In which the pond celebrates the reptiles celebrating assorted RCs ...

The pond has always been a slow learner ...

During the golden years there were royal commissions called to show just how wretched that pink batts man and that ditched witch were ...

They were splendidly successful.

Oh sure there have been doubters, cynics and wastrels and ne'er do wells, who scoff and wonder ...

As far as I know, no union official has yet been convicted of a corruption offence as a result of the Commission’s work, while at least four prosecutions have failed or been dropped. My guess is that the total number of convictions will end up below 10, and the total amount of money involved not much more than a million dollars. That’s a pretty appalling return for $100 million of public funds that could have been used to protect the community against armed robbers and burglars, not to mention white collar criminals. (here).

Oh sure there were naysayers and soothsayers who mocked ...

(here).

But in the end steps were taken against the lioness, the brave decent woman ...

Sure it wasn't what was expected, nor what was hoped. Reptiles dared to dream of the ditched witch being exposed, and Bill being nailed.

The reptiles spent much time and energy hailing the results and doing splendid interactives ...

You'll have to google to discover all the splendid achievements ... just as you'll have to peck away to discover this great coverage ...

Oh sure there was talk of the lawyers having a field day and making out like bandits and the Commissioner himself walking away with a cool million ... but these were a small price to pay, surely, for all the RC's remarkable achievements ...

And yet, suddenly, strangely, the reptiles seem to have gone cool on the notion ...

Naturally, with prattling Polonius off getting agitated about the Maoists, the pond felt the need to understand the changeable reptile mind at work ...

Oh dear, the pond could hear the wailing and the gnashing of teeth at the unfairness of it all ...

So it's on with the apologia ...

Ah yes, that was the line that the pond was looking for, the one that permitted jaffas to be rolled down the aisle, or scoffed with glee ...

An ill-defined royal commission called out of political expediency ...

That line alone justifies a week at the reptile cage, occasionally poking at the sullen, slow-moving creatures to get them to do or say something amusing ...

Followed by that hand-wringing about the cost likely to soar as high as fifty million! A banquet for lawyers! And so on and so forth ...

Where were they back in the day? Why safely in the herpetarium, sunning themselves on their hot rock ...

Who knows, some day in the future another RC might appeal to the reptiles ... not just now, and certainly not into the brave decent people, the heroes and heroines in banking ...

Well the pond has to get its Kudelka by twitter, but let's all hope they have one of those gizmos installed in every reptile newsroom around the land ...

Oh look, another graphic ...

Oh look, a tweet from an agrarian socialist ...

Good old gorgeous GC, he really does know how to attract a diverse crowd ...

Oh it's going to be a very good run up to Xmas for reptile and polly watchers ... some might think they've slain the Cross of Gold, but it will never die ...