GIANT DEAD PARROT INSTALLED ON LONDON’S SOUTH BANK AS MONTY PYTHON RETURN FOR FINAL LIVE SHOWS
15-metre long deceased “Norwegian Blue” unveiled to mark the screening of Monty Python live on TV channel Gold this Sunday 20th July
Dead Parrot Sketch voted the ‘nation’s favourite Monty Python sketch’
The dead parrot at the centre of the eponymous sketch performed by John Cleese and Michael Palin, first screened 45 years ago, has been recreated on a giant scale to celebrate thescreening of the very last Monty Python live show on comedy TV channel Gold this Sunday, the 20th July.
The mammoth model of the ‘Norwegian Blue’ was commissioned by the comedy channel following a survey of 2000 comedy fans which named the surreal pet shop skit as the nation’s favourite Monty Python sketch of all time. The famous sketch was first broadcast on 7 December 1969 and remains a firm favourite with audiences who have been enjoying the live shows at The O2 this month.
The sculpture caused a stir amongst London commuters as it was hung upside down by a crane before being respectfully laid to rest on its back at Potters Fields on London’s South bank near Tower Bridge.
The model, which is made from fibre glass, took a team of three sculptors over two months to design, construct and paint. The giant dead parrot measures 15 metres (almost 50 feet) from the tip of its tail to the top of its head, the equivalent to the height of five elephants standing on top of one another.
Lead sculptor Iain Prendergast says, “We are all Monty Python fans so we were delighted to receive the brief from Gold to recreate the mythical ‘Norwegian Blue’ on a giant scale. We watched both live and televised versions of the sketch and found that there have been a number of different incarnations of the parrot with a variety of different plumages. Our sculpture provides a colourful hybrid of the dead parrots which have featured in the celebrated sketch. The key challenge for us was capturing the comedy value of the dead parrot, keeping the realism of the bird whilst also adding touches like the bloodshot, ‘stunned’ eyes.”
The homage to the iconic Monty Python sketch will be taken to The O2 arena where fans attending the final run of live shows will be able to say their final farewell to the comedy troupe, taking pictures of the giant dead parrot and adding to the Twitter buzz using the hashtag #montypythonlive.
Gold will be screening the live broadcast of the final Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down Five To Go stage show on Sunday 20th July.
The top ten Monty Python Sketches according to 2000 Brits
Dead Parrot – 45%
The Lumberjack Song – 28%
The Ministry of Silly Walks – 23%
The Spanish Inquisition – 16%
Spam – 15%
Four Yorkshiremen – 12%
Nudge Nudge – 11%
Fish slapping dance – 8%
The Restaurant sketch (dirty fork) – 7%
The killer joke – 6%
Just missing out on the top ten were the Silly Olympics, Hell’s Grannies and Gay Policemen (all with 6%).
Cheryl Cole has announced her marriage to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini after a whirlwind three-month romance and is sporting a channel set (studded style) wedding band alongside her statement emerald cut diamond engagement ring.
Of the jewel, Vashi Dominguez of Vashi.com stated: “Cheryl’s show-stopper engagement ring (that I’ve valued at in excess of £275k) is complemented with an elegant channel set diamond wedding ring – a popular choice that is understated and sophisticated yet still beautifully eye-catching. The ring could have cost from £15k making her studded bridal set worth around £300k. Wow!”
This is Angus Kennedy’s second book. His first, The Kitchen Baby, is reviewed here. His second book is different from his first as it is a book of 222 maxims that came to Angus in the early morning, or as he says, channeled through him, don’t let that put you off if you don’t believe in it. I love maxims myself, the right maxim at the right moment can propel you through the day or help with a tough situation.
I also love the line; ‘I survive like many of us do, within a self-manufactured life of complete chaos.’ A brilliant line that is relevant to all. Now, on to the maxims; there is 222 maxims that came to Angus at 2:22am every night for two weeks. The maxims are great and you will, of course, have a favourite. Here are a few:
The real winner is the one that doesn’t create losers
Judge other people and the sentence will invariably fall upon yourself
Strength is needed to fight; true strength is needed to stop
I thought this was a great book, I believe Angus when he said the maxims were channeled through him but I don’t believe in channeling myself. Which may sound like a contradiction but I also have faith without religion so there you go.
Angus is also doing a special chocolate and book deal with this book which is out on January 2014. Definitely get your hands on one of those!
