I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Sing It Forthwith!)

 

Just learned something new to me!  Believe it or not, I read a book of fiction recently. What was it, something hot and new at the top of the Bestseller list?  No, it was "The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. One of the things that was mentioned was a "coconut shy". Now, I wrote it down on a slip of paper and looked it up later... 

"A coconut shy (or shie, which means to "throw") is a traditional game frequently seen at funfairs and fetes. The game consists of throwing wooden balls at a row of coconuts balanced on posts. A player buys three balls and wins when each coconut is knocked off the post."

Now, the song "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" should come to mind! (And I warn you, it is such a catchy little tune, you will be humming it and singing it for days!) Anybody remember the scene from " The Lion King" when the character Zazu, in a most funny way, sang a snippet of "I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts"?  If you don't remember, I have it for you here...

The song holds another memory for me from my visits to England...but funnily enough, I can't remember who used to sing it. Was it Richard's Mum, in a moment of comedic frolic? Was it his cousin who was also a very jolly soul? Memory is like that sometimes, it might be something so very familiar and yet...you might not be able to place all the details. Is it like that for anyone else or is that just me?   Anyway, the song is very well known in Britain, I think but maybe not so much in America, although it was a big hit in the USA in the 1950's with Danny Kaye and Merv Griffin both having big hits with the song.  (By the way, Merv Griffin...you must know developed many of the game shows on TV...Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, besides having his own talk show.  Good trivia to know- Merv Griffin actually wrote the music that you hear during the "Final Jeopardy Question"!) 

Something else that I wrote down from my reading the book "The Invisible Man" was the word, "forthwith".  He used it quite a lot.  Of course, it means "immediately" or "without delay".  Isn't it funny how it is really not used anymore? I like it and I think I shall begin using it forthwith.  (While we're at it, I miss the word "shall", shouldn't that word be used more often too?)  I shall use it!

Two names that I also wrote down from the book I must share with you... "Miss Cuss" and "Miss Sackbutt".  Sorry, that made me giggle.

Now this post is not actually about coconuts but I urge you to read more about coconuts!  The word itself..."coco" meaning head or skull, with the three indentations at the top resembling a face.  One can eat coconut, drink the coconut milk and make rope from the fibers and lots more!   The Indonesians claimed that coconuts had more uses than there were days of the year. (They should know!)

Should you ever find yourself in Great Britain and wonder what kind of chocolate you should buy yourself, I would highly recommend a "Bounty" bar!  In America, it is very similar to an "Almond Joy" but without the almond! Just pure joy! 

(Speaking of "Bounty"...another fascinating subject: "Mutiny On The Bounty"...you all know how much I love non-fiction. Look it up!)

Now, if you should find yourself humming this song... you're very welcome.

When we visit England, we bring back teabags and chocolate.  Some for ourselves and some to give to family and friends  Looks like I had already eaten all the Bounty bars! HA!

Really do miss walking beside the seaside in Eastbourne, England....

Hope you are all doing well in your part of the world, wherever that might be.