That Spam sketch! There's a brief second in that, where a cardboard effigy is wheeled past camera to bulk out the customers in the Spam cafe. Eric Idle's classic line;
"Hello Mrs Cutout!" is still one of my favourites.
Your Mum may remember another sketch involving a stony-broke Scots poet* on the scrounge- ( "Cud ye lend us a fiver?" ), with another classic Python line;
"Wah's twentee pooonds tae the bluddy Midland Bank!?"
* Based on William McGonagall, a Scots poet generally recognised as the 'World's Worst Poet', totally unfettered by any ideas of rhyme, scan or length of lines and one of my 19th C. heros. He wrote about everyday things, most famously;
"Oh, Wonderful Railway Bridge o'er the Silvery Tay,
Which shall stand for many a long day..."
His epithet on this 'engineering masterpiece' was rather short lived. It was poorly designed and built, and collapsed in a storm with a train on it, (the Tay Bridge Disaster.) Undaunted, McGonagall later starts a new poem, but is more cautious;
"Oh, Wonderful new Railway Bridge o'er the Silvery Tay
"And it looks quite strong, I must say."
Poor as a kirk-mouse, William sent a copy of each of his poems to Queen Victoria, who had a Palace at Balmoral. These had the Royal Family in stitches, and they were all read avidly. Eventually, McGonagall received an invitation to take tea with Her Majesty at Balmoral. Being a poor scot, McGonagall WALKED right across Scotland from Dundee to attend, but was met by a garrulous Porter at the Lodge Gate who told him to clear off!
So, William walked home again!
William visited New York in 1887, and died in 1902, aged 72.
Alan
[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 07-18-2005).]
