Hello again, I hope October was a good month for you. It’s been a busy few weeks for my mother and I, as we’ve had some work done on the house and she’s had a few medical appointments, all of which seem to have turned out well, touch wood. And then in terms of entertainment, there are various comedy shows I’ve been enjoying, and I’ve written a few big posts about other things too.
So there’s plenty to cover as usual, none of which is sponsored or gifted, and I hope you enjoy!
Contents
Carer Updates
New Bathroom
The big news this month is that we’ve just had a wet room installed upstairs, which Mum had asked for to replace our old bathroom, so it’s a lot safer and easier for her to navigate and use. It was only put in last week, so we’re still getting used to it, and there are a couple of things left to do before the space is fully complete, but first impressions are very good, and we’re enjoying using it.
We used a company called Age Care Bathrooms, who I had been keeping an eye on for quite a while, because they seemed to have a good reputation online. And so far we can’t fault them, they’ve been very friendly and helpful.
So I’ve written a blog post all about our experience with the company so far and my thoughts on the new bathroom, if you want to find out more. I’ll keep updating that review if and when there are any future developments or issues.
Medical Appointments
I also had to take Mum out for a few little appointments this month. She had her flu and Covid vaccines first of all, on consecutive days, which made her feel a little bit poorly, but nothing like she would have been with the actual infections of course. So she’s fine now. I’m not eligible for a Covid jab, but I can get a flu vaccination, so I’ll book that during November.
Also, because her cholesterol levels are a little bit high, we had to go to another clinic for her to have an ultrasound scan on her abdomen, just to be sure there wasn’t anything untoward with her liver or other organs. And they didn’t find any problems according to the letter they sent back to our surgery, so that’s good. She’s going to have another blood test in November too. They’ll probably just increase her dose of statins I expect.
Also in November she’s going to have a check-up at Moorfields. Not that they can do anything about her lost sight now, but they can still check the pressure and other aspects of her eyes to ensure they don’t get painful, irritating or infected. I should be having regular check-ups as well, but it’s difficult at the moment when I can’t be out of the house for too long, considering that Moorfields appointments can take several hours. The hope is that if we can make the house more accessible so she can feel more confident getting around and doing things by herself again, then it might be easier to leave her for longer periods. But we’ll see how we get on.
Christmas Food
Yes, we’re already getting prepared for Christmas! And why not? Mum openly made the point recently that we have no idea how many Christmases she has left, so she wants to make the most of them while she still can.
We’ve therefore booked our Christmas food order from M&S as usual, and it’s wonderful that they’ve done an audio version of their Christmas food magazine again this year, which Mum has been listening to a lot. We’ve already been enjoying some of their festive treats as well, particularly their mince pies and festive sandwiches. It’s hard to resist that kind of stuff when you see it in the shop. Plus we’ve reserved our Christmas delivery slot with Sainsbury’s. We’re building up nice amounts of money on our M&S Sparks and Sainsbury’s Nectar loyalty cards to get discounts off our Christmas shopping as well. And no, this isn’t an advert for either store, they’re just the two we’ve used the most for several years now.
Comedy
Only Fools & Horses: The Lost Archive
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Only Fools And Horses is arguably the greatest sitcom ever made. John Sullivan’s writing is exemplary, bringing together characters that we can all relate to and feel a great empathy for, making us laugh with everything from classic one-liners to clever plot setups, and effectively incorporating heavy moments of drama and emotion in a way that most sitcoms would never be able to pull off. And it’s all performed by a stellar cast. I own all the series and specials, yet I’m still regularly sucked into episodes that I happen to catch on U&Gold, even though I know them inside out, because they’re always funny.
Yet even for us most ardent fans, there are still a lot of moments that we’ve never seen – until now. And it’s all thanks to Richard Latto, a former BBC producer and comedy archive specialist who has already produced amazing box sets for shows like The Young Ones, Blackadder and another classic John Sullivan sitcom, Citizen Smith.
