Category: General

On Hogmanay (ok New Year’s Eve for the Sassenachs) Channel 5 did a programme on the Top 50 British Comedy characters.  I was pleased to see some old favourites at the top – Basil Fawlty, Blackadder, Delboy, Eddie and Patsy – but horrified when I saw some of the so-called comedy I had never watched.  Many of them, TR, would definitely come into your “overrated” category. There seemed to be too many whose idea of comedy consisted of shouting obscenities as loudly as possible.  Interspersed with clips from programmes, we had some pretentious thespians explaining why this was funny.  The more modern, “edgy” comics seem to have no idea of timing.  They should watch Hancock or Captain Mainwaring in “Dad’s Army”. I gather that some current comedians have now been accused of making obscene jokes about the Royal family and other well-known people on live TV.  The Royle Family, about a bunch of unemployed and probably unemployable Scousers living on my taxes, seemed to consist of the word “arse” used over and over again.  They should follow the example of Roy Barraclough and the late Les Dawson in their double act as Cissy and Ada, where any words considered unsuitable were simply mouthed.  It’s much funnier.  The good news is that a new series of “Yes Minister” is being planned.  But what I’d find really entertaining is to see people like Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr and others of their ilk being put in the stocks and pelted with rotten vegetables.  I’d enjoy doing the pelting too. We could probably start a list of those eligible, beginning with Chris Patten, the heads of ITV, Channel 4, etc.

A very Happy New Year, whether you have only just entered 2013, or it is nearly January 2nd!

I see in today’s Telegraph they are thinking of prosecuting the 2 DJ’s who made the hoax call to the hospital Kate was staying in. Come on it was a prank, they phoned up with Australian accents and got through to the ward, so far no problem.

Yes a nurse topped herself, but we don’t know why, and even if she did so because of the telephone call then she must have been mentally unstable.

If they prosecute them then that opens the door to anyone being prosecuted for a harmelss joke or prank, no more candida camera type shows, commedians no longer allowed to take the rise out of someone, no spitting image or Beadles about (okay for this I would be thankful, I hated that bloke), no more Basil saying “He is from Barcelona” or Baldrick’s cunning plan..

We have already forgotten how to laugh, now it will be forbidden to laugh.

For goodness sake get over it, it was a joke and no harm was meant.

So if the world is going to end tomorrow, what should I wear?  “Something apocalyptic”  says husband.  But I’ve got my outfit for the wedding on Sunday and if  Sunday isn’t going to happen, can I wear my new dress tomorrow? At the risk of spilling something on it, of course, and then what, when Saturday dawns as usual? Can’t just shove it in the machine.

Frankly all this “end of the world” stuff is annoying and I think the Mayans got it wrong.  As husband points out, they didn’t make it past the 9th century themselves.  And look at that date!  It’s not right.  21/12/2112 would be more suitable.  And new granddaughter greeted us with her first, or possibly last, smile today.

If they did get it right, however, I would like to say farewell to all cherished colleagues here.  If they got it wrong, then I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Guid New Year to yin and a’.