This year QVC is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. 2013 marks the 20th birthday of QVC UK and to mark 20 Years of making shopping fun, British model and presenter, Lisa Snowdon, has curated a special selection of her top picks from QVC, ranging from jewellery and homes to beauty – shop the products at QVC
Anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the year with a variety of brand experts from the likes of fashion journalist Eve Pollard, beauty editor Nadine Baggot and many more in the next few months picking their own assortment of favourite products.
Clarisonic Plus Face & Body Complete Sonic Cleansing System
Item number – 400407
QVC Price – £197.00
“I’m a skincare addict with my dermatologist on speed dial! Nothing cleans your face better than Clarisonic”
Bose SoundDock II Digital Music System and Bose IE2 Headphones
Item number – 502821
QVC Price – £290.00
I love music and as a breakfast radio DJ I start my morning every day with two hours of tunes. Having this at home means I can end my day with music too. And it charges my iPhone – perfect!”
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick
Item Number – 222526
QVC Price – £30.50
“I love a natural sunkissed look as if you’ve just stepped off the beach. This is great to give you that holiday glow all year round”
bareMinerals Deluxe 16g Foundation
Item number- 203593
QVC Price – £32.50
“I like the natural ingredients and the in built SPF of this foundation. You can even your skin tone with a light dusting or layer it up to get fuller coverage, whatever you need that day!”
Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
Item number – 214876
QVC Price – £51.00
“Cult classic, it gently deep cleans, I can’t be without it”
Nails Inc 4 Piece Happy Nude Year Collection
Item number – 203106
QVC Price – £23.50
“Nude shades are never out of vogue, these cool colours will suit everyone and go with anything you wear”
H2O X5 Multi-Floor Steam Mop & H/held Steamer with Accessories
Item number – 832294
QVC Price – £69.00
“I like things to be clean and steam mops can clean almost everything!”
Benefit Waterproof Liner & Mascara Duo
Item number – 202807
QVC Price – £29.00
“Big, long lashes give you an instant boost and make everyone look good, the thick black kohl liner adds depth and sexiness”
Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial
Item number – 226630
QVC Price – £39.60
“When I’ve had a few too many late nights and early starts, this overnight facial gives my skin a great boost”
Elemis Tan Accelerator 400ml
Item number – 219847
QVC Price – £44.00
“I love to be a bronzed goddess but always make sure I’m safe in the sun by wearing a high SPF. This helps me prepare my skin to make the most of those all-too-rare sunshine rays”
Lisa Snowdon Diamond Charm Ring Sterling Silver
Item number – 608771
QVC Price – £68.00
Lisa Snowdon Diamond Cross Ring Sterling Silver
Item number – 608763
QVC Price – £92.00
Do you shop at QVC? What is your favourite product?
The make-do-and-mend movement is back. When the recession began, clever marketing people at John Lewis dug out and republished a 1943 governmental booklet on how to darn socks and re-patch roofs using wastepaper. World war two kitsch was duly rekindled there has been since 2009 an unrelenting stream ‘make do and mend’ media output. Channel 4 a launched a ‘Make Do And Mend’ TV show advising viewers on how to have fun with frozen vegetables. Joan Bakewell has recently joined the celebration of frugality with an article in last week’s Telegraph, describing valiant efforts to deliver parcels by hand.
Yet modern make-do-and-mend lacks the defining feature of its 1943 counterpart. The earlier version came out of the war effort and was predicated on a sense of community spirit born out of a need for help on the home front. Food was scare so city dwellers pulled together to turn parks into vegetable gardens. Clothes were rationed so women ran up their own or darned holes in what they had. However, these activities took place in the context of pre-existent community structures like church groups, knitting circles, the Women’s Institute, and the Women’s Royal Naval Service which made skill-sharing easier and reduced costs. The acquisition of a new skill takes not only time but patience and we are far more likely to succeed within a supportive social framework than of we go it alone. Watching someone whip up a pair of curtains on television is not the same as being shown how to do it first hand. At the very least, observes Joy Pite from the Wanstead Women’s institute, ‘in a social setting, there’s more incentive to complete the task’.
Modern make-do-and-mend is the DIY craze of the 90s clothed in rather more frayed robes, due to an absence of community space. Most neighbourhoods during World War 2 had thriving churches and community centres, which made for strong and intergenerational social networks. These days people are working longer hours, spending their free time online, moving around more and therefore feel a decreased sense of affiliation with those in their physical surroundings.
