if my uncle had...

If our cat was a cow, we could milk her behind the stove.

It's the translation of a Flemish saying, and I wondered if there's an English equivalent (I could really use in a lesson I need to give next week) The meaning is something in the style of "After things happened, you could wish that they went differently, but that's all vain whining".

I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer.
Already great thanks

There are several here:
www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 5 messages 1558.html

www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 49 messages 1120.html

And "If your aunt had whiskers [or other masculine anatomical characteristics], she'd be your uncle". (VSD)

"Don't cry over spilled (or spilt) milk" is a very old English saying that comes to mind immediately as an equivalent of "After things happened...," although it lacks the "If..." structure of your Flemish saying. ~rb

I heard it as "if my uncle had t i t s, he'd be my aunt" - as a riposte to pointless theorising.

L