For we humans those age milestones of 21, 30, 40, 50, 60, etc, all the way up to 100 are all special occasions... and one of the most endearing little people we know, our outdoor water bowl's resident goldfish, Paul, has clocked up his own biggie: he's five years old. Happy Birthday Paul! As you can see in the photo below, he pigged out on extra goldfish flakes that day.
Regular readers of this blog will probably know the story behind
Paul's name. We started out with four goldfish – John, Paul,
George and Ringo – and five years later Paul is our survivor. He's
been through 45°C summer scorchers, survived every attempt
by the local pussy cats to turn him into a midnight snack,
and he just comes up looking for food each and every morning.
Having a name drawn from music legend, it probably comes
as no surprise to discover that Paul can sing. Here he is
belting out "Back in the USSR" on one of his rowdy days.
And Paul has even been immortalised in a painting by
Pam (this was part of her '31 Days' exhibition this year,
at Gallery Red in Leichhardt). It's beautiful, Pammy. © Pamela Horsnell 2014
And to our blog readers, if you're wondering how goldfish go as backyard pond, or potted pond, people, they're as tough as can be, and they're always very pretty to look at, with their snazzy gold colourings flashing under the water. And if you're really lucky you might get one who sings, but there's no promises on that one ...