05-08-2025, 09:50 AM
For the uninitiated, this is the R4 comedy show hosted for an extraordinary 35-year tenure by Humphrey Lyttleton, and in its illustrious past having featured comedy giants Willie Rushton, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer and Jeremy Hardy.
The premise is that two 2-person teams "are given silly things to do" by the host, who in the show's current incarnation, is Jack Dee.
They've taken it on tour, which might have always been a thing, or might be a recent development. Anyway this gave me and an old friend a chance to experience it live at the Bristol Beacon ("In the incredibly unlikely event that the Bristol Beacon should catch fire [beat] again, please head for the exit doors you can see clearly signed, and wait for the old lady to unlock them.") The panellists were Miles Jupp, Ade Edmondson, Rachel Parris and Henning Wehn.
I can't really do much more than share with you the words of my companion, who declared it "a lot of fun". But I was heartened when the city lived up to being "a city so woke even the foxes are vegan" when the audience were invited to suggest a subject for a letter of complaint, and the man who suggested "people who live in vans" was roundly booed. (Dee, selecting a different topic: "We'll choose the non-racist option, shall we?" [hearty cheers])
I also enjoyed the comparison of JD Vance with a particular stage on the Bristol Stool Chart (Google is your friend if you've not heard of this before).
Not sure if either of these moments will make it to air, so I feel confident sharing them with you good folk of the Palimp.
The premise is that two 2-person teams "are given silly things to do" by the host, who in the show's current incarnation, is Jack Dee.
They've taken it on tour, which might have always been a thing, or might be a recent development. Anyway this gave me and an old friend a chance to experience it live at the Bristol Beacon ("In the incredibly unlikely event that the Bristol Beacon should catch fire [beat] again, please head for the exit doors you can see clearly signed, and wait for the old lady to unlock them.") The panellists were Miles Jupp, Ade Edmondson, Rachel Parris and Henning Wehn.
I can't really do much more than share with you the words of my companion, who declared it "a lot of fun". But I was heartened when the city lived up to being "a city so woke even the foxes are vegan" when the audience were invited to suggest a subject for a letter of complaint, and the man who suggested "people who live in vans" was roundly booed. (Dee, selecting a different topic: "We'll choose the non-racist option, shall we?" [hearty cheers])
I also enjoyed the comparison of JD Vance with a particular stage on the Bristol Stool Chart (Google is your friend if you've not heard of this before).
Not sure if either of these moments will make it to air, so I feel confident sharing them with you good folk of the Palimp.
