Thoughts on the Ashes

If you are in any way not British or Commonwealthish, you may have come to this post thinking this was going to be a deep philosophical reflection on the transient nature of thoughts or anything equally high-brow.

If you are British or Commonwealthish, you already know, right?

I'm totally talking about cricket. 

Again.

So, we've been going a little Ashes-crazy over here (talk about emotional roller-coasters! - Or don't, this is cricket after all). 

For non-cricket people around here, the Ashes are the name given to any Test (i.e: 5-day long) series between England and Australia. They have 5 Test matches to play in this series, and so far, England won one, lost the following one, and than won again. Two more 5-day matches to go!

Believe me, it's very exciting.

I promise.

The name "the Ashes", according to wikipedia, comes from a journalist writing a fake obituary declaring that English cricket died and that its ashes shall be buried in Australia, the first time Australia won on English soil. (As an aside, if you type "ashes cricket" in England, Google simply takes you to the scores, whereas in France, it takes you to burnt bugs, or the wikipedia page).

Yup, yup, they totally do the arcane traditions on purpose.

Apparently it contains the ashes of a cricket bail, for authenticity (via)

It is actually the smallest, most ridiculous trophy ever (it's only six inches tall). Go here if you want to see it in scale.

So anyway, as long as the Ashes are going on, this is what Sunday mornings look like at our house:

And we've been teaching a few basics to Patapon.

No, no, no, Jude, that's not the sign for four, that's the sign for six!

(No, no one seems to have told cricket fans that there already was a universally accepted sign for 4, or that it was a lot more self-explanatory than waving horizontally.)

What he's been really good at, though, is declaring people out.

That's it. Bus Driver, you're out!

Phone-Guy, you're out!

And the Lady Friend, out!

You too, lamp-post, you're out!

Mmh, I wonder... LBW?

Just one more thing, if you are planning on becoming an internationally acclaimed cricketer, try not to have a "oo" in your name. It sounds like people are booing you when they shout your name, Patapon finds it upsetting (looking at you Joe Root).