Steve Irwin, famously known as the Crocodile Hunter, was filming a documentary on the Great barrier reef when he died yesterday as a stingray's barb pierced his heart. Today the emotion is huge: the Sydney Morning Herald titles “Death of an icon” and the Daily Telegraph runs a special edition about it. The owners of my local fish & chips shop (Pinky’s Take Away) also decided to express their sympathy on their notice board: in addition to the usual messages Size does matter (a reference to the large portions they serve) and Under New Management, they added “Crickey, wot a sad loss” (Crikey was Steve Irwin’s favourite expression). The whole thing seems ooh so Australian to me: the wonderful hero himself, the very casual spelling, the genuine sincerity, but also the lack of thought (or care?) leading to quite an odd combination of messages on the board… Despite my sadness, I couldn’t help but smile!
PS - Click on the photo to enlarge it and you'll see that the smaller sign, the Maxibon ad, says 'In the wild, lickers never survive". Not sure what to make of that one... Steve wasn't licking that stingray, was he?
11 comments:
What is a "stingray's barb "?
Ho maï god, a blog in english ... and I haven't my Harrap's big dimension. Damned !
I only know "green green ... yellow" !
Bon, moi je dis comme Eric. C'est certainement une bonne question.
Bravo pour le blog Nathalie. Tes images sont le reflet de ton regard, et merci de le partager. J'ai ainsi oublié un instant la distance qui nous sépare.
Perhaps you're supposed to bite the ice cream... Who knows, we need an Aussie/English translator.
Poor Steve. The barb is like the sting in the tail. A large needle -like stinger enrtered his heart. He had no chance. His daughter seems so bright and I'm sure has all the capabilities of carrying on where her father left off!
Steve's death is a tragedy for the world. He brought awareness of wildlife issues and preservation to so many people.
Welcome to this community!!
I am sorry for the death of Steve. He was an absolute succes in my country too.
Greetings from Perú
Thanks for posting this sign, this view into the Australian response to Irwin's death.
Everyone over here in America is shocked and sadened by the loss of the Crocodile Hunter.
I'm one Australian who can't get excited about Steve Irwin. A comic showman, a circus performer, but one of the world's great environmentalists . PLEASE!
Until about 3 years ago noon ein Australia had really heard of him. His TV show wasn't shown here. It makes me annoyed that because mainly Americans labelled him a "hero" that seems to give validity to the expression.
Jabbinbg, provoking and generally getting in the way of wild animals is not terribly heroic to me.
Terribly sad for his family of course, as is any death of one so young, but sheeesh....some perspective please. A meedja circus was his life and now as he commodified himself inlife, the media continues in his too-soon death.
Sally, my friend Norman would be delighted with your strong reaction, see his post on that topic in 'an ordinary day in the city'. I personally can't help but like people with passion, but your comment about him 'generally getting in the way of the wildlife' rings true.
Norman doesn't, Nathalie. He thinks she let him off too lightly. Michael Jackson was condemned for holding his baby out the window. Irwin is somehow forgiven for a disgraceful publicity stunt with his baby in a crocodile pen. And it wsn't a Johnson River crocodile either. I was belted as a kid for putting my foot on one of them, but it was small, it was asleep, and I was pre-school. Irwin was ---- ?
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