This is what the organisers at Heathrow Grow are trying to remedy in the London suburb of Sipson. Heathrow Grow is predicated on the idea that cost-efficient and sustainable living requires somewhere for people to meet regularly and face to face. ‘It’s a lot easier to demonstrate things to people than it is to explain them’ says Alex, one of the project’s architects, ‘and it’s a lot cheaper to organise things as a group’. Built on an acre of land that was once an abandoned plant nursery, Heathrow Grow consists of a thriving vegetable garden and two greenhouses that have been transformed into workshop space. Its organisers have set up free classes on the basic principles of growing food, how to maintain a bicycle and even how to weld.
The Heathrow Growers have worked hard to convince the people of Sipson that community spirit is the key to the making daily life not only cost-efficient but ecologically sustainable. They have promoted the project by handing out free vegetables at the village market and have successfully involved themselves in the local Residents’ Society, Allotment Society and Young People’s Society. Local residents frequently come by make use of the facilities on offer or just to hang out and the site has proven particularly attractive to “N.E.E.T.S” looking to pick up new skills. ‘It’s great here’, explains Dan, an unemployed resident of Sipson who has recently become involved with the project. ‘I help out with the gardening. And it’s nice to have somewhere to potter around’.
Although the political outlook held by most of the project’s participants does not cohere with that expressed by the current government, Heathgrow Grow actively embodies many of Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ values. According to the the government’s online mission statement, the ‘Big Society’ exists to ‘give individuals more power and responsibility and use it to create better neighbourhoods and services’. Since Heathrow Grow has done far much more than the make-do-and-mend-movement to make this happen, those of us hoping for not only more financially efficient households but also the revival of flagging community spirits look forward to seeing more like it.
Plans to build a third runway through Sipson threaten Heathrow Grow’s continued existence. Its fate will be determined at Central London County Court on 18th and 19th June 2012. Sign their petition at: http://www.transitionheathrow.com/grow-heathrow
About a week ago I was invited to BAFTA by Channel 4 to see their new comedy. After some caffeine we were shown the second episode, and it was incredibly funny, well written and completely not politically correct. Frost are a fan of such witty writing and boundary pushing. Give it a watch and see if you are too. I reckon you’ll enjoy it, but you might feel that you shouldn’t….
Campus is a brand new comedy set in the hotbed of academic mediocrity that is Kirke University. At its helm is the stubby, mercurial Vice Chancellor Jonty de Wolfe, who wants nothing more than to drench Kirke in the juices of his own greatness.
As a scary cloud of financial doom hovers over the gently crumbling 60s concrete, Jonty attempts to pimp up Kirke in any way he can, whether it’s faked alumni, kidnapped prodigies or a range of “Eau de Kirke” perfumery – but his lofty plans soar as gracefully as a porky tortoise… And while the strangely unsettling puppet master plunges deeper into the pickle jar, the rest of Kirke’s assorted staff get sidetracked by the more urgent dilemma of who to sleep with next.
The philandering English Professor Matt Beer is forced to up his game in all departments, as he makes no impression on shy Maths lecturer Imogen Moffat, who herself is consumed with creative agony over expectations of a follow-up to her hit Mathsbuster. He is left to contemplate his rapidly greying pubes while his younger, bouncier, athletic student sidekick Flatpack – who combines a six-pack body with the intellect of a piece of Ikea furniture – makes more headway with the lovely Maths boffin. The gawky Mechanical Engineer Lydia ‘big shit’ Tennant, the three Graces of Admin (Big Grace, Pretty Grace and ‘Was Once A Man’ Grace), Jason the reticent Accountant and Nicole the feisty Accommodations Officer add more sexual confusion to the mix.
CAMPUS is a comedy about the life of a university under fire. Jonty and his team face extinction if they cannot harness their individual and collective brain power, some of which has not been exercised for many years, in an effort to reinvigorate their tired and vulnerable institution…but of course it’s mainly a love story with lots of sex. What did you expect?
CAMPUS is produced and directed by Victoria Pile (Green Wing) with Associate Producer Robert Harley and the Executive Producer is Caroline Leddy.
Starring:
Andy Nyman (Ghost Stories) plays Jonty de Wolfe
Joseph Millson (Casino Royale, Love Never Dies) plays Matthew Beer
Lisa Jackson (Bright Young Things, Time and The Conways) plays Imogen Moffat
Jonathan Bailey (Young Leonardo) plays ‘Flatpack’
Sara Pascoe (The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret) plays Nicole Huggins
Will Adamsdale (Jackson’s Way, The Boat That Rocked) plays Jason Armitage
Dolly Wells (Star Stories) plays Lydia Tennant
Katherine Ryan (Last Comic Standing) plays Georgina Bryan
CAST OF CHARACTERS
JONTY DE WOLFE
Kirke University’s idiosyncratic and strangely unsettling Vice Chancellor.
