Toast

No, I've always felt that Peter Kay, although he can be funny, often recycles material from 50 years ago. We were all laughing about the way dads dance at weddings decades ago.

I don't know how you classify the "good" M&W sketches, but it struck me that the ones people always talked about relied on bringing in incongruous guests, like André Previn, and taking the piss out of them. Or getting them to do something unexpected (Angela Rippon et al). I enjoyed almost all of the sketch shows, but I never really got Vic and Bob either. Conversely while I loved Dave Allen and his monologues, I wasn't so keen on his sketches. Victoria Wood was clever, but a bit too smug about it. It was the supporting characters who made her shows worth watching for me, the wonderful Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Susie Blake ...

I was exposed to most of those "comedians" in my youth, and was always mystified that the grown-ups found them funny. Mind you, I never found Morecambe and Wise remotely funny either. Or any of those double acts really, bar the Two Ronnies. Who did make me laugh? Benny Hill. Stanley Baxter. Dick Emery. Frankie Howerd in Up Pompeii. So mainly the risqué, camp, cross-dressing types.

I have a handwritten letter from him. (Not written to me, before you ask)

Well, that's the last time I send them a couple of quid when they hold out the begging bowl.

Maybe, but they don't beat the quoted suggestions

Skittles (or any other popular item of confectionery) doesn't put itself into the public eye though.

That is just so ridiculous. Every fact has to start as "original research". When does it become acceptable? After it's been repeated multiple times with multiple opportunities for errors or garbling?

Don't remember that at all. Or the crisps.

Cheers, never thought to look him up. Monday nights they used to go to evening classes to learn Spanish, they must be fluent by now

Why?

Bruce Watson of Big Country and his son Jamie usually play with The Skids now as well. Following on from the recent discussion about musicians' subsequent or supplementary careers, I knew Tom Kellichan of The Skids a few years back as he was living nearby for a few months. At that time he and his lady had a temporary job as painters/decorators doing up a house locally. Before that he had been a coach driver for Parks of Hamilton. They were waiting to complete the purchase of a music bar in Tenerife. I don't know if they're still there as we didn't stay in contact. Funny thing, last year we went to see The Skids and were in the front row, and at the end the drummer came over and gave me the drumsticks. Little did he guess that I was acquainted with his predecessor

More on that https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/and-the-good-news-is---/32382/104-year-old-ruth-s-fundraising-reaches-23-000.html

"Barbara is best known for her iconic role as Peggy Mitchell on the BBC soap opera" Is she really? That makes me feel old.

I had considered Reign, but haven't quite dared to go there. I suspected it would be crap. I've just enjoyed Medici Masters Of Florence, lots of plotting and politics, and a whodunnit into the bargain. (I was a bit confused by the flashback scenes early on, but once I realised that the younger Cosimo and Lorenzo have longer hair than their older selves, it was fine.) Will be moving on to Medici The Magnificent, two more seasons continuing the story but skipping a generation. I agree with you about The Crown - Olivia Colman very one-note as I feared she would be. She clearly hasn't studied the Queen to any depth. Also questionable what they chose to include and what to leave out. Comely young ladies removing their clothing? I take it you haven't missed Harlots.

That's not his dad! It's "a" dad. Tabloidspeak.

And then there's the Irish couple, Patrick Fitzgerald and Gerald Fitzpatrick.

He's done a lot more than that, including directing quite a few episodes of one of my favourite shows, The Last Kingdom.

Anne and Nick came over as naive hand-wringing - I was going to say wankers, but they might be too prudish to indulge in such wanton behaviour. How stupid they looked when it emerged that they were criticising a book that they hadn't even seen.

She did a pretty good job of that herself.

Thanks - yes, it was particularly cruel as she had had really bad reactions to the chemo, then halfway through the course they did a scan which showed that the tumour had already shrunk to a fifth of its size. Much celebration, then the same night she found a little sore on her waist. It was a secondary cancer and two weeks later she was dead. That's what lymphoma can do, folks.

Yeah .... even 25 years ago when my mum was diagnosed with it, the survival rate was 80%. She was in the 20% though.

Isn't that because they're a bunch of cunts though?