Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Pythons are at it again. John Cleese's own autobiography, the immortal "So, Anyway", has more than met its match. Eric Idle's splendid follow-up well nigh eclipses it.
Where to begin? Try this for size:
"One morning in the Eighties, when I was living in St. John's Wood, I received a large package, which said in big gold letters: 'Congratulations, Eric Idle, Tony Award Nominee. You, Eric Idle, have been nominated for a Tony Award. We would like to invite you to New York for the Tony Awards Ceremony and we are very happy to inform you that you have been nominated for Best Female Performer on Broadway.'
"I have to admit that this was a shock. I certainly hadn't expected it, but I am a polite man and I wrote back:
"I am so thrilled to receive this nomination. It is one of the greatest honours of my career. It is particularly thrilling for me, because not only have I never appeared on Broadway, I am not even a female. I would be delighted to attend your awards ceremony. Would you like me to wear a frock?"
Funny, anecdotal, and replete with both ups and downs, this is vintage Python fodder from start to glorious finish. British humour at its best.
More humour at:
bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/humorous-books-reviewed
The Pythons are at it again. John Cleese's own autobiography, the immortal "So, Anyway", has more than met its match. Eric Idle's splendid follow-up well nigh eclipses it.
Where to begin? Try this for size:
"One morning in the Eighties, when I was living in St. John's Wood, I received a large package, which said in big gold letters: 'Congratulations, Eric Idle, Tony Award Nominee. You, Eric Idle, have been nominated for a Tony Award. We would like to invite you to New York for the Tony Awards Ceremony and we are very happy to inform you that you have been nominated for Best Female Performer on Broadway.'
"I have to admit that this was a shock. I certainly hadn't expected it, but I am a polite man and I wrote back:
"I am so thrilled to receive this nomination. It is one of the greatest honours of my career. It is particularly thrilling for me, because not only have I never appeared on Broadway, I am not even a female. I would be delighted to attend your awards ceremony. Would you like me to wear a frock?"
Funny, anecdotal, and replete with both ups and downs, this is vintage Python fodder from start to glorious finish. British humour at its best.
More humour at:
bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/humorous-books-reviewed
![Lady Muck by William Mayne, with [inspired] woodcuts by Jonathan Heale, reviewed by Nicholas Hoare](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EwgbMuHt3zQ/mqdefault.jpg "Lady Muck by William Mayne, with [inspired] woodcuts by Jonathan Heale, reviewed by Nicholas Hoare
A pig named Boark lived in the mud, and one day to his wife, he said, Sowk, my Sowk, what can I do to please and happy you, my Sowky dear?
Oink, said she, go snuffly and diggy fat sweet rooties. That will happy me, Boark, my Boarky dear, from grunt to squeal.
This is, unashamedly, a childrens book for adults. In deliciously Lennon-like prose, one is not merely introduced, but transported to our heroes: two immensely portly pigs, whose devotion to each other is unquestioned, but whose predilection for truffles leads them into trouble plenty.
William Mayne is a master storyteller, who remains curiously forgotten. This book, which was first published in 1997, remains a minor (and most decorative) classic. Go forth with our blessing and procure this splendid piece of nonsense soonest. It will pleasure you, as the author might say, to such an extent that, if you have any sense of performance at all - and relish rhythm and rhyme - even your youngest will respond in kind.
https://thisoldhoarehouse.com")
