about some obscure Christian hero.

Does Boazycrap see himself as some kind of martyr? Personally, I think that burning him at the stake is probably an excessive reaction to his odious behaviour over the years - but perhaps he's had a vision of sorts and is simply fulfilling his destiny.

Fascinating.