Humour

There were three main humour influences in my life - in time order:

The Goon Show

The Strange World of Gurney Slade

I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again

The Goon Show was a radio program that ran from 1951 to 1960. I first cottoned on to this programme when at Grammar School so around 1956-57. There seas a big problem, however. Dad couldn’t stand the program so I had to listen elsewhere. Elsewhere, more often or not, turned out to be in the front room. Now the problem with that was that my brother would be in there with his girl friend. Never mind, I am sure that she (whichever one it was) didn’t mind me sitting in there like a lemon for 30 minutes once a week. 

We had a competition at school for an original play - set by Mr. Dobson, our English teacher.  The winning entry was written by one of my friends; unfortunately, I can’t remember which one. However, the script that he wrote was for a Goon Show. I was casted as Neddie Seagoon - the character played by Harry Seacombe on the radio. It seems that I could do his voice. The play was about a “phantom rice pudding thrower”. The winner got to cast and rehearse the play and to make a recording on the school tape recorder for playing to the whole year. We did the recording in the Woodwork room. I don’t remember much about it except for one of my lines - “Anyone at home - anyone at Ho-ome”, which I can remember doing quite well as Seagoon. 

The problem we had was making the sound effect of the rice pudding being thrown and hitting. This was solver using two props. One was a wet dish cloth, which was thrown onto the floor at high speed. The splat it made recorded very well. The real problem was to create the sound of the rice pudding flying through the air. I am not sure who suggested it but we “borrowed” an item from the Sick Room.Now the sick room had a secondary purpose. It was in this room that all of the canings took place. In those days, a very effective means of maintaining the bulk of us school kids into some kind of rational behaviour was to thrash the occasional pupil with 6 whacks of the cane!  The canes were bamboo, as I remember, which a formed curved hand hold like a walking stick. We cadged one of these and combining a swift downward thrust of the cane through the air, followed by hurling the wet dish cloth onto the floor produced a very effective representation of a rice pudding flying through the air and landing!

Next up came the television program “The Strange World of Gurney Slade”. This was, as the title suggested, very strange. It starred Anthony Newley before he became a famous singer and songwriter. There is a nice description of the program on Wikipedia . I was in my last year at school at this time and was learning how to play the flute, courtesy of the Territorial Army unit at Clapham Junction. To be honest, I can't remember too much about the contents of the program after 50 years but I do remember loving it. I do remember that we had a Scout Gang Show coming up around this time. I was helping out running the Cub Pack at the time and the Akela - Judith - suggested that with her on the guitar and me on the flute, we could attempt the theme tune. I have to say that I eventually bottled out! Here is the theme tune, as used in the very first episode- on YouTube

Lastly, well, what can I say - I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again pretty much changed our lives (Roger and me that is). Yet again, the inevitable Wikipedia entry  gives the full background. I can’t remember a better time to be listening to the radio. The whole thing was son anarchical and “off the wall” that it made us rethink our humour for the rest of our lives. There are many episodes available on the web so I will leave it to you to track them down. To give you just one example of the “zany” humour that was a regular part of the show, check out the following bit of dialogue involving Masher Wilkins. 

MW: “I have been trailing my way through this impenetrable ferret!

Other: Ferret - don’t you mean Forest?

MW: No I mean Stoat!

Other: Stoat?

MW: Yes, it is stoat ally impenetrable.

The other thing that sticks in my mind is the plays - they used to appear as a serial through series. The best one has to be “The Curse Of The Flying Wombat”. Roger and I managed to get tickets to a recording during this time so had the great privilege of seeing one episode live! As an example of the form, this is the cast list for “Flying Wombat”

The Curse of the Flying Wombat

Written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie

'King Lear' – John Cleese

Tim Brown-Windsor – Tim Brooke-Taylor

Mr. Hatch – David Hatch

Lady Fiona Rabbit-Vacuum (Jim-Lad) – Jo Kendall

Captain Cleese – John Cleese

'Lookout' – Bill Oddie

Casey O'Sullivan – Bill Oddie

Masher Wilkins – John Cleese

Maisie Robinson (the International Temptress) – Jo Kendall

Grimbling (Butler to Tim's Aunt) – Bill Oddie

Lady Constance de Coverlet – Tim Brooke-Taylor

"Hurricane" Flossie (Lady Constance's identical twin sister) – Tim Brooke-Taylor

Slave-girl trader – Bill Oddie

Colonel Clutch-Featheringhaugh – David Hatch

Nosebone (the Great White Hunter) – Bill Oddie

Wong (the Supply-keeper) – Tim Brooke-Taylor

Wong Tu (his brother) – John Cleese

'Armand' – Bill Oddie

Here are a couple of snippets of the best humour ever produced (well maybe not but it had us rolling around laughing).

A: Meet our new supply keeper - his name is Wong.

B: But he is Chinese!

Wong: “Supplies, Supplies” - politically incorrect nowadays but not then!

King Lear - Look up in the sky - the sun is like a huge red ball.

Grimbling: No sir, that’s my balloon.

A: Meet our White Hunter.

B: But he is black!

Nosebone: Man I have hunted more whites than you have had hot missionaries.

(as before - politically incorrect nowadays but not then!)

Lady Constance: Help me on deck, I am covered in mosquito bites

King Lear: Ah, Lady Constance, you are coming up to scratch.

Enough of this, I say!!!!