Richard and his team have unearthed a treasure trove of unbroadcast footage from Only Fools And Horses, after tracking down the original film stock on which the show was recorded, a lot of which people had assumed was lost or wiped. And some of it, now digitised in high definition, has been shared in a new 2-part series on U&Gold, with more to come next year as well. It’s an absolute joy to watch, and there are some lovely behind the scenes photos included as well.
Stars of the show are also presented with the footage for the first time, so we can see their reactions, including David Jason (Del Boy), Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel), Gwyneth Strong (Cassandra), Sue Holderness (Marlene), Steven Woodcock (Jevon) and Denis Lill (Alan), as well as Director Tony Dow and Editor Chris Wadsworth. The one glaring omission from the surviving cast is Nicholas Lyndhurst (Rodney), as it would have been lovely to see him too.
One of the episodes from which a lot of material has been recovered is the classic Christmas special The Jolly Boys Outing. It’s one of the very best episodes of the show, and back in 2021 it was included in a remastered Blu-ray box set of the 80s specials, which reinstated a scene from the nightclub that had always been cut from home releases despite being shown on TV. But now, in this new documentary, a substantial amount of never-before-seen footage has been revealed.
There’s extra dialogue on the coach when Boycie is teasing Rodney and when Del is concerned about the smoking radio. There’s also a bit more dialogue from Rodney in the printing office and at the rest stop when the guys are playing football. There’s additional footage from the rushes of the rollercoaster ride. There’s a little setup to the rail strike from earlier in the episode when we learn something new about Marlene’s family. And when Del is catching up with Raquel, he tells her why he didn’t end up in prison at the end of the previous special, Dates, which was never explained before. It is a real shame that we lost some of that in the final edit.
Talking of Raquel, another major revelation comes from the Series 7 episode The Class Of ’62. At the start of the episode, as Del, Rodney and Raquel enter the flat, we learn that Raquel has just had a disastrous audition singing an inappropriate song, considering she’s heavily pregnant. It’s a very funny opening gag and you think nothing more of it. However, what was never known for sure until now, despite occasional rumours, is that the audition scene was actually filmed as well. So we get to see it in full here, which is fascinating. I can see why it was cut, as the episode opens more strongly in the way we’re familiar with, because sometimes referring to an incident and letting the audience imagine it can actually be funnier than seeing it. But it’s still a pretty good scene nonetheless.
Mother Nature’s Son, where Del ends up selling bottles of toxic water, is another episode from which a lot of material has been found, with extensions to scenes at the health food shop and the allotment, including a look inside Grandad’s shed for the first time. Plus there’s a story that Del tells to Rodney in the hotel near the end that was deleted for being a bit smutty.
There’s important footage from Time On Our Hands as well, the episode where they become millionaires, including an entirely deleted scene where Raquel respectfully confronts Rodney about how he’s dealing with Cassandra’s miscarriage, which also by chance provides a nice visual setup to the gravy incident later on. Then there’s an early attempt by Del to get Rodney to bring his wife to dinner, and we see Cassandra thanking Del for getting his brother to open up.
Beyond all that, there’s new footage from several other episodes, including more on Rodney’s environmentalism and his fears about Damien, another war story from Albert, a clean alternative for a joke that was filmed in case the ruder version couldn’t be used, a multi-angle view of a shot to demonstrate the editing possibilities, and a selection of amusing outtakes. Plus there’s an early interview with a young John Sullivan, before his previous sitcom Citizen Smith had aired.
So it’s a real delight to see all of that new material. When the documentary was first being publicised, I did wonder how much they had actually found, because sometimes things like this can be over-hyped and you just end up with 5 minutes of new material in a heavily padded hour-long show. But they really have found a lot here, and I like how they’ve spliced it into the original footage from the episodes to keep it in context, doing a rolling film transition to show when the new footage starts and ends. It’s lovely to see the cast reacting to it too.
