Monday Miscellany: A collection of odds, ends and personals . . .

Caution: nudity.

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From Thomas:

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I mentioned last week that the baby in an ad for Celestial; Tea looked like one of the kids out of the 60’s flick The Village of the Damned:

I received an email the next day from Kerrie::

I still have nightmares from seeing The Village of the Damned at the drive-in when I was about 11.

For those not familiar with the pic, all of the residents of the Brit town of Midwich pass out for a time, then awake and appear normal. About 2 months later all women able to bear children are discovered to be pregnant, all give birth on the same day and all the babies are pale skinned with almost-white blond hair. They also all have riveting eyes. As they grow, they are cold, aloof, stick together and communicate with each other without speech. Anyone opposing them is destroyed by using mind control. They are killed by a bomb carried into the classroom by the local teacher who keeps imagining a brick wall as the children seek to read his mind. It is discovered that there have been similar colonies in other countries where the locals have succeeded in killing the children.

Some trivia:

• The source novel is called The Midwich Cuckoos, by John Wyndham. The reference to cuckoos is because when cuckoo birds lay eggs, they deposit these eggs in the nests of other birds, who then raise the cuckoo chicks as their own. Compounding the insidious nature of this process, the cuckoo chicks often murder their nestmates in competition for food and parental attention.

• Originally begun in 1957 as an American picture to star Ronald Coleman, MGM shelved the project because it was deemed potentially inflammatory and controversial, specifically due to its sinister depiction of virgin birth.

• Ronald Coleman passed away in 1958 and was replaced by George Sanders, who had married Colman's widow Benita Hume in 1959.

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Byter David sent an email in response to my post on Antony Gormley’s statue The Angel of the North:

Another of Gormley's Tours de Force is his work "Another Place" which is a collection of 100 life size cast-iron statues (all modelled on his own body) spread over two miles of beach in the north west of England. They are on the tidal part of the beach so vanish and reappear with the movement of the waters. Stunning! 

http://www.visitliverpool.com/things-to-do/another-place-by-antony-gormley-p160981

I had planned doing a future Bytes on the varied works of Antony Gormley but, until then, here is some more information and some pics of the work described by David.

Pics:

Just kidding on the last 2, they're stills from the Nic Cage/Meg Ryan pic City of Angels - angels gather on the beach at sunrise each day to hear celestial music.

This is the commentary on Gormley’s Another Place from the website for which David gave the above link:

These spectacular sculptures by Antony Gormley are on Crosby beach. Another Place consists of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures spread out along three kilometres of the foreshore, stretching almost one kilometre out to sea. 

The Another Place figures - each one weighing 650 kilos - are made from casts of the artist's own body standing on the beach, all of them looking out to sea, staring at the horizon in silent expectation.
Having previously been seen in Cuxhaven in Germany, Stavanger in Norway and De Panne in Belgium, 'Another Place' is now a permanent feature in the UK, at Crosby Beach. 

According to Antony Gormley, Another Place harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature. He explains: The seaside is a good place to do this. Here time is tested by tide, architecture by the elements and the prevalence of sky seems to question the earth's substance. In this work human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body. It is no hero, no ideal, just the industrially reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet.

Thanks David.

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A Bush Christening

Over a lunch and coffee yesterday with my wife Kate we discussed populist poetry in the context of recent Bytes items, which a subscriber had quoted being referred to as good bad poetry. I mentioned a few more works by overseas writers and even the lyrics of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, an old music hall standard where the audience would come in with the “Ohhhhhh” of the chorus (this may be Bytes for next week).  Kate raised the works of Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson, poetry and stories loved by the masses but not accepted by the literati elite as “serious” works. I quite like the works of Lawson and the Banjo, having posted some items about them previously:

The Bulletin Debate:

http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/bulletin-debate.html

Henry Lawson: Past Carin':

http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/henry-lawson-past-carin.html

Today’s post, at Kate’s suggestion, is Banjo’s Patterson humorous poem A Bush Christening. Some comments about the work follow the poem.

A B Paterson’s A Bush Christening, by Michael Lodge

A BUSH CHRISTENING - A.B. "Banjo" Paterson

On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,

And men of religion are scanty,

On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost,

One Michael Magee had a shanty.

Now this Mike was the dad of a ten-year-old lad,

Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned;

He was strong as the best, but poor Mike had no rest

For the youngster had never been christened,

And his wife used to cry, "If the darlin' should die

Saint Peter would not recognise him."

