Bulletin January 2008
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100th fraternal meeting The Fraternally Yours Tent of Bristol will be holding its hundredth meeting on Monday 11th February. Details are available from Grand Sheik Peter Andrews, 14 Mackie Avenue, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7ND. Brewery visit The Brats Tent once again had an excellent time at Bradfield Brewery on 1st December with five draught beers. John, Sue and Lisa from the brewery made the tent so welcome that they were invited to join the tent at its Christmas meal on 17th December. John Burton says, "In 2008 we will be celebrating our twentieth year as a tent, so there will be plenty more opportunities not to get too spiffed." Dutch site Hans Ligtenberg tells us, "We have good news for all of you who can't read Dutch. The Jitterbugs' website has been translated into English. Hope you have fun reading what we are up to." The address is http://www.jitterbugs.nl. Piet Lindner, the Vice-vice Sheik of the Jitterbugs Tent, authored a book called Door Dik en Dun. It was published in October 2007. It contains 120 pages (of which 8 are in full colour) with surprising storylines. It has 112 photographs of Laurel and Hardy, co-stars and film comedians of their era, most never before published. The price of the book is ¤14.50. E-mail p.w.lindner@casema.nl or thebohemianboy@laurel-hardy-web.info.  DVD: Laurel and HarDay 2006 52 minutes approximately, colour. Price: £5.00, plus £1.50 p&p. From Gary Winstanley, 62 Baker Street, Poolstock, Wigan, WN3 5HQ. E-mail: samfilms@sky.com. Make cheques etc payable to Gary Winstanley. One of the good things about the Laurel and HarDays in Wigan is that SAMfilms record the events each year, and their DVDs get better and better. In the one they made of the 2006 event, there is an interview with Jean Darling, the auction, the quiz results, the Kneesie-Earsie-Nosey Competition, the toasts and a Photo Gallery. Also on the disc is coverage of the 2006 Ulverston Carnival, a trailer and a reprise of the spoof Southbank Show featuring Chris Coffey. Gary is in the process of building a SAMfilms website at http://www.samfilms.co.uk and all their films will be listed on the site. Collecting Dean McKeown picked up a few things on eBay recently, including the Laurel and Hardy Slapstick game (in near mint condition) for a penny! He says, "I don't think it's much of a game, but the box does look good on display. I also picked up a gold leaf stamp from America for about £2.50, all nicely presented with one of the regular Stan and Ollie stamps in an envelope." Crazy World state The latest update of The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy website took place on 8th December 2007. The update includes news of a new book by Piet Lindner, a new photo of the month, and Willie McIntyre is this month's Meet the Laurel and Hardy Fan. And more!" Also take a look at the nice job Stephen has done in displaying many of the fine books about Laurel and Hardy. Gino Dercola Up the river We reported on the alleged finding of the site used in the filming of the river sequence in Way Out West. However, after some debate on the Laurel and Hardy Forum, it has been established that this is, in fact, not the site, though very similar. The quest for the real site continues. Rogue find On this website we mentioned that Bob Stowell is looking for a part of The Rogue Song. The Helpmates' website states that the clip Bob is after is on a DVD in America called The Jazz Singer. Apparently its inclusion was a mistake and the DVD is being recalled. Music Box doing well Steve Bartley tells us that the first meeting of The Music Box Tent went well. He expects numbers to increase and says, "We had a great time and the guys who were there said that they knew of others that would enjoy the night too." Steve received an e-mail from Roger Fisher, saying, "I saw a mention in the local paper about your society meeting at a Little Lever Laurel and Hardy theme pub. This got me thinking that maybe you might like to know of the Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust's new Theatre Organ Heritage Centre at Peel Green, Eccles. We have created a 1930s style small cinema, complete with contemporary Wurlitzer organ, and also a museum to the history of the theatre organ, which began just about 40 miles from there, not in America as many think." Roger continued, "We have a lunchtime concert every Wednesday, and at these we usually show a short Laurel and Hardy film. Indeed, our brochure shows Laurel and Hardy on the screen in the cinema in the front cover photo. The thought struck me that your group might like to arrange a visit, and see any number of Laurel