Chivalry of the Chicken.

If you have come here for humerous anecdotes or pictures of pranks played on a rubber chicken, please re visit in a week from today. This post is a serious one, not really aimed at anyone, just a feeble attempt to put into writing the result of a couple of long days thinking.

At least three people have spoken to me and used the word 'chivalry' lately. Although last week I would have ventured to suggest that I knew what the word implied, now I am not entirely sure. Knighthood is awarded these days not for service in defence of Monarch and Country, but for personal achievements that are interpreted as 'service to the empire' or something similar. Bill Gates was awarded a KBE for his services to enterprise, yet I cannot see him riding forward to defend Her Majesty if Britain is ever invaded. The changing nature of warfare and the fighting of battles has effectively resulted in skills such as sword fighting becoming relegated to the arena of public entertainment - whereas once a missing limb was testimony to your loss in a duel, nowadays such decision is made by the electronic device.

So chivalry has, in a very real sense, lost meaning almost completely. This does not mean to say that the values we once associated with being chivalrous should be forgotten. It is also a flawed argument to suggest that because women seek equality that chivalrous acts such as holding open a door or offering your seat are no longer welcomed. Of course, such actions can no longer be EXPECTED; this does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that chivalrous acts are no longer APPRECIATED.

And if you come accross a French chicken in your travels, von Jiblets would be very interested to hear from you...

Stay Tuned.