But by luck he survived till a preacher arrived,

Who agreed straightaway to baptise him.

Now the artful young rogue, while they held their collogue,

With his ear to the keyhole was listenin',

And he muttered in fright while his features turned white,

"What the divil and all is this christenin'?"

He was none of your dolts, he had seen them brand colts,

And it seemed to his small understanding,

If the man in the frock made him one of the flock,

It must mean something very like branding.

So away with a rush he set off for the bush,

While the tears in his eyelids they glistened-

"'Tis outrageous," says he, "to brand youngsters like me,

I'll be dashed if I'll stop to be christened!"

Like a young native dog he ran into a log,

And his father with language uncivil,

Never heeding the "praste" cried aloud in his haste, 

"Come out and be christened, you divil!"

But he lay there as snug as a bug in a rug,

And his parents in vain might reprove him,

Till his reverence spoke (he was fond of a joke)

"I've a notion," says he, "that'll move him."

"Poke a stick up the log, give the spalpeen a prog;

Poke him aisy-don't hurt him or maim him,

'Tis not long that he'll stand, I've the water at hand,

As he rushes out this end I'll name him.

"Here he comes, and for shame! ye've forgotten the name-

Is it Patsy or Michael or Dinnis?"

Here the youngster ran out, and the priest gave a shout-

"Take your chance, anyhow, wid 'Maginnis'!"

As the howling young cub ran away to the scrub

Where he knew that pursuit would be risky,

The priest, as he fled, flung a flask at his head

That was labelled "Maginnis's Whisky!"

And Maginnis Magee has been made a J.P.,

And the one thing he hates more than sin is

To be asked by the folk who have heard of the joke,

How he came to be christened "Maginnis"!

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About the poem:

The poem was first published in the Bulletin on 16 December 1893 and was included in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses in 1895.

The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until Woprld War 1, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence thereafter declined steadily. In the 1960s it was revived as a modern news magazine.

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The poem has been linked by Lucy Sussex to an anonymous story, 'Peggy's Christening', in the Colonial Monthly, April 1868, a quarter of a century before Paterson's poem. Paterson used the Irish Catholic community as the basis of many similar bush verses, e.g. 'Father Riley's Horse', 'Gilhooley's Estate' and 'Mulligan's Mare'.

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Some explanations:

Bush Christening:

In Australia “the bush” is synonymous with any sparsely inhabited region regardless of vegetation. Paterson romanticised the bush, Lawson depicted its grimness (click on the Bulletin Debate link above), painters such Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin often idealised it. As a perceived source of ideals, endurance, toughness, mateship, tragedy and beauty, the bush and its spirit was a major part in the forging of a national identity.

Back in the 1800’s homesteads in the outback were often lonely and isolated, so much so that it was sometimes years between the priest’s visits as he travelled from home to home on horseback.

outer Barcoo:

The Barcoo is a river in western Queensland. The Barcoo Shire has an area about the size of Tasmania and a population of 460:

http://www.barcoo.qld.gov.au/

In the context of the poem, the locale serves to emphasise the isolation.

About 90 kilometres from Jundah, a town that is the administrative centre of the Barcoo Shire local government area, is a plaque to Magee’s Shanty as the reputed site of the shanty described in the poem.

Michael Magee:

Many of the first white settlers to make their homes in the colonies of New South Wales and Queensland were poor Irish Catholic families, often descended from Irish convicts.

shanty:

A small crudely built dwelling or shelter usually of wood.

An example of what the Magees’ shanty may have looked like.

Wattle and daub home with bark roof and wooden chimney. 1890

Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned; 

Although depicted as being well fed and healthy, the description may also be a reflection of Paterson’s romanticising of the bush and its settlers.

Saint Peter would not recognise him

The Catholic belief that an unbaptised child did not make it into Heaven.

collogue

A confidential discussion.

If the man in the frock made him one of the flock, 

It must mean something very like branding.

A marvellous image, that the young lad who has grown up with sheep and cattle and no knowledge of religion and christening, works out in his own mind that being made one of the flock means being branded.

“I'll be dashed if I'll stop to be christened!" 

It may be that back in 1893 it was politically incorrect to use the word “damned” but substitute “damned” and what another great image, the lad who declares that he’ll be damned if he stops to be christened!

he ran into a log

Some of the trees back then were giant ones. Clearing the land for grazing sheep and cattle was commonplace.