and Hardy films, in the most appropriate of surroundings." Steve is enthusiastic about all this! Painting raises £250 for Statue Appeal The superb oil on canvas painting of Laurel and Hardy by Caroline Scotcher raised an impressive £250 as it was raffled for the Statue Appeal. The draw was made at our Christmas tent meeting, which was attended by over 100 people (including 15 newcomers). A hush descended in the room as the big moment arrived and the winning ticket was drawn. Would you believe it, my own ticket (number 98) was drawn out. You can imagine the reaction! Then it hit me. "What will the Sons say?" "You don't believe me!" What should I do? I asked the members to shout out their advice. Amazingly, "Keep it," was the loudest shout. But I decided to draw it again. Some members tried to stop me from doing this, but eventually a second ticket was drawn &endash; number 70. The winner was Laughing Gravy 10-year member Nigel Clarke. It couldn't have gone to a nicer guy. Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket. The response from Sons around the country was excellent. Thank you for your generosity and support. Oh well, easy come, easy go, as they say. John Ullah DVD and CD bargains I came across these whilst surfing through the Internet sales which may be of interest: http://www.uwish.co.uk/details.cfm/ProductID/47026/Title/100%20Years%20Of%20Comedy http://www.uwish.co.uk/details.cfm/ProductID/88808/Title/The%20Rogue%20Song John Burton Did you see? Dear Green Place (BBC1, 04.12.07.) was about trying to save the old bandstand in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow. In one scene a protester chained himself to the bandstand and made a speech to the assembled crowd. Part of that speech was , "Ladies and Gentlemen, imagine, if you would, when the Glenn Miller Orchestra played here, when Laurel and Hardy took their bows to an adoring crowd." John Bogie |
 Doh! Reactions to Bowler Dessert's sixth DVD Doh = Woh. It is excellent, very professional throughout, and has some real vintage film of the Sons. What a great mixture from the events over the years and, if ever proof were needed, it shows that Sons certainly know how to enjoy themselves with that "half-assed dignity". Wonderful. Roger Robinson You did well to lick diverse footage into an acceptable shape with some neat editing and nice work on the titling. It was pleasing to spot familiar faces in the older footage but more recent events elicited an appropriate "Doh!" and "Was that really ****?" The ageing process caught me off guard so a replay was needed for confirmation. Jean looked somewhat frail but still a real trouper. And with his cameo appearance, Norbert is no longer a faceless writer in Germany. That Dance of the Nurses? I've seen everything now. A fine addition to the BD DVD Collection. Bob Spiller I like the Sons' Casebook part of the DVD best. It gives a great sense of nostalgia. It was nice seeing Bill and places from Glasgow which have long since changed. It's a great idea for an entire DVD and it could be like a locations tour accompanied with stories. Dean McKeown
Links We have enlarged our Links section to include websites not directly connected with Laurel and Hardy but with strongly associated comedy |
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Bulgaria and Romania Like Bulgaria and Romania are Laurel and Hardy. The longtime neighbours and latest EU members know precious little about each other. Cafébabel.com, spotted by Jean Poulain |
How did it start? From New Zealand, Hannah Wilson, formerly Macdonald, recalls that Les chose Leave 'Em Laughing for the Liverpool tent's name because, as he said, Laurel and Hardy kept everyone laughing. As a finishing touch, consider this: Bob Spiller reflects that the choice dovetailed well with the city's reputation for laughter provoking comedians, professional or otherwise. BS also reflects that it is now 13 years since Les died and 28 since the tent started. Much water has passed under the Brooklyn Bridge. . . |
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Bolder Dam Nick Rich wondered what became of the Bolder Dam, mentioned in Busy Bodies. Dave Walker has the answer. . . Bolder Canyon was one of the world's most inaccessible, hottest, scariest places on earth. It was also the place engineers would choose to build the world's biggest dam in the 1930s. It was originally referred to as the Bolder Dam project, but after many years it was renamed the Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover. The Hoover Dam is approximately thirty miles southeast of Las Vegas Nevada in Black Canyon on the Colorado River. It is considered to be one of the greatest engineering works in history. |
