Albert

This week has seen a new arrival at Medd Towers. He's been dropping by, unannounced, for a couple of weeks now. At first it was nighttime sorties only - waiting till after lights out, entering by stealth thru the cat-flap, then making his way to the kitchen and helping himself to Doris' supper.

Meet Albert. He’s new.
I think he’s gonna stay. pic.twitter.com/p38ymmptln

— John Medd (@JohnMeddUK) February 21, 2019

But now in true Six Dinner Sid style, he's casually breezing in for a spot of breakfast, a bit of a play, whereupon he'll jump up on the window cill and watch the world go by, before exiting stage left. And come nightfall he's back again. I call him Albert; he looks like an Albert. I think he likes it here.

Whilst on the subject of Albert, I can't not mention the recent passing of Albert Finney. Finney was a great character actor. His portrayal of Arthur Seaton in Saturday Night Sunday Morning was superb. I saw it recently on the big screen for the first time earlier this year and he and Nottingham never looked better.

I also name-checked him in the early days of this blog - in Gumshoe, Finney played dreamer Eddie Ginley - a smalltime bingo caller/private eye who gets caught way out of his depth in a very murky early seventies Liverpool. Such was his performance alongside Billie Whitelaw and Frank Finlay, this classic film noir will always feature in My Top Ten Movies.


And then today I found this in my office. A theatre programme from 1960. When Albert Finney took on the role of Billy Fisher (another dreamer), he brought Keith Waterhouse's novel Billy Liar to life. Interestingly, when it had the movie makeover a couple of years later it would be Finney's mate Tom Courtenay who was cast as our anti-hero.

Dear Keith,

I've never written a fan letter. But there are two I wished I had penned. Too late now, both would be recipients are on the other side: George Harrison, a frequent cameo stalwart of this blog, and Keith Waterhouse. And who, to the best of my knowledge, never met.

 Keith Waterhouse the Leeds born writer and (some would say) inventor of the liquid lunch was a wordsmith who could turn his typewriter to novels, short stories, screenplays, TV, newspaper columns and still be back in the pub for last orders.

 If I had scribbled a few words to him I would told him that from the day his seminal Billy Liar appeared on our English Language O Level Sylabus I've never not had a book on the go. In fact, I'm currently rereading Office Life: a A Waterhouse novel from 1978 which, I'm sure Magnus Mills used as the template for his The Scheme For Full Employment. But he was so much more than Billy Liar (not that he needed me to tell him that); scriptwriter for The Frost Report, That Was The Week That Was and Whistle Down The Wind gained him serious credibility in the 60s. And, with his good friend and co-writer Willis Hall, came up with one of the 70s most memorable TV series - Budgie. Adam Faith brought their script alive and depicted a seedy and down at heel Soho while still giving its characters - Budgie Bird and Charlie Endell - and their surroundings a rich and multilayered veneer. Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell proved he had lost none of his magic and later novels like Bimbo, Our Song and Palace Pier were among his best ever. The latter possibly being the finest depiction of Brighton after Patrick Hamilton's West Pier. Looking back, it's probably just as well I didn't write. It may have left one or both of us feeling a little foolish. Maybe I should have just bought him a drink instead. Cheers Keith.

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