Laurel and Hardy and the Sons of the Desert are at the heart of Bowler Dessert magazine and Bowler Dessert Online
Bulletin
25.08.11.
|
Next year's UK Convention in Birmingham has already sold out. As from 24th August, we are no longer taking bookings. If you haven't already booked and you wish to be put on a waiting list (in case of cancellations) let us know. John Ullah
The Fiddle
and the Bow Sons of the
Desert have some wonderfully talented
people within our ranks. None of them are
at the Saps at Sea, though! One mighty
talented Son is Andrew Craig Shepherd.
Many of us have been fortunate enough to
see his one-man play tribute to Laurel and
Hardy, The Fiddle and the Bow. It
was performed at the "A Chump at Oxford"
Convention in 2010 on the last night and
the conventioneers were stunned in
admiration. Paul Allan and
myself had a further opportunity to see
this unique and personal performance again
at the Lord Stanley pub in Camden. The
performance was part of a Solo Festival of
plays performed at the small intimate
theatre above the Lord Stanley. The pub's
name is not connected to Laurel and Hardy
but Andrew's play most certainly is,
telling the story of the Boys from cradle
to grave. It is a very evocative play,
funny and sad, but very enjoyable. Only a
true fan could have written this play and
given this performance that he gave on the
night. I was not surprised to learn
afterwards that he won the award of the
Best Male Actor at the
Festival. Andrew has wanted
to perform this play in front of Jeffrey
Holland. Jeffrey Holland has wanted to see
Andrew perform the play. And so, the
really good news is that we have arranged
just that. Come and see Andrew and Jeffrey
Holland and Judy Buxton. . . The Fiddle and
The Bow will be performed at the Saps
at Sea meeting on Sunday 13th November,
2011 (meeting 5.30pm - 8.30pm) at the
Royal Navy and Military Club, Royal Mews,
Southend. All are welcome - Saps and
Stowaways £2 / non-members
£3. 01702
526187
"Mimo" has recently completed work on a (very!) short silent film with inspiration taken from the Boys (and Stan in particular). Mimo did everything from creating and performing it right down to being the general "gopher" and editing it, he tells us. Mimo explains, "I've always been a fan of the Laurel and Hardy films and love the way that they can get laughs without having to say anything. That's my type of comedy. I always admired Stan for the way he was the driving force behind the films and had the vision to create what he did. Apart from that, we're both 'Lancashire lads'. My film was just something I wanted to do for fun inspired by the type of Laurel and Hardy comedy. "I wanted the influence of Stan to be there without being a 'copy' of him. That's why I opted for the slightly different look rather than the bowler hat and bow tie look of Stan. The 'cheeky grin', like at the end, has been with me all my life - that's all me! I often quip that I did the Stan "hair fluff" too much when I was young and that has led to my balding head now!" "A couple of people have mentioned the touch of Mr Bean they see in it. It wasn't intentional, but I think Rowan Atkinson is the modern master of the type of visual comedy that Stan and Ollie were geniuses at. The link to the film is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdqgyqNsHkw or go to YouTube and punch in "the box".
The Simpsons on 16th August on Sky One had a 2010 episode (series 21, episode 8) called Thursday With Abie where Grandpa was recounting his early years and said that he was a shoeshine boy at Springfield Union Station where, once a week, the Tinseltown Starliner stopped so that the Hollywood stars on board could stretch their legs. The train doors opened and out stepped caricatures of WC Fields, Clark Gable, Shirley Temple and Frankenstein's monster, followed by Laurel and Hardy - brilliant. When you see a collection of film stars from history in films and cartoons you always hope that the Boys will be featured and I had high hopes that The Simpsons would include them and was not disappointed! Dave Fullbrook 1932 clip The National Library of Scotland, Scottish Screen Archive has posted on the Internet a clip from 1932. Crowds greet Laurel and Hardy as they arrive at Waverley Station on a visit to Edinburgh. The running time is under two minutes and the clip is different from the amateur footage widely available on DVD and super 8. A steam locomotive pulls into a platform. Fans surge along the platform around Laurel and Hardy. The twosome arrive at Edinburgh Castle. They go to the castle grounds, with close-ups, and shots as Hardy waves to the camera.The footage has been on the Internet before, but has been hailed as exciting by those who missed it previously.
Tattoo Just seen an amazing tattoo on the "Laurel and Hardy Fan Club" on Facebook. Check out the tattoo on Andy Groucho Hepworth Piper. It is the best I have ever seen. Gary Slade Be Big Tent At our August meeting, fifteen members watched Wrong Again, Men O' War, Them Thar Hills, Tit For Tat and Twice Two. The looting in Tit For Tat brought back memories of the recent riots in Manchester! Our next meeting will be on Monday 19th September. The film show begins at 8.00pm. All welcome. Dean Carroll |
Edinburgh delight Christine Craig tells us that the Blockheads Tent had a good night on 5th August when a buffet and a Laurel and Hardy film show were held in Cuthberts coffee house. One Good Turn Tent In 2012 the One Good Turn Tent of Hudddersfield will not have meetings during January, February and March. This was voted for by members, reports Daphne Thorp. Unlikely business gurus The practice of "buddying" people in the office is fraught with danger and can often go wrong. Working in pairs only really succeeds if the two involved have complementary skill sets but also overlap in their overall goal. In the case of Laurel and Hardy, the overall goal is to be as stupid as possible but, in their defence, they do set about achieving it with gusto. Good double acts are great in business. Clients find them memorable and effective, plus if one is off sick the other can still cover the meeting. And these guys have it all. They have a "look" that they stick to most of the time (one fat with slicked down hair, toothbrush moustache and a tight-fitting jacket and the other thin with hair that sticks up and a loose jacket - and both wearing bowler hats). They are sure to raise a smile round the office and can be guaranteed to get the Christmas party going with a rousing version of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. Part of an article spotted by Mike Jones in Business Life magazine in August |
Did you
see?