Tim Vine recreates Columbo Columbo fan and comedian Tim Vine has re-created a number of scenes from various episodes of the famous TV series, often filmed in his own backyard and the local park. For those who know the series the scene parodies are exceptionally funny. All of the extracts contain the exact dialogue from a…
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These days, collecting sports memorabilia can be a fun and exciting hobby. Also, a potentially lucrative investment. According to auctioneers collecting sporting memorabilia is on the rise. Traditional commemorative collecting such as football, golf, cricket, tennis, horse racing and baseball has tended to be around pictures, cards, signatures, photographs, paintings and ceramics. But in the…
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There are several comedians who have had the privilege of performing in front of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal family. The majority of these appearances were at the Royal Variety show. An annual event first started in 1912 to raise money for artistes’ charities. Cream of the crop The Royal Variety Performance always boasts…
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Broadcaster Terry Wogan once said ‘Radio has a way of getting into people’s heads’. There is no better example as BBC’s Test Match Special; which has been broadcasting the highs and lows of the England cricket team for over 65 years. The chatter and banter heard by a nation often surpassed the cricket being played…
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The prototypical borscht belt comedian, Jackie Mason deftly blended self-deprecating humility with abrasive arrogance to acutely dissect the differences between Jewish and Gentile culture. He made his name in Britain with his successful one man show, ‘The World According to Me!’ playing a number of weeks in London’s West End, the successful show having transferred…
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Brian Clough: Tomaszewski Gaffe In a must win World Cup Qualifier at Wembley in October 1973, England played Poland. Only a win for England would see them through to the World Cup finals in Germany the next year. Brian Clough was a pundit on ITV working on the match. Before the game he insisted the Poland…
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Freddie Starr was a very talented comedian, impressionist, singer and actor with an extra ordinary self-destructive side which was often present in his performances but even more prevalent in his personal life and on occasions dealing with professional staff and showbusiness executives. Frederick Leslie Fowell He was born Frederick Leslie Fowell in Liverpool, a carpenter’s…
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Just imagine, there is no fourth official and the linesman gets injured in an important Premier League football match. No one in the crowd is a qualified referee. Who could replace him? Think. Gary Lineker runs on the pitch offering his services. Then Alan Shearer says ‘I’m available?’ Sounds completely ridiculous? Yet this scenario was…
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A Brief British Football History ITV’s exclusive British TV football league contract finished at the end of the 1992 season. Since the mid 1980s, talk of a super league of elite English clubs had been frequently mentioned by various footballing bodies. As the 1990’s approached it became more of a reality. The English football clubs…
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The more outspoken they were the more television valued them. The public would switch on not only because they liked what they saw. But also to hate what they heard. Television football coverage and punditry has changed dramatically with the times. It has developed through the need of audience, growth of technology and the mass…
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George Best & Bobby Moore were footballing icons in the sixties and seventies. Bobby picking up the World Cup in 1966 for England and George Best an instrumental part of the great Manchester United side that won the European cup in 1968. Best is still seen by some as arguably the greatest player to grace…
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‘She wanted me because I was George Best and I wanted her because she was Miss World. It wasn’t exactly a meeting of minds, it was a collision of bodies.’ – George Best George Best (1946-2005) finally walked out on Manchester United in January 1974, having done so twice before. Although one of the most…
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In preparation for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, one needed to check the England Esso coin collection was complete and the squad poster was neatly pinned to a teenagers wall. The England team left us with a song, ‘Back Home’ appearing on ‘Top of the Pops’ reaching number 1 in the charts on May…
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Gordon Banks was one of the greatest goalkeepers of his or any other generation and he will forever be remembered for his heroic part in England’s triumphant 1966 World Cup campaign that culminated in the famous 4-2 victory over West Germany at Wembley in the final. Gordon Banks: Football Legend Banks played 73 times for…
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Jeremy Hardy was one of the UK’s foremost stand up comedians. His live work included ‘Just 4 Laughs’, (Montreal Comedy Festival), the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he won the prestigious Perrier Award in 1988. Arthur Smith described him as ‘a profoundly witty and honourable man’. Jeremy Hardy Remembered He came up through the 1980’s comedy…
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Barry Reeves was the comedy writer for Ken Dodd for over 30 years, here he continues talking of their working relationship and close friendship to the very end. If you missed it you can read Part 1 of this article here. Ken Dodd: Audience, Shows & Nerves A lot of people stated they were friends of…
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Barry Reeves was Ken Dodd’s comedy writer for over 30 years, keeping himself in the background, while serving up some of Doddy’s most favourite routines. Barry was never one for the personal limelight. Modest in attitude but talented with pen. Their working relationship turned to a close family friendship. Here in this two-part series, Barry…
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Michael Parkinson was friends with George Best (1946-2005) for over 30 years; if anyone could shed light on this genesis of a footballer surely, he could. Yet throughout the book (George Best: A Memoir) it contains memories as the title suggests, but does not shed any new light on this complex but highly charismatic footballer.…
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‘Monty Python’s flying Circus’ (BBC 1969 -1974) was a surreal TV programme which changed the face of comedy not only in Britain but the world. Its popularity stretched across Europe and The United States. Many of its famous sketches, which often mocked the establishment, are still re-run on television today; besides DVD’s, albums, several books…
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5-A-Side football is often seen today as a training method, used by clubs to keep players fit and practicing moving the ball quickly. What is often forgotten is this form of the beautiful game once had its own special competition. Leading teams would compete on a knock out basis in single evening of five-a-side football…
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The London Evening Standard 5-a-side tournament (organised by the Sports Council now called Sport England) was first introduced in 1954. And the last time in 1995. The competition, was usually played towards the end of the season (April, May). It featured the capitals league clubs. Roger Hillier says. ‘Initially the tournament ran for seven years…
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As a child, one of my favourite Ladybird Books was ‘Captain Scott’ a true dramatic story of a naval officer and explorer, who died attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole. The story of Captain’s Scott’s journey to the Antarctic tells of the courage, determination and devotion of five very brave men…
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A recent real life event drew my thoughts to how writing comedy plots often takes from real life experiences. It was 4:00am, only six people left in the bar at the Metropole Hilton, after a great ‘Hire a Hero’ event. Time to collect my coat from the bands changing room and home. Entering the area…
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Peter Brackley: Sports Commentator With Several Voices
Peter Brackley began his radio and TV career as a very young sports editor on BBC Radio Brighton in the seventies, before following fellow Brighton fan Des Lynam to BBC National Radio, where he became a presenter and football commentator on Radio 2’s legendary ‘Sport on 2’, where he first met a young Garry Richardson.…
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