On the Ning Nang Nong, where the cows go Bong!

It is Christmas eve, so I doubt anybody is going to read this, but Happy Christmas, one and all! I hope Santa is kind to you.

(Also, I found out this week that my final grade in A Level Literature was an 'A', so I feel officially awesome enough to talk about literature on Wednesdays!)

I am writing this issue whilst listening to the Comedy genius of John Finnemore in the final episode of the Radio 4 sitcom Cabin Pressure. So in honour of the occasion, I want to talk about another comedy genius, the fantastic Spike Milligan.

If you've heard the name before, it was probably in reference to his gravestone, the immortal words 'I told you I was ill' inscribed in Celtic upon the stone. A brilliant man, a bizarre and yet wonderful sense of humour and with a cynical wit that was totally unparralelled, he wrote comedy in the form f poetry, plays, doodles, and several years of TV and radio comedy including the famous 'Goon Show'. Recently some clips of his comedy show 'Q' have been played on the BBC, so if you want to look on iPlayer, they'll be there.

Born 1918, Milligan grew up in India to a military family, and moved to London some time later, he fought in WW2 and after suffering a severe blow to the head was later invalided out of the army for mental health reasons. He suffered severe bouts of depression all the rest of his life although he claimed that the two were not related. He often referenced the war in his works, especially his poetry;

There was a young soldier
who went off to the war
which is the thing
that soldiers are made for
But then that little soldier
was blown to bits, was he.
All for his king
he did this thing:
how silly can you be?

Milligan's mental health was a very pblic affair, at a time when such things were only just starting to be treated correctly he was one of the first men willing to discuss his mental health in interviews and in the media, he even tried to explan it in his poems (See: Manic Depression Writting during his stay in hospital). And he was unafraid to make a statement and be outrageous in his works, whether it be political or environmental or whatever. His sketch 'Pakistani Dalek' is only a fine example of this, or this poem;

Said prince Charles
when they placed
the crown on his head
I suppose this means
that Mummy's dead.

But, mostly, it is Milligans randomness that makes him so wonderful, the strange little ditties and wordplay that came out of a desire to connect with his children after his divorce. And so I shall leave you with such a poem; thos is one of my favourite poems, and was shown to me by my dad, who picked up a random book in a shop in Swansea thirty years ago and also found it brilliant. The book was 'The Essential Spike Milligan' and I have it next to me as I write this having stolen it from his shelf and adored it. And the poem was 'Silly Old Baboon'. It's daft, random and witty, quite refreshing after a lot of heavy poetry being studied this year, and I hope it puts you all in a good mood for Christmas!

There was a baboon
Who one afternoon
Said I think I will fly to the sun
So with great palms
strapped to his arms
he started he takeoff run

Mile after mile
He galloped in style
But never once left the ground
You’re going too slow said a passing crow
Try reaching the speed ofsound

SO
he put on a spurt
My God how it hurt
both the soles of his feet caught on fire
As he went through a stream
There were great clouds of steam
Buthe never got any higher

On and on through the night
both his knees caught alight
clouds of smoke billowed out of his rear!!!
Quick to his aid
Were the fire brigade
They chased him for over a year

Many moons passed by
Did Baboon ever fly
Did he ever get to the sun
I’ve just heard today,
he’s well on his way
He’ll be passing through Acton at one.

PS – well, what do you expect from a baboon?

Merry Christmas! I know this was short and vague again, I'll try and be a bit more up to scratch in the new year once I'm back in Cardiff and Christmas is out the way.

Emily.