Happy Birthday Fiji!

 Happy 40th Birthday, My Beautiful Homeland, Fiji!
























 Of course, yes, we all know that Fiji actually rose out of the sea 80,000 years ago and that the Fijians arrived there some time between 4000 and 5000 years ago - although they say the Leka people - the mythical midget psychopaths with the orange eyes and filed teeth who haven't been seen in a thousand years - except for when they tried to tear out Sir Frank Packer's throat back in the 1920s - hey, Fijians warned him to not look for gold on their land - were already living there when they turned up, as were those people near Nadi who still have a village where they speak an entirely different language.

So, yes, we know Fiji isn't really 40, except for the fact that our old king Cakobau gave Fiji to Queen Victoria to protect it from the Americans who wanted it so they could plant cotton, and had already begun the slaughter of entire villages to clear the land, back in 1874, but it was given back by Queen Elizabeth in 1970 ... and it's been OURS ever since.

Of course, let's always acknowledge we aren't perfect ...



... but we're getting there.