New Years Honours 2017

[AjAjAjH]

Very pleased that the great actress Patricia Routledge is now a Dame. I do wonder though if some people given an MBE think "blimey, is that all they think I'm worth?"

She's having a candlelight celebration supper this evening!!

[P. G. Tipps]

No swords are used when a clergy person is knighted.

[greenilex]

Would be nice to know what Doddy said...

[P. G. Tipps]

Would be nice to know what Doddy said...

'Tattyfilarious!' ... ?

[Stanfordian]

Would be nice to know what Doddy said...

"How tickled I am!"

[Pulcinella]

Would be nice to know what Doddy said...

Was he frisked before going in to make sure he didn't have a tickling stick to flourish at William (if yesterday; he was the stand-in for HM) in return?
And did the Diddymen all get a day off work in celebration?

[vinteuil]

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... did anyone ever find him in the least bit funny?

[Bryn]

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... did anyone ever find him in the least bit funny?

Many did indeed, though I number not among them.

[teamsaint]

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... did anyone ever find him in the least bit funny?

I went to see him live about 10 years ago, for reasons that I don't recall. I think taking my mates dad was the prime reason.

anyway, the first couple of hours were reasonably enjoyable. Fine if you like quickfire jokes.
The musical interlude was, well, not great.
The next hour or so was much of the same.
we left at the main interval, as we had to be up for work in the morning. That was 11.00 PM.

If nothing else, you have to admire his stamina.

No Diddymen to be seen , which was a relief......

[jean]

The only time I've seen him live was in 2010, narrating Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra with the Crosby Symphony Orchestra in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

He did it very well. He told a few jokes of his own too, and as I remember (though I forget the details) they were quite funny - perhaps specially-prepared élite jokes for a slightly élite audience?

[Serial_Apologist]

The only time I've seen him live was in 2010, narrating Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra with the Crosby Symphony Orchestra in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

He did it very well. He told a few jokes of his own too, and as I remember (though I forget the details) they were quite funny - perhaps specially-prepared élite jokes for a slightly élite audience?

Like, when he went to the Proms, and somebody asked him what he thought of Brahms, to which he replied, best thing ever invented for pushing babies around in?

[Beef Oven!]

Couldn’t stand him when I was a kid, teenager, young man. When I was about 50, I realised he’s actually very good. I think I was too young in the beginning, and first impressions and all that ....

[Conchis]

Ken Dodd is a talented and intelligent man, who has done well to maintain an ongoing career in the face of changes of fashion.

I was taken to see him (it's a Scouse ritual) when I was seven years old, at the Royal Court theatre in Liverpool: this was one of the many theatres he campaigned to keep open. As I remember, the show began with a children's segment, which included a filmed excerpt and the Diddymen, then gradually it was scaled down until it was just 'Doddy' himself doing his act, which seemed to go on forever. We left before the end, but that was no reflection on the quality of his act - though I was probably a bit too young to understand some of the jokes.

What Jean says is very relevant - he knows his audience and you get a different Ken Dodd depending on whom he's being hired to entertain: I've heard his night-club act isn't just blue, it's puce!

[jean]

He had a fine singing voice, though his material was dreadful.

But I've seen him in the audience for my sort of concert, too!

[P. G. Tipps]

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... did anyone ever find him in the least bit funny?

Yes, quite hilarious at times ... Liverpool humour is very like that of Glasgow, revealing a keen sense of the utterly ridiculous which we can often equate to some situations in everyday life. Unlike other places in the UK the inhabitants are not exactly averse to a bit of self-mockery.

Some say it's due to the Irish influence in both cities but, whatever the reason, it certainly works for me and many others it seems. And at least Dodd doesn't need to rely on crude obscenities and foul language to raise a cheap snigger