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Saturday, Saturday, Saturday is Tiswas day
Posted Thursday, April 26, 2007
Monday was a special day. Usually on Mondays you kind of shuffle around in your pants early in the morning , smoke seven cigarettes before you get your big ol’ butt out of bed and then mooch into the bathroom , look at yourself in the mirror, at that face of yours, with all the wrinkles and blotches and flaws and think to yourself, 'Oh God. It’s Monday morning and my face looks like Winnie Mandela’s inner thigh.'
However , this Monday morning was different – I had to do the usual stuff , you know - get up early, sort out my daughter - who now holds the record for having a bath in the morning ( is 2 hours a long time to be in the bath before school ? Even an adult porpoise would have been there going - 'Aren’t you getting a bit prune-y love?') getting her fed and to school and then going to the gym for all the huffing and puffing and remarks from the other wannabe athletes, 'Working hard?'’ and 'Got a sweat on , haven’t you?' and 'Hello Ainsley' - you know the usual stuff. And then, off to not work, but for the first time in ages, play. A day of play, imagine that, genius. Its always a schlep into London from where we live, but I didn’t mind because all the way in, I was listening to something that John Gorman wrote some 30 years ago called 'Wuwal Wetweats', which, you have to understand is the David Bellamy pronunciation of 'Rural Retreats'. I listened to that all the way in on my iPod and laughed and shook my head at how silly it was. 'Where wobin wedbweast goes tweet tweet' indeed.
London Weekend Studios (It’s just London Studios now, but that's what we used to call it when I was doing The Fosters) is where they do Loose Women , the series before last of The Lenny Henry Show, we did Saturday Live there, they also record Parkinson there – so I have good memories of the place, the studio space there feels friendly and creative to me. The Tiswas Reunited set was in studio three –and it did not disappoint; the designer had done a wonderful job of recreating the old Tiswas set, but re –imagining it for the noughties. The Tiswas logo, all oranges and blacks and whites in lightening flashes, was everywhere - two main stages, one with a desk backed by cartoons (by Chris Wroe) of Chris and Sally and John and Myself and Bob and Spit, with a banquette either side-the other over to the right with a red cage situated slightly off to the right- the cage has a huge tin bath with a handle on it’s left on side placed over it which,. when you pull the handle, the bath deposits it's load onto the imprisoned people below.
The vibe was very special. When I arrived, Sally and Chris were already on set, 'staggering through' the first part of the script and working on links for the show.
I think from then on, apart from the usual nightmares of 21st century tv production, you know, health and safety people fluttering around,'Water? What do you mean you want to throw water?' and 'Pies? There's going to be a man in an unfeasibly tight , black leotard running all over this set chucking custard pies at people? We can’t have that!’...apart from that, I would say we laughed all day.
I don't think I’ve had a day where I’ve been so relaxed and cheerful for ages- I realise now that it was a big nostalgic wallow, designed to remind us all of 'how we used to be' but still – what a hoot. The early footage that was found is wonderful , especially when you consider that most of the original tapes were wiped by Central TV when they took
over the ATV franchise for the Midlands. Why do they do that ? Who makes the decisions on which programmes to erase? I can imagine them sitting there 'Hmmm. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore ….24 episodes of sketches and songs and characters , charting their development from post 'Beyond the Fringe' TV hopefuls , to experienced and genius level sketch artists. No we don’t want that – lose all that rubbish. Yes, we’ll keep the Sue Lawley and Nicholas Witchell being attacked by lesbians in the news studio – that was funny…'
Anyway – great clips played in all day ( I think most of them from the Kenny Everett vaults –he loved the show and recorded every one
apparently) , making us laugh and giggle and say 'Oh. MY. GOD!'
repeatedly.
Highlights of the day for me? The whole day, really – it was fun to be around the gang again and catch up with how everyone is doing , talking about our kids and reminiscing about 'back in the day' . Chris has an excellent memory, and kept mentioning sketches that I’d performed and things that I'd done that I just couldn't remember. Sally is still a very attractive woman , Gorman still looks like Gorman –Bob Carolgees still has the skinny legs and the weird kecks and the big grin …it was quality.
The actual recording of the show shot by, although we over –recorded (there was so much material –particularly the stuff that was going on in the studio) - I think it will cut down to a very smart and sharp 90 minute special. I was sad when it was over, and everyone asked in the bar afterwards,
'Surely that wasn’t the last ever Tiswas ? You guy’s have got to do it again. Come on – please?'
And I looked around at us , with our kids and our friends and the things we’ve done since and I think …(even as the lizard part of my brain that retains the pleasure of these things is going ‘YAAAAAAAAAAAGHH , THIS IS THE STUFF, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!!! WOO HAH !
PIES, BUCKETS, THE PHANTOM , BREAD AND CONDENSED MILK SANDWICHES -BRING IT ON!!!! )
'Nah. We did that. Time to move on I think'.
It was good to celebrate the show itself though ,and very nice to catch up with the gang , especially The Phantom Flan Flinger , who was looking and sounding very sprightly for his age..( He’s a hundred and two years old you know…)
Other things :
I saw James Taylor give a masterful performance at the Hammersmith Apollo last night. Just very funny with quite possibly one of the sweetest voices this side of Marvin Gaye. Wonderful. And he didn't do what everyone wanted to do either – he gave them what he wanted, in his own time – so there was no 'Handy Man' or 'How sweet it is' but there was 'Something in the way' and 'Walking down a country road' and 'Shower the people' etc. A truly mega gig –very calming …It was like sitting there , having prozac pumped into your bottom for two hours…but in a nice way.
Coming up soon – me guest hosting on Paul O’Grady ,while he’s off on his hols (just for one show though).
A Perfect Night In , which is where I take over Channel four for two hours talking about and showing clips from my favourite tv shows and movies and stuff..
Also we're planning on resuming the tour in the Autumn , so watch this space for further dates…it’s all kicking off ,baby.
Peace, Len