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well that would havesaved me some time
I only recalled reading it online after you provided the author's name--and that allowed me to locate it.
So your effort wasn't wasted.
well that would havesaved me some time
Re Yith's post #44:
George Melly's comments are interesting because his own autobiographical writing is noteworthy for his apparently unabashed candidness about himself. One reviewer said something along the lines that Melly appeared incapable of telling a lie, even if the truth put him in an awkward position. He may of course have been self-editing to make himself appear nicer than he was, but I don't think that was part of his character - I think it's more likely that he was truly bemused by Williams' bitterness, and relentlessly peripatetic acerbity.
I believe Williams displayed a character trait which is not really that uncommon - I think of it as 'the last five minutes' theory of human nature. Most of us possess attitudes to elements in our lives based on an averaging of our cumulative experience of them - but some people can only view them under the lens of their most recent experience. I believe that this is at least part of Williams' very complex nature, and the reason he appears to contradict himself so often when speaking of others.
Another name drop. Through work I used to know Williams' legatee - his friend and neighbour, and the chap who sold the diaries to the British Library. It was years before I realised it was he who had inherited Williams' estate. Always seemed a nice chap - very funny, and camp, but in a sort of old-school military way (which I've always suspected might be the origin of the word 'camp' in the first place).
Ah now the "five minute theory" I'd never heard of, but I've known characters with such a trait. It explains behaviours which I have always failed to understand. I can now categorize appropriately. Definitely a light bulb moment for me SD.Re Yith's post #44:
George Melly's comments are interesting because his own autobiographical writing is noteworthy for his apparently unabashed candidness about himself. One reviewer said something along the lines that Melly appeared incapable of telling a lie, even if the truth put him in an awkward position. He may of course have been self-editing to make himself appear nicer than he was, but I don't think that was part of his character - I think it's more likely that he was truly bemused by Williams' bitterness, and relentlessly peripatetic acerbity.
I believe Williams displayed a character trait which is not really that uncommon - I think of it as 'the last five minutes' theory of human nature. Most of us possess attitudes to elements in our lives based on an averaging of our cumulative experience of them - but some people can only view them under the lens of their most recent experience. I believe that this is at least part of Williams' very complex nature, and the reason he appears to contradict himself so often when speaking of others.
Another name drop. Through work I used to know Williams' legatee - his friend and neighbour, and the chap who sold the diaries to the British Library. It was years before I realised it was he who had inherited Williams' estate. Always seemed a nice chap - very funny, and camp, but in a sort of old-school military way (which I've always suspected might be the origin of the word 'camp' in the first place).
...Sorry, what do you mean by camp in a "military way"?
Kind of hard to describe without an example.
'Camp' like so many things, represents a spectrum rather than a single thing. I suspect that most people who, when they think of It Ain't Half Hot, Mum and the word 'camp', will immediately associate it with Melvin Hayes character - however, to a certain generation of gay men, Windsor Davies' outwardly bluff and macho sergeant major might also be described as camp, and I think Croft and Perry knew exactly that when they set the two characters at odds with each other. It may be a generational thing, and I suspect the type I am trying to describe has largely been absorbed into 'Bear' culture. (It's also worth pointing out that 'camp' and 'homosexual' are not exclusively synonymous.)
I'm not gay, by the way - but my mum and dad's most loyal and generous friends were a gay couple from London - and through them and their friends, the family was kind of adopted into thaat culture in a way which was probably quite rare for a 70's family with working class roots. Many of the people I met were much more Sergeant Major Williams than they were Bombadier Gloria Beaumont.
So the guy you were referring to was more like Windsor Davies? Which is what most people might refer to as "macho" or something akin to that. I'm broadly familiar with the programme and have vague memories of it.
So the guy you were referring to was more like Windsor Davies? Which is what most people might refer to as "macho" or something akin to that. I'm broadly familiar with the programme and have vague memories of it.
Mmmmm....'chicory'.
I can remember when I was a nipper, and my parents used to take us on holiday in their converted ambulance to places like the Isle of Wight, in the box of groceries for the trip we would have a bottle of 'camp coffee' which I'm sure I drank some at some point...
That's a very interesting addition to the recent posts in this thread, given that the seated soldier is supposed to represent Major-General Sir Hector McDonald. I dimly suspect he's graced these boards before. From what I recall, there's a strong argument to be made that, had he been from a different background, his apparent homosexuality would not have been whipped into such a scandal that he ended up shooting himself.Mmmmm....'chicory'.
I can remember when I was a nipper, and my parents used to take us on holiday in their converted ambulance to places like the Isle of Wight, in the box of groceries for the trip we would have a bottle of 'camp coffee' which I'm sure I drank some at some point.
View attachment 26258
OHHH DUCKYIn hospitals I noticed a lot of campness. Some of the gay male staff could be very camp indeed but there were some wards where all the staff, both sexes, whatever their sexuality, were as camp as Christmas.
It rubs off so I'd come home, collapse theatrically in a chair and squeal 'I've had a MARE of a day, my dear! A MARE!' to a poor bemused Techy.
He soon mocked that out of me.
OHHH DUCKY
I can do a mean Betty Grable inpersonation*teapot stance*
It's starting to sound as if a certain author has read the Sid James bio, picked up on the spooky epilogue and embellished it for one of his own books.
Unless any other sources are out there?
Kind of hard to describe without an example.
'Camp' like so many things, represents a spectrum rather than a single thing. I suspect that most people who, when they think of It Ain't Half Hot, Mum and the word 'camp', will immediately associate it with Melvin Hayes character - however, to a certain generation of gay men, Windsor Davies' outwardly bluff and macho sergeant major might also be described as camp, and I think Croft and Perry knew exactly that when they set the two characters at odds with each other. It may be a generational thing, and I suspect the type I am trying to describe has largely been absorbed into 'Bear' culture. (It's also worth pointing out that 'camp' and 'homosexual' are not exclusively synonymous.)
I'm not gay, by the way - but my mum and dad's most loyal and generous friends were a gay couple from London - and through them and their friends, the family was kind of adopted into thaat culture in a way which was probably quite rare for a 70's family with working class roots. Many of the people I met were much more Sergeant Major Williams than they were Bombadier Gloria Beaumont.
i have the 1995 edition of the biography.
I was reading about Les and discovered he had written a novel called A Time Before Genesis - from the subject matter Les must have had Fortean interests
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/surprising-literary-ventures-14-october-2006
I am wondering if Sid James (ghost or not) is a red herring here, inserted by subsequent authors to embellish a tale and connect two well-liked performers. Les may have indeed seen something/experienced something highly disturbing. It might be fruitful to track down any historical previous reports from the Sunderland Empire.
FT354 (June 2017) has an article on Les Dawson.
Could anybody here upload the article?
Bugger. I’ve literally just put my copy in front of me ready to photograph, beat
What if Sid James saw the same thing as Les Dawson - and it scared him to death?