“Life imitates art…” said 19th Century, Irish poet, and playwright Oscar Wilde. How right he was… and he never even played Donkey Kong Country.
The hit nineties Super Nintendo platform game featuring the gorilla, Donkey Kong, and his nephew, Diddy Kong.as they set out to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodile King K. Rool and his army, the Kremlings.
Carry on musing
If proof of Wilde’s insightful musing on the imitative nature of life were needed, what better example could be posited than a photograph taken by a Suffolk native whilst on safari in the Congo. Phillippa Alhambra-Smythe of Palgrave, Suffolk has safari’d in numerous locations across Africa regularly since the early 1960’s. Think of Virginia McKenna playing Joy Adamson in Born Free, or Betty Marsden playing Harriet Potter in Carry on Camping… That’s Phillippa.
Harriet, I mean, Joy, I mean Phillippa told this reporter “Well y’know. We’d had a big brekky of grub, ugali, and antelope back at the camp, and then headed off on the jolly old drive. It was mid-afternoon when we came upon a Kopje on the savannah. I was squiffing a lully G&T when all of a Burkins, I looked up and spotted a midden (W.C. ‘pile of Rhino shit’) dead ahead. ‘Midden!’ I yelped, and Bakangwa, bless his soul, brought the jeep to a gentle stop. You know one of the big five is close when you spot a midden. Bakangwa popped off and had a sniff and confirmed what I’d already guessed… Rhinos.”
Happiness is a warm gun
Joy (or whoever) confessed that she is just as happy shooting big game with a gun as she is with a camera, however on this occasion, because she had eaten, she opted for the Polaroid.
“As I was standing there, teetering on the roof of the Jeep, a hush fell upon our position. Happens every time. You know what’s coming. The anticipation of a big kill. It’s thrilling! Ha ha! ha! Snort. So there I was, poised, Instamatic at the ready, then… fuck my old boots… a big bastard blackie (Black Rhino) comes galloping out of the Bushveld with… and I had never seen this before… an enormous silverback straddling him! Well, bless my soul! I nearly pee’d with excitement.”
Death follows life follows art
Virginia went on the explain how she captured the image which fans of Donkey Kong Country will recognize as identical to Kong riding Black Rhincerous, Rambi, as they charge around, smashing into their enemies and finding hidden entrances. We asked Harriet what happened next…
“I shot them. Kong twice in the chest and once straight through the head, and Rambi in both of the bollocks. Hakuna Matata!”