Of course, given all this access to the original film with so much unseen material, along with many other rarities and extras that we already know exist in some form, there is clearly huge scope for deluxe Blu-ray box sets of the series to be made, with remastered, uncut and extended episodes plus a lot of bonus features. I would absolutely pay good money for that. So here’s hoping that happens one day. The show deserves it.
Last One Laughing: Halloween Special
Last One Laughing returned this month for a special Halloween mini-series on Amazon Prime Video, consisting of 4 half-hour episodes hosted by Jimmy Carr and Roisin Conaty. And it’s very funny.
The basic premise is the same as before, whereby a bunch of comedians are put into a room for several hours and are not allowed to laugh. Anybody who laughs once gets a yellow card, and then a second laugh sees them eliminated. The last one remaining is the winner. But because it’s a Halloween special, there are scary surprises as well, so there’s an added rule that nobody is allowed to scream either, as that will also have the same consequences.
i won’t spoil anything too much, but it’s safe to say that the hardest-working comedian this time around is Reece Shearsmith, best known for The League Of Gentlemen (which I haven’t watched for ages) and Inside No. 9 (which I’ve never seen at all and really must get around to). He puts in a lot of effort here, not only in his mandatory performance on the stage, but also with other little games and magic tricks that he’s brought with him. Like Bob Mortimer in the earlier series, Reece is a really tough one to come up against, as he’s very good, even when he’s doing general banter, and you can see how much the others struggle to keep it together when he gets going. All that said, however, Reece is by no means invincible either, and he gets a huge surprise of his own that really pushes him to his limits.
It’s also a delight to see Jack Dee among the line-up, as he’s one of my favourite comedians. He puts on a miserable, deadpan persona, so he’s not the easiest person to get a laugh from. But he’s certainly not uncrackable, as anybody who’s watched him on Shooting Stars or listened to him on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue will know. So he’s very much put to the test here as well.
The other contestants include returning players Daisy May Cooper and Lou Sanders (who were both in Series 1), along with new arrivals Phil Wang, Tom Allen and Harriet Dyer. While I’m not hugely into their stand-up work generally, in this kind of environment they are entertaining. There are also a few brilliant surprise guests, all of whom I know and enjoy.
So it’s been a great special edition of the game, which ended with a surprising but worthy winner, considering how hard it clearly was for them to restrain themselves in certain moments.
There’s going to be a third series of the regular show next year, including the return of Richard Ayoade and the switch from co-host to contestant by Roisin Conaty, which will be fun considering how much of a giggler she is! I’m also really looking forward to Harry Hill, Lee Mack, Jon Richardson & Katherine Ryan in particular in that series. It’s going to be quite the line-up!
Ed Gamble Live
This new stand-up special by Ed Gamble was released on Amazon Prime Video at the end of the month. It’s an hour long and was filmed in Salford, and it opens by diving straight into his act, without him even saying hello.
Despite the jarring opening, however, it is a great set that includes very funny long routines about his street’s WhatsApp group (particularly regarding what one neighbour saw an electrician doing), his honeymoon in Las Vegas (with stories about trying an edible drug, meeting drag queens and getting a Thai massage), getting a cat, and breakfasts at budget hotels (which I can relate to).
He also talks about having a routine of his shared by CBeebies, overly positive people, being married, helping to organise his wife’s hen party, meeting new parents, and performing at the Download festival, among other things.
So I really enjoyed it, he has a great flow and energy to his storytelling and observations. I’ve watched a few of his Taskmaster podcasts alongside the series as well, talking of which…
Taskmaster
This latest series of Taskmaster has been a joy as usual. My favourite contestant is Chloe Petts, who I had occasionally seen on TV before but never really paid close attention to, but they’re clever and competitive and a lot of fun. It’s lovely that Greg and Alex have made the effort to use their preferred pronouns too.
