Linda Smith, one of our favourite comedians, has died. We saw her perform many times over the last few years, in the usual Radio 4 comedy panel games plus when she toured a couple of years ago. She was on a similar wavelength to us with her down-to-earth yet often bizarre style of humour. This has come as a total shock, she was only 48 years old.

From the BBC News Website:

Comic Linda Smith, a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4′s The News Quiz, has died of cancer at the age of 48.
The writer and broadcaster was a staple of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and BBC Radio, whose listeners voted her “Wittiest Person” in 2002. She made frequent appearances on Just A Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, as well as the TV shows Have I Got News For You, Room 101 and Mock the Week. Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer said her passing was “a terrible loss”.
“Linda was a Radio 4 giant,” he added. “She generated an energy and warmth in every programme she ever did that made her fellow comedians and millions of listeners love her.”
News Quiz regular Jeremy Hardy paid an emotional tribute, calling her “the wittiest and brightest person working on TV or radio panel games”.

“It was impossible to be in her company for more than a few minutes without laughing,” he continued. “Even when she was very ill, she had her friends laughing and feeling uplifted despite our sadness. “I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful friend.” Ms Smith, who is survived by her partner Warren Lakin, died on Monday. Mr Hardy told Radio 4 she had been ill for some time from ovarian cancer. A special tribute edition of the News Quiz will be broadcast on Friday at 1830 GMT, presented by her fellow panellist Andy Hamilton.

Jeremy Hardy paid tribute to her:

“She was our greatest living Englishwoman. She reminds me of Alan Bennett in that wonderful Yorkshire terminology, the exactitude… She was so funny. She had such a wicked sense of humour. It just came effortlessly. She didn’t even try. Humour was just in there, trying to get out all the time.”

Hurrah for comedy sanity. The BBC have commissioned a full series of That Mitchell And Webb Look, what we saw the pilot filming of, if you remember. It was well funny, innit, so we are very pleased to hear all about it. This means that they are doing another one of those warm-up gigs, like they did for the pilot, at The Drill Hall (our second home) on March 20th. Tickets are available from the BBC ticket site and cost fuck all. Which is nice. So any comedy fans reading this have no excuse not to go to a fantastic free night of comedy. They might even do Numberwang again!

That Mitchell and Webb Look warm up night
David Mitchell and Robert Webb give you a sneak preview of some of the sketches for the forthcoming BBC2 series of That Mitchell and Webb Look.

It’ll be a night of bold new sketches about everything from a lunatic in a box to brushing your tongue and a chance to meet some old favourites in new situations, including the snooker commentators and TV presenter Jason’s thrilling game show “The Hole in the Ring”.

Date(s) of show: March 20th
Studio doors open: 8.15pm
Age Limit: Those under 14 years of age will not be admitted.
Venue: Drill Hall

Look what Clive made me for my birthday!

It’s cakey and will cure my cold, making me good as new.

I am now a bit older than yesterday. Not that that doesn’t happen every day anyway…

The bad part of this birthday is that am spending the day alone at home with a demonic cold. Got some nice cards to go with my endless snot and phlegm. I may have to eat all of the chocolate in the house. Boo hiss boo!

The Sun has got its (most probably skiddy) knickers in a twist again. It appears that Abu Hamza’s son is some kind of Islamist Hate Rapper or summink. Well, he can’t be any worse than the likes of 50 Cent and such but his lyrics may need some work before a major label signs him up. For example: “I was born to be a soldier, Kalashnikov in my shoulder, peace to Hamas and Hezbollah, that’s the way of the lord Allah . . . we’re Jihad through, defend my religion with the holy sword.” That’s hardly something the kids on the street can relate to, now is it? I know it’s cool to want to be a gangster (in my years of being a grown-up I have met many hilarious resonably well-off young men who believed they were in fact some kind of drug dealing hiphop gangster fool) but I can safely say that the yoof of the nation won’t suddenly be appropriating hooks and manky beards as the new fashion.

Luckily, Dad left his megaphones and sound system at home before he fucked off abroad.

The Sun article made me chuckle with this line:

‘ Last night Tory MP Greg Hands blasted Mostafa’s music bid. He said: “This revelation will only add to the taxpayer’s misery.” ‘

Yes, it’s your taxes that are paying for this silly boy’s scratched records… and shit.

The Mighty Boosh.

Tonight.

BBC2.

Some stoopid time.

Old Gregg!

We have been known to stalk the diminutive comedian Lucy Porter but it is in fact her who is stalking us! Along with Sue Perkins (my vote for next presenter of Radio 4′s News Quiz) who has been turning up at things we have gone to for many a year (although to be honest, one of them was called That Mel And Sue Thing) and Tony Hawks (award winning writer of books and that) , Robin Ince (oddball comedian who is funnier than most the crap ones that get on telly more frequently than he does) and Jon Oliver (the one with the glasses… heh) they all appeared in the pilot for Radio 4′s The Personality Test this evening. Full marks for comedy value throughout the experience and it was also quite educational. What did we learn? Well…

Tony Hawks is not a skateboarder.

He doesn’t like underground car parks due to an unfortunate Swiss accident.

Sue Perkins has a shared history of Croydon carparks with Lucy.

The smell of men’s wee from underground carparks has been bottled and promoted by Burt Reynolds.

Belinda Carlisle and her record-pressing problem kept Tony off the number one spot.

Nobody is going to tomorrow’s recording of Quote/Unquote.

The we met Lucy as arranged via my stalky emails and had a lovely secret chat about the world.


What you can’t see in the photos is the rather large glass of wine Lucy was drinking. Or was it a normal size glass? She is rather petite. She’s still touring with her ‘Happiness’ show and doing the occassional warm-up for good things, plus some radio stuff and other bits and pieces.

Look! In the background of the second photograph! It’s Robin Ince! He was in that scene in The Office! You know? Yeah, that one!

KMS Hygeine? Expect to hear from Barry Scott real soon…

That stuff could never compare to Cillit Bang! Never!

The discovery of Kill It Bam was all down to a rather good story we saw on the internet today.
Thanks to The Mary Bone Project for theur comparative study of the two products.

I prefer my headline for this story.

From that paper:
‘ The musician said he was at that point smoking five or six joints a day but only taking ecstasy on “special occasions”.Last June he was photographed leaving a 24 hour convenience store in the middle of the night with three tubs of ice cream. Sudden bouts of hunger, known as “the munchies”, are common among cannabis users. ‘

Oh dear. Are all rubbish gay singers who peaked in the 80′s and are called George a bit naughty with putting things up their nose or in their mouths? George Michaels has added a drugs arrest to his previous offences of making shit music, getting his rocks off with cocks in toilet blocks and having a scary beard. From The BBC News Site:

Singer George Michael has been arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs in London’s West End.
The 42-year-old singer was taken into custody in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It is thought that he was arrested by officers on suspicion of possessing Class C drugs.
Police confirmed that a 42-year-old man had been arrested and that he has been bailed to return to a police station next month. Mr Michael was arrested after a call from a member of the public. He was initially arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive but was de-arrested for that alleged offence after he was examined by a doctor. “We were called by a member of the public to a man seen slumped over the steering wheel of a car on the street close to Hyde Park Corner,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said. “A search of the man revealed what was believed to be controlled substances.”

Heh. I wish I could claim to be the mysterious “member of the public” but alas I was at home.

…yep. Still smells. Urgh.