“praste”

Priest in Irish brogue

spalpeen

A rascal

a prog

A poke.

aisy

Easy

The priest, as he fled, flung a flask at his head 

That was labelled 'Maginnis's Whisky'! 

The priest happens to have a bottle of Irish whisky with him. The association of alcohol and the Irish is a longstanding one; the association of the alcohol and a man of cloth, even more so blessing of the child with whisky and naming him Maginnis, is inspired. A rollicking bit of humour.

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The White Album: Back in the USSR

Continuing a look at the songs on the Beatles' White Album.

Lyrics:

"Back In The U.S.S.R."

Oh, flew in from Miami Beach B.O.A.C.

Didn't get to bed last night

On the way the paper bag was on my knee

Man I had a dreadful flight

I'm back in the U.S.S.R.

You don't know how lucky you are boy

Back in the U.S.S.R. (Yeah)

Been away so long I hardly knew the place

Gee it's good to be back home

Leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case

Honey disconnect the phone

I'm back in the U.S.S.R.

You don't know how lucky you are boy

Back in the U.S.

Back in the U.S.

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out

They leave the West behind

And Moscow girls make me sing and shout

That Georgia's always on my mind

Aw come on!

Ho yeah!

Ho yeah!

Ho ho yeah!

Yeah yeah!

Yeah I'm back in the U.S.S.R.

You don't know how lucky you are boys

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out

They leave the West behind

And Moscow girls make me sing and shout

That Georgia's always on my mind

Oh, show me around your snow-peaked mountains way down south

Take me to your daddy's farm

Let me hear your balalaika's ringing out

Come and keep your comrade warm

I'm back in the U.S.S.R.

Hey you don't know how lucky you are boys

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Oh let me tell you, honey

Hey, I'm back!

I'm back in the U.S.S.R.

Yes, I'm free!

Yeah, back in the U.S.S.R.

Ha ha

Video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn3YqoRDTQo&feature=kp

About:

· The Beatles weren’t the only music celebs who went to India in 1967 to study with the Maharishi Yogi. Also on that trip (ha ha), amongst others, were Donovan (Hurdy Gurdy Man) and Mike Love of the Beach Boys. The only instruments allowed at the retreat were acoustic guitars, hence much of the accompaniments to songs written at that venue, Rishikesh, and featured on the White Album have accoustic guitar accompaniment.

· With a lot of free time on their hands, the Beatles hung out with other musos as well as with each other. Mike Love challenged Paul to write a song like Chuck Berry’s 1959 song Back in the USA but to make it Back in the USSR, Paul did so, in the process using a tongue in cheek Beach Boys' sound. Love even helped him get closer to a Beach Boys number, stating in 2013 :

“I was sitting at the breakfast table and McCartney came down with his acoustic guitar and he was playing Back In The USSR, and I told him that what you ought to do is talk about the girls all around Russia, the Ukraine and Georgia. He was plenty creative not to need any lyrical help from me but I gave him the idea for that little section… I think it was light-hearted and humorous of them to do a take on the Beach Boys.”

· Paul McCartney in a 1984 Playboy interview:

“I wrote that as a kind of Beach Boys parody. And "Back in the USA" was a Chuck Berry song, so it kinda took off from there. I just liked the idea of Georgia girls and talking about places like the Ukraine as if they were California, you know? It was also hands across the water, which I'm still conscious of. 'Cause they like us out there, even though the bosses in the Kremlin may not. The kids from there do. And that to me is very important for the future of the race.”

“It’s tongue in cheek. This is a travelling Russkie who has just flown in from Miami Beach; he’s come the other way. He can’t wait to get back to the Georgian mountains: ‘Georgia’s always on my mind’; there’s all sorts of little jokes in it… I remember trying to sing it in my Jerry Lee Lewis voice, to get my mind set on a particular feeling. We added Beach Boys style harmonies.” 

- Paul McCartney

· Back in the USSR was also released as a single in the UK with Twist and Shout on the B side, then released again with Don’t Pass Me By on the back.

· The Beatles were banned in Russia in the 1960’s and Paul was refused permission when he wanted to tour there in 1980. In 2003, at age 60, he finally played the song in a concert in Red Square and, according to him, “The crowd went wild.”

· Paul played drums on this number, Ringo having walked out for a brief period.

