Australian Gravy Day

It’s partly ironic. A Paul Kelly song from 1996, “How To Make Gravy” was not ironic, telling the tale of a man in jail writing sentimentally to his family on December 21st. He passes on his love, with instructions for the gravy.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Who’s gonna make the gravy now? I bet it won’t taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine
And don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang.”[/perfectpullquote]

The song was popular, nominated as song of the year by the Australian Record Industry Association in 1997, and Kelly was voted best male artist. And because December 21st is not otherwise commemorated, it was partly in jest named “gravy day” in Australia, and provides the occasion for innumerable puns and internet jokes.

As so often, what starts as Australian humour becomes the basis for a good idea. We should take all of the boring dates on which nothing of note has happened, and designate them to honour particular foodstuffs, which we can then sample and talk about. Nothing much seems to be celebrated on June 27th, so I propose it should be designated as blue cheese day.

It will certainly liven up the internet when we allocate a day as “Marmite Day,” or call another one “Brussels Sprouts Day.” I do not imagine nominations will be in short supply.