Shakespeare? He’s just a bald Brummie
AWEEK ago, Clare Balding might have laid claim to being the most popular woman in Britain. But now, after presenting Wimbledon 2day, she may well be the least popular.
It was ever thus. Michael Barrymore, Tony Blair, the duchess of york, nick Clegg, kerry katona, Jeremy Thorpe, gary Barlow: these are just a few of those who have suffered from a dramatic u-turn in popularity.
But as this dip into contemporary records at the HTA (Historical Troll archive) shows, public opinion has always been disgracefully fickle . . .
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
SOMEONE please please please tell that so-called ‘playwright’ to stick to the acting.
Pete from Halifax, 13/09/1598 Talk about over-rated. Went to see latest play Macbeth. absolutely dire. Why can’t he write something about England for a change?
@franktalking.com, 10/07/1608 TOO wordy. Jim, Woolwich.
14/11/1607 HOW dare he besmirch the name of one of our greatest monarchs, king Richard III? That chippy Brummie playwright is not fit to shine king Richard’s shoes. @jackass 20/03/1597 I KNEW the bloke at school in Stratford. Little twerp. No good then, no good now.
Dave, Stratford, 23/05/1604
ROGER BANNISTER
I USED to revere the guy when he went fast, but today I spotted him sauntering down our High street at a snail’s pace. What a fraud!
P. T. Smythe, 06/07/1955
MARTIN LUTHER KING
PUT a sock in it. We’ve all had dreams, mate, but we don’t bang on about them.
Geoff, Cardiff, 29/08/1963 In LOVE with the sound of his own voice. PB, 29/08/1963 IF HE were my doctor, I’d switch to someone more discreet.
@talkthetalk 29/08/1963
THE QUEEN MOTHER
COULD someone ask her to please stop waving all the time. It’s starting to make me go all dizzy.
Gill, Herts, 14/11/1997 lay off those jam doughnuts, love. no wonder you’re never seen out in a pair of skinny jeans.
@trimfigure 12/07/1974 THIS morning, I thought she was the loveliest old gran in the world with twinkly eyes and a kind word for everyone. This afternoon, I had second thoughts. I now realise she’s a spoilt greedy old woman who milks the great British taxpayer for all she’s worth.
Jane Forthright, Welwyn Garden City, 21/05/1990 IT’s Cilla I prefer.
C. P., Exeter, 11/11/ 1992.
THE BEATLES
I GIVE them five months, six at most. Pippa, 21/03/1962 I USED to like them when they had short hair, but now it’s long I’ve gone off them big time.
PW, Newcastle, 19/09/1968 I USED to like them when they had long hair, but now it’s short I’ve gone off them big time.
PW, Newcastle, 12/04/1978
TINTIN
HE WAS once a respected journalist but now he’s just a publicity-hungry cartoon character, always trying to grab attention away from Professor Calculus, who is a genuinely respected academic. @richarddawkins
23/04/1968 I don’T kn know why @richarddawkins calls Professor Calculus ‘genuinely intelligent’. Calculus is clearly as nutty as the proverbial chocolate cake.
John, Swansea, 24/04/1968 YOU can tell Tintin’s walk on the moon in Explorers On The Moon was faked by the way the cover picture doesn’t show any shadows for Tintin, Haddock or Snowy, yet the shadows of the surrounding rocks are plain to see.
@conspiracytheorist 25/04/1968
JOAN OF ARC
WE’VE all been martyred for our beliefs, but some of us don’t make a song and dance about it.
Reg, Totnes, 30/05/1431 SHE reminds me of my sister. Anything to be centre of attention.
Mary P, Orleans, 1/06/1431 I USED to like her when she was happy to sit on a horse, looking pretty, but now it’s all me, me, me.
Julia R, Orleans, 2/06/1431
SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC
I WENT out in the snow yesterday to do a bit of shopping but, unlike Scott, I took a woolly. So I made it back in one piece. Was I hailed a hero? Not bloody likely. The world’s gone mad.
Bob, Dorking, 11/02/1913 TENERIFE’s much nicer than the antarctic at this time of year.
Sue, Manchester, 12/02/1913
NELSON MANDELA
TBH, no one I know ever liked those coloured shirts he wore. Yet they persist in calling him a hero!!
@fashionwatchuk 06/12/2013