Instruments:

Paul McCartney – double-tracked vocal, backing vocal, bass, lead guitar, piano, hndclaps, drums, percussion

John Lennon – backing vocal, lead guitar, six string bass, handclaps, drums, percussion

George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar, bass, handclaps, drums, percussion

George Martin – piano

· According to Ringo:

“I left because I felt two things: I felt I wasn’t playing great, and I also felt that the other three were really happy and I was an outsider. I went to see John, who had been living in my apartment in Montagu Square with Yoko since he moved out of Kenwood. I said, ‘I’m, leaving the group because I’m not playing well and I feel unloved and out of it, and you three are really close.’ And John said, ‘I thought it was you three!’ 

So then I went over to Paul’s and knocked on his door. I said the same thing: ‘I’m leaving the band. I feel you three guys are really close and I’m out of it.’ And Paul said, ‘I thought it was you three!’ 

I didn’t even bother going to George then. I said, ‘I’m going on holiday.’ I took the kids and we went to Sardinia."

· The song caused a backlash against the Beatles by the far Right in the US. Told that some of them were saying that Beatles music was un-American, John commented “That’s very observant of them.”

· John Bohannon:

“There are many peo­ple that claim there is no place for satire in rock music, and although McCartney’s image has been some­what tar­nished by the media in recent years, he still remains one of the mas­ters at tack­ling seri­ous issues in a comedic fash­ion. As the rest of the West­ern­ized world wor­ried about nuclear power sub­sid­ing in the Soviet Union, here’s McCart­ney claim­ing things such as
“Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the West behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
That Georgia’s always on my my-my-my-my-my-my-my-my mind!” 

A Beach Boys-style anthem just went from surf­ing to ski­ing and furry hats are now all the rage. nuclear bombs? No way. Nuclear women? You got it, boys. There had to be some Lennon input here sub­con­sciously, because McCart­ney tuned in one of the best hard rock vocals deliv­ered from below the belt."

http://www.thewhitealbumproject.com/songs/side-one/

· The Georgia reference, apart from being a locale in Russia, is to Hoagy Carmichael’s Georgia on My Mind. Btw, I love Willie Nelson’s version of Geogia on My Mind. Hear it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf5UvKjCDUU

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Funny Friday

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Byter Vince sent me an email during the week with a variation of an old joke, an oldie but a goodie.  It is a butler joke updated to Downton Abbey and suits the characters perfectly.  That also prompts a couple of additional butler items, one of them a repost.

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His Lordship was in the study at Downton Abbey when the butler approached and coughed discreetly.

"May I ask you a question, my Lord?"

"Go ahead, Carson ," said his Lordship.

"I am doing the crossword in The Times and I have found a word upon which I am not too clear."

"What word is that?" asked his Lordship.

"Aplomb, my Lord."

"Now, that's a difficult one to explain. I would say it is self-assurance or complete composure."

"Thank you, my Lord, but I'm still a little confused."

"Let me give you an example to make it clearer. 

Do you remember a few months ago when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived to spend a weekend with us?"

"I remember the occasion very well, my Lord. It gave the staff and myself much pleasure to look after them."

"Well," continued the Earl of Grantham, "do you remember when Wills plucked a rose for Kate in the rose garden?"

"I was present on that occasion, my Lord, ministering to their needs."

"While plucking the rose, a thorn embedded itself deeply into his thumb."

"I witnessed the incident, my Lord, and saw the Duchess herself remove the thorn and bandage his thumb with her own dainty handkerchief."

"That evening the prick on his thumb was so sore. Kate had to cut up his venison from our own estate, even though it was extremely tender."

"Yes, my Lord, I did see everything that transpired that evening."

"The next morning while you were pouring coffee for Her Ladyship, Kate, inquired of Wills with a loud voice, 

'Darling, does your prick still throb?'

And you, Carson, did not spill one drop of coffee! THAT is aplomb."

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A Mafia don calls his home.

The butler picks up the phone and says "Hello."

Mafia don: "Give the phone to my wife."

Butler: "Just a moment."

The Butler comes back and says: "She is in the bathroom."

Mafia Don: "I said I want to speak to her NOW!"

Butler: "I am sorry but she cannot come to the phone right now."

Mafia Don: "If you do not get her on the phone in a minute, I am going to blow your head into smithereens."

Butler (now scared): "You do not understand, there is a man with her in the bathroom."

Mafia Don: "What did you say??"

Butler: "Yes, it's true."

Mafia Don: "Listen carefully, I want you to take the gun from my closet and then shoot them both."