Nina Conti, one of my favourite comedians because of her ventriloquism act, is also great, and she’s clearly been enjoying herself this series, just like Chloe has. And Isy Suttie is another like Chloe that I’m not very familiar with generally, but I’ve warmed to her here as well.
As for the men, I’m much more aware of Matt Lucas from things like Doctor Who, Shooting Stars and Little Britain, and he has been quite out of his depth here as he didn’t know what the show was like, but he’s embraced that and thrown himself into some of the tasks well. Meanwhile Richard Ayoade has adopted his usual persona of being unimpressed by everything, which means he’s not as exciting or creative as some of the other contestants, but his attitude still works to good effect sometimes. So altogether it’s a nice mixture of personalities and tasks again this series.
Incidentally, Richard has also appeared in a bizarre short film by Harry Hill called The Jillon, about an elderly couple who have a very strange baby. It’s typically weird from Harry, and I don’t think I’d watch a full length movie of it (which Harry is trying to arrange), but it is amusing in places.
Michael McIntyre & Holly Willoughby
Very randomly, comedian Michael McIntyre appeared on Holly Willoughby’s Youtube show in October. It’s not a channel that I have any interest in generally, but I had to check out this particular episode because of his involvement. Having learned that he’s never worn jeans before, and doesn’t consider himself to be cool or stylish, Holly gets him to try out a variety of denim outfits to see if she can change his mind. Suffice to say, many of the options aren’t at all flattering. But he’s a really good sport about it all and it’s hilarious, because of his reactions and the way he cracks Holly up several times.
I know how he feels too. I’ve never considered myself to be fashionable either and have never tried to be, as I have no clue about such things. I just buy clothes that seem to look nice to me and fit reasonably well. So I’d need proper help to know what’s out there and what would work best on me. But I’m happy and comfortable enough as I am, as is Michael in what he normally wears.
Other Posts
There are some other posts you can check out as well this month:
- The Beatles – Box Set Reviews – Part 1 – This month The Beatles released a new super deluxe box set of Rubber Soul, containing a remastered version of the album and a lot of great sessions material. So naturally I had to buy it to go with all their other box sets that I’ve got. And as I’ve only done a brief summary of their sets here in the past, I’m now taking the opportunity to go through all of them more comprehensively. So this is my first post, talking in detail about the box sets for Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, along with a brief look at their earlier albums for completeness. I’ll then go through their other box sets over the coming weeks.
- Toy Story – Films 1-2 – I bought the Blu-ray for Toy Story 5 that came out this month, following its release in cinemas earlier in the year. I haven’t actually seen the new sequel yet, but given my love of the previous films and the rave reviews for this new one, I’m confident I’ll like it. So again, as with The Beatles above, it’s a good excuse to go through everything from the beginning, as I haven’t written a lot about the franchise before. Hence this post is about the first 2 movies, including the music and behind the scenes material. It’s been fun to watch them yet again, and I’m looking forward to going through the other films during November.
- Sneaky Sasquatch – I’ve continued to make a lot of progress with this Apple Arcade game, and have been updating my extensive review post accordingly. Since my last post I’ve collected all the mushrooms and fish, won all the animal night races, acquired the bus driver’s uniform, won all the Halloween prizes and started work on the farm. I won’t be able to get every achievement in the game, especially for the faster race events, but there are still a few more I’m aiming for.
Conclusion
And that’s it for another month, I hope you enjoyed that. During November, my mother and I will continue to get used to our new bathroom, and we’re looking to see if we can get new windows installed as well. She still has a couple of medical appointments too, and I’m hoping to meet up with a friend I haven’t been able to see for a while if things work out.
Beyond that, I’ll continue working on my Beatles and Toy Story posts, along with other things I have in mind. Plus there are several new shows on TV and online I want to see, and new Blu-rays and albums that I want to buy.
So there’s plenty to keep me busy and more posts for me to write. And I hope you have a good month too!
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