Kirke – once a concrete academic field of dreams, now a landfill of educational mediocrity – is the child Jonty never had. Now, to make his life even harder, clouds of financial doom and political grief are gathering ominously over the campus.
MATTHEW BEER
The sexually active and academically dormant English professor whose research speciality appears to be The Easy Life. Matt deftly side-steps student queries by insisting they ‘google it’.
IMOGEN MOFFAT
Awkward but prodigiously talented Maths lecturer, who brought huge kudos to Kirke with the success of her best-selling book, The Joy of Zero. Much to Jonty’s frustration, however, the celebrated Imogen is struggling badly with its sequel.
FLATPACK
Post-graduate student, nominally Matt’s teaching assistant, but more significantly an athlete with serious international potential. Cute and bouncy and allegedly studying English Literature, Flatpack has in fact only read six books since the age of ten; three about sports science (twice each). For Jonty, however, he brings star quality and is therefore indispensible.
JASON ARMITAGE & NICOLE HUGGINS
Chief Accountant and Accommodations Officer respectively. A meeting of chalk with cheese, although this doesn’t mean they can’t be special friends. However, as Jason’s finding it hard to dump his current girlfriend, a tangled web of deceit seems to be the best route to avoiding any awkwardness.
LYDIA TENNANT
Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering who usually prefers power tools to humans – although she could find a small space for some sort of sexually-active male. Her job seems safe as she has a hugely lucrative sponsorship deal with a pharmaceutical company specialising in vivisection. And despite resembling a laboratory rat herself, there is a key difference: Lydia is a born survivor.
GEORGINA BRYAN
Canadian troubleshooter – or troublemaker as far as Jonty’s concerned – head of the ruthless consultancy team tasked with ‘restructuring’ Kirke. Cold-hearted and cleavage-flaunting, George is scarily ambitious.
EPISODE SYNOPSES
Ep 1: PUBLICATION! PUBLICATION! PUBLICATION!
According to Vice Chancellor Jonty De Wolfe, Kirke University’s bank balance and academic reputation both need a bit of a boost. Reactions to this news from members of staff range from nonchalance to panic, but Jonty, titillated by his mousy Maths Lecturer’s success insists all the staff take a leaf out of her (best selling) book – Publication! Publication! Publication!
Ep 2: THE CULLING FIELDS
Jonty is forced to make huge spending cuts and the Kirke University rumour mill goes into paranoid overdrive. No one’s job is safe, it seems. Apart from those whose jobs are safe, of course. Hard work, diligence and not telling whopping great fibs on your CV should see you right. So not looking great for Lazy Prof Matt or Accomms. Officer Nicole.
Ep 3: DARK CANADIAN FOG
The arrival of a restructuring guru, in the shapely shape of George Bryan, sends a chill wind up many a Kirke trouser leg. A fully paid-up member of the ‘slash and burn’ school of downsizing, George appears without heart or soul. In an act of crippling desperation, Jonty enlists Matt’s help to ‘melt’ the Ice Maiden.
Ep 4: COME TOGETHER
Philandering English Professor, Matt Beer, is on a mission to woo icy business consultant George into knee-trembling, resolve-weakening, book-cooking submission. Flatpack embarks on a little wooing of his own, and even Accountant Jason is feeling a certain ‘stirring’ around gay best friend Nicole.
Ep 5: POST COITAL
As George puts the finishing touches to her Final Report, Matt is plunged into total crisis over his recent shenanigans and the thought that he might actually have genuine feelings for another member of the human race. Imogen suffers her own inner turmoil about an ill-advised coupling and only Flat seems perkily sure of what he wants.
Ep 6: AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING AND AN ENDING
The Day of Reckoning. Stomachs and hearts are in knots as George prepares to deliver the bad news. ‘The News” however, turns out to be not quite what they anticipated, leaving everyone with a new set of ever more complicated problems to unpick.
BIOGRAPHIES
ANDY NYMAN (Jonty de Wolfe)
Actor and magician Andy Nyman directed and co-wrote all of Derren Brown’s stage shows – all of which enjoyed hugely successful West End runs and national tours – including the Olivier award-winning sell-out production, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Their fourth show, Enigma, was also Olivier-nominated.