Butler (scared out of his wits): "I can't do that, I can never kill anyone."

Mafia Don: "Do it right now!"

Butler: "No, I can't!"

Mafia Don: "If you don't do it right now, I will kill you and your family. Now get on it with- I want to hear the shots, and don't forget to get rid of the gun."

Butler: "Uh, all right."

The Mafia Don then hears two loud shots over the phone.

Butler (badly shaken): "I did it!"

Mafia Don: "Good work. What did you do with the gun?"

Butler: "I threw the gun in the pool."

Mafia Don: "What pool are you talking about? We don't have a pool? Is this 747-5498?"

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Lord Henry lived alone in his manor with his faithful manservant, James.

His lordship had a regular daily routine which included James assisting his lordship with his bath. Once his lordship was in his bath, it was James’ duty to fetch Lord Henry a brandy.

One day his lordship was feeling drowsy in his bath and began drifting off to sleep, just as James was about to leave to get Lord Henry his daily brandy. As James was turning the handle on the door, his lordship broke wind. James paused, looked at his lordship and left.

Some time later James came back, carrying a silver tray with the glass of brandy, a jar of Bovril, a cheap fob watch and a hot water bottle.

“What’s all this?” asked his lordship.

“The things you asked for, m’lord,” said James.

“You must be daft, my good man,” said his lordship, “I asked for nothing of the sort.”

“I’m sorry, your lordship,” replied James, “I could have sworn that as I was leaving I heard you ask for a four bob fob watch, hot water bottle and bottle of Bovril.”

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The following is a different version op the "aplomb" joke above . . .

James the butler had a tremendous command of English but had trouble with French phraseology nd meanings.  One such was the phrase "faux pas", which his lordship explained as meaning a socially awkward or tactless act.  James asked his lordship for an example.

"Why of course James," His Lordship replied "You remember the other week when the Bishop and Lady Soames came to dinner?  Prior to dinner they were both walking in the garden and the Bishop pricked his finger on one of the rose bushes. Then at dinner whilst you were serving , Lady Soames remarked to the Bishop 'How is your prick?' and he said 'Throbbing.' You said 'Shit!' and dropped the peas. That was a faux pas!!"

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Lady of the house: "I want you to stand at the front door and call the guests' names as they arrive."

Butler: "Very well, madam. I've been wanting to do that for years."

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Downton Abbey Road

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Corn Corner:

I recently quit my job as a butler at a stately home.

I refuse to be ordered around in that manor.

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Trivia Thursday

Not having attended Triv last night because of another commitment, I can’t present you with one of last night’s triv questions. Here is one from a previous week:

Question:  

Name the landmark shown and the city and country in which it is located:

Answer:

A statue known as The Angel of the North, located in Gateshead, England

Some information about the statue:

The sculpture was designed by sculptor Anthony Gormley.

Anthony Gormley and a model of his erection.

According to Gormley

"People are always asking, why an angel? The only response I can give is that no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them. The angel has three functions - firstly a historic one to remind us that below this site coal miners worked in the dark for two hundred years, secondly to grasp hold of the future, expressing our transition from the industrial to the information age, and lastly to be a focus for our hopes and fears - a sculpture is an evolving thing."

"The hilltop site is important and has the feeling of being a megalithic mound. When you think of the mining that was done underneath the site, there is a poetic resonance. Men worked beneath the surface in the dark. Now in the light, there is a celebration of this industry. The face will not have individual features. The effect of the piece is in the alertness, the awareness of space and the gesture of the wings - they are not flat, they're about 3.5 degrees forward and give a sense of embrace. The most important thing is that this is a collaborative venture. We are evolving a collective work from the firms of the North East and the best engineers in the world." 

Statue facts from Gateshead Council’s website:

· It is believed to be the largest angel sculpture in the world

· It is one of the most viewed pieces of art in the world - seen by more than one person every second, 90,000 every day or 33 million every year

· It is one of the most famous artworks in the region - almost two thirds of people in the North East had already heard of the Angel of the North before it was built

· Its 54 metre (175 foot) wingspan is bigger than a Boeing 757 or 767 jet and almost the same as a Jumbo jet

· It is 20 metres (65 feet) high - the height of a five storey building or four double decker buses

· It weighs 200 tonnes - the body 100 tonnes and the wings 50 tonnes each

· There is enough steel in it to make 16 double decker buses or four Chieftain tanks

