Did they really say that?
HAVE you ever heard someone say something unintentionally funny during a radio or TV interview and thought you might have misheard? The late and much-missed Denis Norden collected TV and radio mishaps long before he hosted “It’ll Be Alright On The Night”.
Incidentally, am I alone in thinking a show that featured out-takes of actors forgetting their lines or dealing with temperamental props, should really be called “It probably won’t be alright on the night”?
Just me, then!
Denis possessed an appreciation of the English language’s many subtle booby traps that we all find ourselves stepping into from time to time.
Being a brilliant humourist, he often crafted those subtleties into the comedy scripts that he wrote with the equally witty Frank Muir.
Occasionally, as with anyone whose living relies on being funny on a daily basis, some of his bon mots ‘fell on stony ground’ as comedy writers tend to describe jokes that don’t get the intended reaction.
When Denis shared an office with Frank, one lunch time he popped out to buy their sandwiches and, on the way back, the heavens opened and a mighty downpour ensued.
Pause for dramatic effect! Coatless, he dived into a narrow alleyway to dodge the rain only to find a middle-aged couple had the same idea.
As all three waited for the rain to stop, Denis noticed a brass plaque bearing an accountant’s name on the wall behind the couple.
He pointed to it, pointed to the rain, laughed and said, “I suppose this is what they call a tax shelter!”, which he thought was spontaneously amusing.
However, the couple just stared blankly at him, looked distinctly uncomfortable and hurriedly walked away into the rain, speaking loudly….in German!
Anyway, I definitely heard someone on a recent hourly news bulletin who suffered from what Denis would have described as “A bad case of foot in mouth” because an hour later the same interview was played and for the second time I heard someone say...
“Losing weight merely requires a reduction in your daily food intake. It really works because the proof of the pudding is in the eating!”
Denis would have savoured that one!