Tag: Spike Milligan

Staunton Park


Saturday and we had blue skies and sunshine following several days of mist and murk. We paid the price of course with a chill wind blowing strongly.

I have my grandson over from Australia for a few weeks and he has a new camera to play with for the trip so we took the opportunity to get out and visited Staunton Park situated between Leigh Park and Rowlands Castle, near Havant.

We were hoping that the trees would be showing their autumn colours but we were somewhat disappointed. I think we were too early. However, we did enjoy the walk and took some photo’s.

A selection of snaps follows for your delectation, the first of which is a view over Leigh Lake.

Leigh Lake viewed from the site of William Henry Stone’s house.

The following photo shows part of the countryside that will over the next few years, planning consents permitting, become a fairly large reservoir
Although Stones house has long since been demolished there are many signs remaining of the old buildings. Not the least of which are the arches below.

Underneath The Arches

Of course the main reason we were there was to partake of the natural beauty. One aspect of the natural world which offers so much variety is that of the fungi.

Fungus
Grey Fungus

These cattle make for a quite peaceful scene even though the wind was blowing quite hard.

Longhorn Cattle

The following photo is of part of land which will eventually end up under water as part of a proposed new reservoir.

Site Of Future Reservoir

In the woodlands there are a number of items which are I believe intended as both art and education for children. There is no description near this but I believe that it is intended to let children hear magnified sounds of the woodland. It can be rotated through 360 degrees. I, for want of an alternative christened it “The Mukkinese Battle Horn” after the famous short film featuring Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. Nearby there was another item which is a concave / convex mirror. We had much fun with it which I am sure the children would too.

Mukkinese Battle Horn ?
On Reflection

And to finish our walk, as we returned to the car park, this chap came to see us off. It was a shame that he was disappointed by the fact that we had no food to offer him. This is probably why he didn’t display his tail feathers.

Peacock

I Wanna Tell You A Story


Yes, I wanna tell you a story, about a great entertainer who has sadly passed away.

Max Bygraves has sadly passed at the age of 89.

One of Britain’s best all round variety entertainer.  He wrote a string of comic songs and released a number of albums with his Singalongamax series probably being the most well-known. Max appeared in a number of films, notably Charley Moon in 1956, as well as several TV shows. He also  performed on stage with contemporaries Spike Milligan, Benny Hill, Harry Secombe and Frankie Howerd and in  later years he often appeared at the London Palladium.

For me, probably the fondest memory will be Max singing “Out of Town”. I hope that, wherever Max is, he is enjoying the sentiment of that song.

Say what you will,
The countryside is still
The only place where I could settle down
Troubles there are so much rarer
Out of town

 

Max Bygraves is most definitely “Out Of Town”

“I tend to live in the wonderful world of my head, where every day the sun shines”


So said Eric Sykes, who died today, at the age of 89.

Eric has been, it seems, ever-present figure in my life. I first became aware of him from The Goon Show on the radio. Then from the many TV shows in which he has been involved including  Sykes and a… , Sykes and a Big Big Show and last but not least Sykes.

The last of those shows was broadcast in the 1970’s but that was not the last of Eric’s screen career.

Although his first movie appearance was in the 1950’s he was still appearing right up until 2010 and what more appropriate than an Agatha Christie  Poirot story,  Hallowe’en Party.

And in the middle of that illustrious list is what, I believe, to be one of the funniest films ever made.

The Plank, written and produced by Sykes in 1967. Just look at the cast he managed to pull together. Eric himself, Tommy Cooper, Jimmy Edwards, Roy Castle, Jimmy Tarbuck, Anna Carteret, John Junkin, Bill Oddie, Stratford Johns, Jim Dale, Hattie Jacques, Libby Morris, Johnny Speight & Kenny Lynch. The cream of British comedy.

Lets not forget the books that he wrote too. I’m sad to say that I have personally only dipped into the large Milligan book pool, starting with the glorious Puckoon. Followed by  Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, “Rommel?” “Gunner Who?” and Silly Verse for Kids.

Eric is quoted as saying “I tend to live in the wonderful world of my head, where every day the sun shines”.

In response I would say, Thank you Eric. Thank you for letting us join you in that world and letting us bask in that sunshine.