He also co-writes and is Consultant Producer on Derren Brown’s series and specials for Channel 4, including Russian Roulette Live, Messiah, The Gathering and The Heist. His work on these shows won him a Silver Rose at the 2003 Montreux Television Festival. He was also Consultant Producer on Channel 4’s Magick and Dirty Tricks. More recently he starred in Crooked House and Charlie Brooker’s E4 BAFTA-nominated horror satire, Dead Set.
His numerous feature film credits include Dead Babies, Shut Up and Shoot Me, Severance, Wild Romance, Death at a Funeral and the forthcoming thriller, The Glass Man.
This week Andy’s sell-out stage show Ghost Stories, which he co-wrote and co-directed, and in which he also stars, transfers from the Lyric to the West End (Duke of York’s).
JOSEPH MILLSON (Matt Beer)
Joseph Millson’s numerous theatre credits include appearances for the RSC in Peter Hall’s As You Like It (for which he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for best classical actor under 30), The Spanish Golden Age season and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as appearing alongside Steven Berkoff in his production of Richard II. He first came to TV prominence in Peak Practice followed by EastEnders, Macbeth, The Romantics and Channel 4’s Ghost Squad. More recently he guested in Talk to Me, Survivors and Ashes to Ashes before returning to the stage with Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the National Theatre. Last year’s TV appearances included BBC Four’s acclaimed drama Enid and Mike Bullen’s comedy drama, Reunited.
SARA PASCOE (Nicole Huggins)
Writer, stand-up and comedy actress Sara Pascoe debuted her solo stand-up show in Edinburgh last year to wide acclaim and was voted one of Time Out’s Rising Stars of Comedy. Her many TV credits include Being Human, The Thick of It and, for Channel 4, Girl Friday, Free Agents and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.
DOLLY WELLS (Lydia Tennant)
Dolly Wells’ numerous previous Channel 4 comedy appearances include Peep Show, Star Stories, The IT Crowd and Free Agents. In addition her TV credits range from The Gathering Storm and Bertie and Elizabeth to, more recently, The Mighty Boosh and Whites. Feature films include I Capture the Castle, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Magicians and Film Four’s Morvern Callar.
WILLIAM ADAMSDALE (Jason Armitage)
Will Adamsdale won the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival Perrier Award for Comedy for his one-man show, Jackson’s Way, in 2004. Numerous theatre credits include Faster, The Winslow Boy, Arcadia, Notes from Underground, Bent, BloodyPoetry and No Man’s Land. On television, appearances include two series of Manchild, Sword of Honour, Bomber and Warriors.
KATHERINE RYAN (George)
Writer, performer and actress Katherine Ryan was the 2008 Winner of the Nivea Funny Women Awards and is one of the most recent additions to UK stand-up. She recently appeared in Channel 4’s Routes, which was both Writer’s Guild and BAFTA-nominated.
LISA JACKSON (Imogen Moffat)
Lisa Jackson’s numerous theatre appearances include As You Like It, The 39 Steps,All My Sons and Time and the Conways at the National Theatre. On television she has appeared in Daniel Deronda, Waking the Dead and Dirk Gently, and film credits include Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things.
JONATHAN BAILEY (Flatpack)
Jonathan Bailey’s previous TV credits include Channel 4’s Alice through the Looking Glass, Bramwell, Bright Hair, Golden Hour, Off the Hook and Lewis. Feature films include Five Children and It and St. Trinians.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Monicker Pictures
Is a newly formed production company set up by Victoria Pile and Robert Harley. Disguised as a curiosity shop on Brick Lane, this is their first production. Other projects are in development.
VICTORIA PILE – Writer, Producer, Director
Victoria started out writing comedy for television and radio, before going on to develop her passion for producing and directing. She spent her early career at the BBC, before honing her skills at a variety of leading independent companies.
She devised and produced the double Emmy award-winning sketch show Smack the Pony for Channel 4, as well as the surreal two-hander Los Dos Bros (winner of the Silver Rose at Montreux). Taking elements from the style of these two shows, Victoria then devised, produced and co-wrote the hugely popular BAFTA-winning comedy Green Wing. More recently she has spent some time in the US, writing and producing a sitcom pilot for ABC/Paramount and developing another with NBC. Back in the UK, as well as directing a number of commercials, Victoria is the co-founder of Monicker Pictures, the Brick Lane based company behind Campus. She is currently developing a comedy drama for Channel 4, a screenplay, and sitcom scripts for the BBC.
