Difference between revisions of "Fanny Moo"

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*[http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g136/regnans/East%20Gippsland/SouthernEscarpment.jpg Southern Escarpment]
 
*[http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g136/regnans/East%20Gippsland/SouthernEscarpment.jpg Southern Escarpment]
  
It is in the northwestern part of the great central plateau. The looming bulk of [[Mount Ellery]] can be seen on the southern horizon. Unlike the southern escarpment with its spectacular drops and waterfalls, the northern plateau descends gently to the northern plains. Fanny Moo is situated near the headwaters of the mighty Delegate River that flows north, through the plains and across the northern border. Here, though, the Delegate is a clear, sparkling stream. There is a ridge a few kilometres to the south. On the other side the streams feed into the Brodribb River which descend through gorges to the south. Fannies like to think that the ridge is the heart of [[Errinundera]]. But then, every village has a similar fantasy.
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It is in the northwestern part of the great central plateau. The looming bulk of [[Mt Ellery]] can be seen on the southern horizon. Unlike the southern escarpment with its spectacular drops and waterfalls, the northern plateau descends gently to the northern plains. Fanny Moo is situated near the headwaters of the mighty Delegate River that flows north, through the plains and across the northern border. Here, though, the Delegate is a clear, sparkling stream. There is a ridge a few kilometres to the south. On the other side the streams feed into the Brodribb River which descend through gorges to the south. Fannies like to think that the ridge is the heart of [[Errinundera]]. But then, every village has a similar fantasy.
  
 
==Of Sacred Trees and Capital Letter Technology==
 
==Of Sacred Trees and Capital Letter Technology==

Revision as of 02:32, 25 June 2006

Fanny Moo
Nation: Errinundera
Function: Archetype
Population: Piss-takers
Leader: Mayor and Magistrate

Fanny Moo is an archetypical tree town of the Errinundera Plateau so I will dedicate some time and space to its description. Much of what follows can readily be extrapolated to other tree towns of the nation.

Location

Firstly, where is Fanny Moo?

It is in the northwestern part of the great central plateau. The looming bulk of Mt Ellery can be seen on the southern horizon. Unlike the southern escarpment with its spectacular drops and waterfalls, the northern plateau descends gently to the northern plains. Fanny Moo is situated near the headwaters of the mighty Delegate River that flows north, through the plains and across the northern border. Here, though, the Delegate is a clear, sparkling stream. There is a ridge a few kilometres to the south. On the other side the streams feed into the Brodribb River which descend through gorges to the south. Fannies like to think that the ridge is the heart of Errinundera. But then, every village has a similar fantasy.

Of Sacred Trees and Capital Letter Technology

The centre of life for a plateau villages or towns is the sacred tree. In Fanny Moo it is a gigantic Shining Gum named CUNNUSVACCAE. It may have been noted by readers that the names of trees have embraced capital letter technology whereas the names of people have not. This ties in with Errinundrian philosophy concerning the insignificance of the individual compared with the forest and the earth. People may also wonder about the extreme profanity of the Latin name. (I dare not translate it here, although the village name is a rough translation.) Well I guess it might be said that whilst Errinundrians have beliefs, they don’t take them too seriously. Trees ARE important but it doesn’t mean you can’t take the piss out of them. Births, deaths, weddings, anything really, are celebrated under the massive arching branches of the sacred tree.

Concerning Transportation

Errinundera has extensive rail and monorail networks. Fanny Moo is on the main line that connects the three large cities McKillops Bridge, Bonang and First Creek Falls so is well served. See News Media archive RARE ORCHID THROWS RAIL TRAVELLERS FOR A LOOP.

Cars have been banned throughout the nation. There are walking tracks between most villages and towns but these are often impassably muddy. See News Media archive CAR SMUGGLED INTO TREE.

Of Sports and Other Competitions

Mushrooming

At the height of the mushroom season the annual Golden Top Award is awarded to the finder or grower of the largest hallucinogenic mushroom. Kudos is the principle motivator for this award as the only prize is a supply of headache tablets. See News Media archive HEADACHE AHEAD FOR CHAMP.

Bloodsucking

Famous throughout the nation is the annual bloodsucking contest. Contestants breed their own leeches and on the big day attach the creatures to their bodies. After the allotted time the possessor of the biggest leech is proclaimed the champion.

Football

When filthyl brought football to the nation just twelve years ago, the fiercely proud Fannies answered the call. They saw it as their chance to put themselves on the map. It was a dream taken up by many villages so that, in its first few years, the EFA was viewed as a rustic organisation made up of many disputing, parochial clubs. Two factors worked against this. Firstly, the two most important cities of the nation, the capital First Creek Falls and the financial and intellectual hub McKillops Bridge, alone of all the great cities, took up the game in its formative years with enthusiasm. The early success of First Creek Falls, in particular, encouraged the other great cities to take part, squeezing out the resource poor villages. Secondly, the immediate and unexpected success of the longfoots in WC5 electrified the nation, making football a universal passion.

Some village teams have prospered. Ellery Camp has thrived by the canny decision to create the National Football Academy and to forge football links with other nations such as Tanah Burung. Of course the sexy antarcticad and oreadest didn’t harm the team’s aura. To this day, if you don’t have a local team in the competition then you probably barrack for Ellery Camp. Some village teams, like Fanny Moo prospered because they had the good fortune to be home to a star player. For the Fannies it was sandrab, the feisty defender who won the inaugural leighm medal for best longfoot player in WC5. But sandrab has retired and her star is in decline today. And so is her village.

Decline

Like many plateau villages, Fanny Moo is in slow but inexorable decline. Not much of a living can be scraped out of the forest. The main employer is the local shoe factory that, for a time provided microfibre footwear to the world. The factory has fallen on hard times although new owners and new managers are beginning to revive its fortunes. Young people know they are abandoning paradise but the big cities are calling, calling, calling.