Ben Elton followed the guidance provided by Edmondson and Wells (see below) and used his imagination to give us his version of Shakespeare's life. Upstart Crow didn't get off to a very good start- I nearly switched it off after the first minute, but- as we all know in the Shakespeare industry- a knee-jerk reaction to any new approach is not advisable and everything has to be given its chance. Elton's done his homework, provided a first episode with a plot device about a plot device and, notwithstanding some awful moments of unnecessariness, it survives to be given further consideration.
Comparisons with Blackadder are ill-founded. In the old classic, a starry cast worked over the script line by line and contributed whereas this is Ben Elton collaborating somewhat less. The difference between him and him with Stephen Fry, Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, Tony Robinson, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and a litany of guests was bound to be a big difference, and it is.
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The deadline for submissions to the Autumn edition of SOUTH is the end of the month. I'll be half of the selection process and so they'd better be worthwhile. But I mustn't know the authors while reading them. Submit them via the PO Box on the form provided on their website.
I don't know what a good poem is so that won't be among the selection criteria. Each poem succeeds or fails on its own terms. I'll pick those I like best in the hope that what I like coincides with what most deserves to see print. So, really, all you have to do is give it a try and I apologize in advance if I miss your masterpiece.
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And, finally, on the cold call issue, that has been such a favourite source of stories for such a long time.
I have now stopped the direct debit to the well-known animal charity that called for the third time having been asked not to twice. So there's a vacancy for a new benficiary and I'll identify one soon.
But then, this week.
Hello, is that Mr Green.
Yes.
Hello, we are a call barring service.
And that completely stumped me. Which of my many prepared strategies do I use this time. I said nothing. He said, Hello. I still said nothing and he rang off. But he gets the prize for best call yet ahead of the BT caller who I told I wouldn't sign up to any company that kept calling me, who then asked if I'd sign up if they stopped.
It's a good game and can be a lot of fun.