Who is Mike Leyland?

Shortly after we arrived here in Addis we managed to procure a reasonable map of the city. This is no mean feat, as such things are extremely difficult to come by.

Both my husband and I are map people. If I ever had to retrain to start a new career, I’d love to be a cartographer. When I worked for a publisher before starting my own business, I worked on a couple of map books and absolutely loved it.

Anyway, on this map there are street names. Street names are not actually used by anyone in Addis (other than perhaps tourists who go by what’s in their guide book) because no-one knows the street names, not even taxi drivers.

One of the street names on the map is Mike Leyland Street. Now if you’re an Australian like me, you will remember Mike and Mal Leyland from from their TV shows in the 1970s and 1980s about travelling around Australia. In fact, my husband and I can sing all three of the theme songs of the different permutations of their show: “…ask the Leylands, ask the Leylands, ask the Leyland Brothers!”, “Leyland brothers in the great outdoors, come along and join em, come along and join em…”, and “Leyland Brothers World (chk a chk a chk) Leyland Brothers World (chk a chk a chk) Leyland Brothers Woooorld!”

Sadly, the Mike Leyland that we Aussies all know and love died last year of Parkinson’s disease.

But who is Mike Leyland that he should have a street named after him here in Addis?

And while we’re at it with life’s little mysteries, why is there a street in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park on the outskirts of Sydney named “Liberator General San Martin Drive”? Why is it named after the liberator of Peru?