Monday 9th April

This is another blog written before my departure, so I have no idea when, if ever you will receive this one.   Mr. Ed was a talking horse.  I had completely forgotten about it until I heard a song by David Bowie, one of his most recent I believe.  When Television was in its’ infancy there was a slew of American programmes, not only the detective/thrillers Hawaii 5 0, and 77 Sunset Strip, but a whole batch of comedies too.  ‘I love Lucy’ was everyone’s favourite, with its’ ditzy but glamorous star and her long suffering husband, but there was also the famous talking horse ‘Mr. Ed’, and a great love of mine ‘Green Acres’, about a city dweller who buys a farm in the country, and the mishaps that result, you can easily imagine Steve Martin playing this part nowadays.  Then a little later came ‘The Beverley Hill-Billies’ about a family of almost retards from the country who strike oil, black gold, on their land and suddenly become rich and move, lock stock and old trailer to Hollywood.  Another mid-sixties favourite was ‘Bewitched’ where a very young Larry Hagman marries a real life witch, who casts little spells on all and sundry.  They were all so inventive, and when you look at more recent American comedies such as ‘Friends’ and ‘Frasier’, which are all about relationships and angst and living in the modern world, they had an innocence about them that was truly wonderful.  I have never seen any of these comedy shows available on DVD, which may of course be a blessing, as I sometimes cringe at old re-runs of ‘Steptoe’ or ‘The Likely Lads’ on Dave.   Ah, happy days, when we could laugh innocently without looking for irony or cleverness or postmodernism.  So, consigned to the failing memories of such a one as I, we can wave goodbye to Mr. Ed forever.