a lovely bunch. . .

This post is an example of how, so very randomly, one thing can lead to another.

The story starts at Boyd's Campground where I spent an afternoon shooting background for another project.
Back in the studio I found, among the mix of pix, this wonderfully grouped collection of coconuts.

Well, as good a picture as it may be, it didn't fit with what I was working on, so I put it aside. Then, a few middle of the nights later (it always happens in the middle of the night)
I got to wondering, "what do you call a group of coconuts?"

I mean like you've got a gaggle of geese or a pride of lions,
a herd of buffalo and/or a clusterf#@k of humans!
"what do you call a group of coconuts?"
So I looked it up and it turns out coconuts come in a bunch.
A bunch of coconuts.
Satisfied that I'd found my answer, I shut the lights and went back to bed.

But then the wheels started turning. . .
. . .A bodacious bunch of coconuts? A beauteous bunch
of coconuts?

And all at once it came to me!
A song my Aunt Lee used to sing when I was very, very - 3, 4, 5 years young. "I've got a 'lovely' bunch of coconuts".
It seemed to be one of her favorites.

(So by now, maybe you know where I'm goin' with this. . .)

"I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" is a novelty song composed in 1944 by an English songwriter, Fred Heatherton.
It was made famous by Merv Griffin singing with the Freddie Martin Orchestra, in 1950, getting to the Billboard Top 10 and selling over three million copies.

Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. (July 6, 1925 - August 12, 2007) was an American television host, singer, and media mogul. At age 19 he began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway.
During the 1960s, Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show, and created the game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. (He was considered an entertainment business magnate).

So there you have it.
From Boyd's Campground in 2011 to England in 1944 to Merv Griffin in 1950 to my Aunt Lee, circa 1954. . .
It just goes to show, when a notion takes you by the nose, follow it. It may be a sleepless but satisfying trip.

Here's a link to Merv singing the song itself:
"I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts"