PERHAPS you must be of a certain age? Perhaps you must be a fan of innuendo? Perhaps you have to shun all forms of political correctness?
But . . . if I throw a few film quotes at you, it won’t take you long to guess the franchise.
For example –
- ‘Infamy, infamy! They’ve all got it infamy!’
- ‘I’m Camembert! I’m the big cheese!’
- ‘Matron, take them away!’
- “You’ve stood on my Indian dress”. “Sari”. “Don’t mention it”.
If you guessed the Carry On films, then award yourself a gold star.
A total of 31 Carry On films were produced between 1958 and 1992.
For many, there’s a Marmite Factor – you either love them or hate them.
Kidwelly author Dave Ainsworth is in the ‘love them’ club.
He’s just released a new book called When The Carry On Stopped.
It puts the spotlight on a little-known but important period of Carry On history.
It’s a critical study of the interplay between the well-known Carry On actors during a three-year period.
It reveals the truth behind an acrimonious move from film company Anglo-Amalgamated to Rank.
The book is also a study of relationships between the Carry On actors and the film franchise producer.
It also exposes stories such as Terry Scott’s row with Mick Jagger; Kenneth Connor’s hatred for Frankie Howerd; Bernard Bresslaw’s first stage disaster and how Terry Scott scuppered Hugh Lloyd’s This is Your Life.
Dave looks at the Anglo-Amalgamated story, highlighted through the success of its owners, partners Stuart Levy and Nat Cohen.
Levy’s sudden death in 1966 encouraged Cohen to ditch the Carry Ons in favour of more ‘prestigious’ feature films.
Without a film distributor, the series’ producer Peter Rogers, was forced to search for another, eventually finding a new home at Rank.
However, Rank was unwilling to endorse the work of a rival and so dropped the ‘Carry On’ title. The Carry On series looked doomed.
When The Carry On Stopped sheds new light on the careers of the Carry On stars at this critical time.
We learn of Barbara Windsor’s involvement in the stage disaster Twang!!, of Jim Dale’s stage success, Sid James’s first heart attack and Charles Hawtrey losing his mother.
The book calls out the fat shaming of Joan Sims as one of the many injustices shown to her by the producer.
The book is essential reading for Carry On fans.
Author Dave Ainsworth taught acting at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David for many years.
He wrote the award-winning play Oh Hello about the Carry On star Charles Hawtrey, which was chosen as a ‘Pick of the Fringe’ at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It also won the Laurel Award for Best Play.
Other works by the former stand-up comic and actor include Who’s Afraid of Rachel Roberts? and Greville’s Whore.
When The Carry On Stopped is for sale in hardback at £22. It is published by White Owl.
You can follow Dave Ainsworth on Twitter on the handle @daveainsworth63
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EVERY cloud has a silver lining, so the idiom goes – and this week has proved the point.
On Sunday night, the gas boiler at my daughter’s house went into meltdown.
This weather has been warmer this week, but there’s still enough of a nip in the air for it to be a problem for daughter, hubby and two children, one aged three and one just three months.
Predictably, even the gas company ‘priority response for a young family’ couldn’t provide for an immediate fix for the hot water and central heating.
The engineers are due to arrive today to instal a new boiler.
Meanwhile, my daughter’s family has temporarily moved to our house to take advantage of our central heating and hot water.
As I write, negotiations about room rental charges are taking place! These talks may be protracted as they are taking place against the backdrop of a £3,500 (estimated) bill for the new boiler.
Grey clouds, indeed, for daughter’s family.
But, on the flip side, a week of having two young children in our ‘empty nest’ house has been a delight.
It’s been nought to 60 in terms of rediscovering parenting skills and dealing with sleep deprivation.
The retraining course has been completed on nappy changing – reminding me why I still cannot stomach chicken korma.
We’ve rediscovered the delights of honey nut loops for breakfast and spaghetti hoops for lunch.
And, along the way, the algorithm which controls which shows I’d like to watch on Netflix has been turned upside down.
Apparently, Paw Patrol and Bluey are now my favourite programmes.
On the school run, I remarked to a similarly stressed grandparent that having young children in the house was more demanding than a full-time job.
“The pay is rubbish,” they replied. “But you should always remember the rewards – you get paid in smiles!”
True words indeed. The cloud of a malfunctioning boiler has turned into the silver lining of spending more quality time with our grandchildren.
Truth be told, I’m not that bothered about the boiler getting fixed. The grandchildren can stay another week – such is joy they have brought to life at Lloyd Towers.
Timing is everything. It’s probably just as well that the boiler packed in this week, rather than the previous week.
Last week we ‘had the builders in’. There was drilling, banging and industrial quantities of dust.
When the pneumatic drill started up, I had to tell Mrs L to leave the house; her nerves were in shreds.
That left me in charge of tea-making duties for the hard-working builders.
And it’s amazing the lessons you learn in the presence of three craftsmen and an apprentice.
One: It’s the law that every cup of builder’s tea (or coffee) needs at least three sugars.
Two: Don’t talk politics. They will only try and convert you to vote Reform.
Three: A glass of ‘council pop’ means a pint of water.
PS: They did a splendid job on the shower room revamp.
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