I'm a teapot

Tim Brooke Taylor (1940-2020)

Like anyone who had a misspent childhood spending too much television when they should have been outside developing motor skills, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Tim Brooke-Taylor, best known for his role in the long running British comedy series, The Goodies (1970-1982). Graeme Garden, his Goodies co-star, wrote an obituary for the Daily Mail.

No disrespect to the deceased, but I notice a typo in which the noun revue, defined asa light theatrical entertainment consisting of a series of short sketches, songs, and dances, typically dealing satirically with topical issues, is confused with the verb, review.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8231623/No-costume-ridiculous-nor-stunt-dangerous-Tim-Brooke-Taylor-says-GRAEME-GARDEN.html

Another day

The British comedy scene has lost one its most significant talents, with the passing of Neil Innes. Innes was a frequent musical collaborator with Monty Python, and alongside Eric Idle, created the Rutles, an affectionate parody of the Beatles. I would have liked to have seen him perform live, but I wasn't aware of his work during his last Australian tour.

https://www.rutles.org/

They're not twins

Monty Python star Michael Palin has announced that he will soon undergo heart surgery to repair a leaky heart valve. Look down the page on the link below, and you will see a picture of the surviving members of the Monty Python troupe. As the picture is under copyright, I cannot legally use it here. Pictured left to right are Terry Jones, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, and Palin. Unfortunately, the caption confuses Jones and Gilliam. Jones is on the far left, and Gilliam is second from the right.

https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/monty-python-michael-palin-to-undergo-heart-surgery/37ae57f5-fdf4-42c2-88a6-e6def3bf8143

Melbourne International Sanctimony Festival

Andrew Doyle has built a career on taking the Mickey out of progressive social justice warriors, particularly under the guise of fictional Twitter user, Titania McGrath. I dare say that there's no chance of this show being in the 2020 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Considering that McGrath, also the author of Woke: A Guide to Social Justice, is on the same side of the political spectrum of the majority of Australian comedians, this show would cut too close to the bone in the Australian comedy scene.

Barmy

Tim Vine, wearing a hat made of empty milk bottles and packing tape

I have had the pleasure of seeing Tim Vine perform live a couple of times. He's back, with his new show, Sunset Milk Idiot. The show promises, amongst other things, "telling lots of silly new jokes, showing off new homemade props, singing some new daft ditties, and all with the appearance of confidence. The following subjects will be touched upon briefly: pixie football, ice cream and nibble feeders. Come along, sit down, and laugh. The quantity won’t let up. This is comedy without a message. What an odd person. What a lot of nonsense. What else is he going to do? ‘Sunsets are in the sky, milk’s nice, and I’m an idiot.’"

When he tours overseas, I wonder how he gets all of his props through customs. How does he describe them when he fills out his customs declaration form? Do customs officers examine each prop individually before they stamp his passport? What sort of questions do they ask him? Am I overthinking all this?

The Dubliner

The other day, I was shocked to hear the news of the passing of Irish comedian, Sean Hughes. I have fond memories of watching his comedy series, Sean's Show. It was broadcast on late night television in the summer after I finished high school, and before I started university.

Fun with embedding GIFs

via GIPHY

It's very simple. All you do is embed the link, and Bob's your uncle.

Sports casual

I received the new Alan Partridge book, Alan Partridge: Nomad, as a Christmas gift. Before I read it, I decided to firstly revisit his previous book, the parody autobiography, I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan. 

I didn't read it again. I listened to the unabridged audiobook version, read by Steve Coogan, in character as Alan Partridge.

What detracted from my enjoyment of the book? It's not for casual fans. It assumes that the reader has either seen or heard Partridge's previous appearances on television and radio. If you haven't, then you might find the book hard to follow. It also frequently mentions both real and fictitious British celebrities. I needed to stop reading, and look up their names to see who they were.

Other readers who live outside the UK might find that they have the same problem.