Have YOU ever made a mistake, dear Readers, or worse, become the victim of some perhaps officially-generated "snafu"? A lot of us have, haven't we, like the families of these two poor old men, victims of yet another locally highly-publicised NHS "gaffe" [Source: Onion News].
But don't go around with the idea that these official "blunders" are anything new - they've been going on for centuries, a fact that may shock you perhaps, unless you've become another old cynic like yours truly!
I think of this today, after receiving an email from Steve, our American brother-in-law, revealing an 18th century "cock-up" on the part of the British Government. And who was the person who made the "gaffe" exactly? Step forward, His Majesty Charles II, King of England, Scotland, Ireland and all British possessions overseas, who reigned from 1660 to 1685.
At least that "whacky grandfather mix-up" at Redditch didn't start a war, unlike Charles II "gaffe" when he accidentally granted the same piece of land, the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, to two different sets of people: (1) William Penn himself and his local Pennsylvanians, and (2) some colonists from Connecticut.
Oops!
Both factions enthusiastically tried to settle the land, with copies of King Charles' authorisation in their hands, and inevitably it led to a war, as described in Katherine A. Earle's book "An Early History of the Wyoming Valley".
the 18th century struggle for Wyoming Valley, the result of
"a right royal cock-up" by HM Charles II (1660-1685), no less!
And while you're about it, however, just take a minute to check that family photo album to make sure that, next time you visit them that YOU have got the correct grandparents and they haven't been switched in some parallel NHS "snafu" in YOUR hospital region (!).
It's so important to have your correct grandparents identified at the moment, especially if you're an Olympic athlete. I expect you saw the story this week, didn't you [Source: Onion News again].
See what I mean haha!
And these multiple official "snafus" give Lois and me something to smile about this morning on our daily walk over Poolbrook Common. We need that because - yikes - I've got another doctor's appointment today at 2pm, when a doctor is going to be looking at my foot, "to see how it's getting along" - what madness!
flashback to this morning: Lois and I take a walk through
the long grass of Poolbrook Common, in the lee
of the 700-million-year-old Malvern Hills...
...before I find myself being "hauled in" (!) by a doctor at
our local NHS surgery who "wants to take a look at my foot"
- what madness !!!!!
Well, we'll see - so watch this space! [I can't wait! - Ed]
20:00 Luckily there's something to watch this evening on TV, that offers lots of opportunities for a quiet chuckle, which is nice. It's programme 2 in Channel Four's two-part documentary series about the British Sex Comedy films of the 1970's.
These sex comedies or "sexploitation" films of the 1970's were initially an effort to tempt people to visit the cinema. Box office figures had dropped sharply at around this time, as people decided they preferred to stay at home in the evenings, now that there were three - yes, three! - TV channels to look at. What madness!
It was the time when antiporn campaigner Mary Whitehouse was "harassing" the sex-comedy producers with her campaign for "decency", and film-producer David Sullivan tried to counter her by naming his latest porn-magazine "Whitehouse International".
Margaret Whitehouse threatened to sue Sullivan over the magazine's title, but it turned out to be just a threat.
The big draw of "The Stud" for audiences was its comeback starring role for Joan Collins who, as a young woman in her 20's, had been a familiar figure to British cinema audiences way back in the 1950's.
And viewed historically, "The Stud" was the first film from the "sexploitation" genre to appeal primarily to women.
There's no doubt that"The Stud" was a huge factor in Joan Collins' later career success, starting almost immediately after her appearance in the film.
It was a time when Lois and I were "courting", so we liked to go to the cinema to get out of our parents' homes once in a while. And we found that these sex-comedies were pretty much all that was on offer. That was our excuse anyway, and we're sticking to it (!).
flashback to 1970: us before we were married
Oh dear! Stop and think for a moment, David! "White House" - the clue's in the name haha!
One of the big stars of these films was a woman discovered by Sullivan, and he assigned her the screen name Mary Millington. She could have been a fashion model, Sullivan says, but for the fact that she was only 4' 11" (1.5m). Poor Mary !!!!
As a publicity stunt her agent had her picture taken, sort of topless, outside the Prime Minister's residence, 10 Downing Street, standing next to the police constable on duty. The constable threatened to "nick" her, but decided to let her off with just a warning, which was nice of him, and he is said to have treasured the photograph for the rest of his life.
Awwwwww!!!!
What a crazy world we lived in, back in those whacky 1970's !
And who knew that film star Joan Collins' career was saved by one of these productions? She had taken some good, challenging serious screen roles in her younger years, but by the time of her late 30's and 40's, those roles had dried up. Then, at the age of 44, she was offered a role in "The Stud", based on the million-selling novel, written by her sister, Jackie Collins.
The film was said to be a bit of a statistical "outlier" among the "sex comedies" of the time, because it "dispensed with the comedy and just kept the sex". What a madness that was - but it seemed to work, so don't "knock" it haha!!!!
By contrast, for its main star, Oliver Tobias, the film was "just another day at the studio".
So that was all right then!
Fascinating stuff, though, isn't it!
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!
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