· It will last for more than 100 years

· It will withstand winds of more than 100 miles per hour

· Below the sculpture, massive concrete piles 20 metres deep will anchor it to the solid rock beneath

· It is made of weather resistant Cor-ten steel, containing a small amount of copper, which forms a patina on the surface that mellows with age

· Huge sections of the Angel - up to six metres wide and 25 metres long - were transported to the site by lorry with a police escort

· The total cost of The Angel of the North was £800,000

· There is unique species of daffodil named the Angel of the North due to its orange, rusty hue and lofty height. The Angel of the North daffodil has been verified and registered with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

Additional facts not on the Council website:

· Prior to its construction in 1998 there had been a vocal campaign against it by councillors and residents. A previous proposed Gormley statute 30 metres in height and made of red brick had been stopped.

· Today, according to a Durham University study, 72% of local residents say the Angel of the North makes them feel good whenever they see it, and it makes 64% proud of Gateshead.

Some pics:

By the way:

· Street artist and now mainstream artist Banksy has done his own version of Angel of the North. His statue, of the same name, was part of a 2009 exhibition.

· Damien Hirst’s 20m (66ft) high statue of a naked, pregnant woman wielding a sword, titled Verity, takes pride of place on Ilfracombe seafront, Devon. It has been loaned to the town for 20 years and has been dubbed The Angel of the West.

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Umbrella art

Part of the 2013 art festival Agitagueda held in the shopping streets of Agueda in Portugal includes an art installation of coloured floating umbrellas.

Palette knife oil painting by Leonid Afremov 

Red Umbrella by Helen Cottle

Silver Rain by Yelena Sidorova

Marc Allante

Digital artwork

WWF Umbrella Tree

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Carney, Grylls, Desai and Whitlam

For the last couple of days for people in Sydney it has been impossible to avoid the current hoo haa in Sydney about Rugby League bad boy Todd Carney (above) having been sacked by the Cronulla Sharks. Carney, sacked by 2 previous clubs, was pictured on social media “bubbling”, apparently an internet fad where one urinates into one’s own mouth. Ewwww!!!

Drinking one’s own urine is not as freaky as one might imagine, and not just as a Bear Grylls survival tool. 

Bear Grylls

The consumption of urine is known as urophagia and its use extends to health, healing and cosmetic purposes, referred to as urine therapy.

Even the Bible has a verse about it:

"Drink waters from thy own cistern, flowing water from thy own well."

- Proverbs 5:15

The term “amaroli” refers to the ancient yoga practice of drinking one’s own morning urine to promote meditation. Ancient Hindu and yoga texts that mention auto-urine drinking require it be done before sunrise and that only the mid-stream sample be used.

According to author Paul Beck at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/urine-the-bodys-own-health-drink-467303.html

Contrary to popular perception, urine is not a by-product of the body's waste disposal system but of blood filtration. Nutrient-filled blood passes through the liver, where toxins are removed and excreted as solid waste. The purified blood then goes through another filtering process via the kidneys, where components for which the body has no immediate use are collected in a sterile, watery solution. For that reason, it is highly sterile, consisting of 95 per cent water and five per cent nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, proteins, antibodies and other beneficial ingredients. 

Advocates of auto-urine therapy believe that this combination can help cure everything from the common cold to cancer, boosting energy levels and sexual performance along the way. While the practice has always been popular in China, India and South-east Asia, a small but growing band of Western fans are also downing a daily dose.

One long time practitioner of urine therapy was the Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desai, who famously told Dan Rather of 60 Minutes that urine therapy was the perfect medical solution for the millions of Indians who could not afford medical treatment. Desai drank a glass of his own urine every morning for breakfast and lived to the age of 99 (1896-1995) so perhaps he had it right after all.

Morarji Desai

Which is all by way of introduction to a comment from Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam at a CHOGM regional meeting.

Gough Whitlam

CHOGM stands for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President.

At a CHOGM reception for Prime Minister Desai, who was Indian PM from 1977 to 1979, an Australian Jewish politician said that he didn’t want to stay too long. Whitlam replied “Oh, yes, that'd be right. A good temperate Jew like you would want to get away before all these Indians get on the piss.”

According to Barry Cohen in Life With Gough:

“Later he was to say that there were many questions he had wanted to ask Desai, such as: ‘How did he keep it? In a refrigerator? At room temperature? At blood heat? How did he serve it? With lemon? On the rocks? With a touch of bitters?’ Tempted as he was, however, he managed to contain his natural ‘curiosity’."

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