How discomknockerated I am!
So, Sir Ken Dodd has died at the age of 90. There’s been enough media tributes paid to him since he ‘passed on’, so I shall add only a soupçon.
I don’t think there is anyone else that could have succeeded with his outrageous defence against criminal tax evasion charges yet retain such widespread popular affection, let alone be knighted subsequently. What a guy! And what a funny man.
In a way, it was the constant stream of jokes that got you laughing. On its own, this is amusing, but no more: “By jove, missus! What a wonderful day to run to the Kremlin and knock on its door and ask ‘Is Lenin?’“, but in the midst of an avalanche of one-liners, it made me laugh out loud.
Anyway, I tried to encapsulate his humour (and tax affairs) in this week’s ALAW. I couldn’t manage it with just one limerick so I resorted to two.
The first is a bit contrived to fit in to Dodd’s “By jove, Missus!” routines that usually expressed “What a wonderful day it is to…” before being rounded off with “How’s that for a…”. (Dodd’s humour was in filling-in the gaps in a surreal way).
Here it is:
By jove, Missus! What a wonderful day
To look in a coffin and say:
“It’s short of a body,
So let’s stuff it with Doddy!”
How’s that for a new hideaway?
and here’s t’other:
By jove, Missus! What a wonderful day
To knock on a coffin and say:
Is this the one Ken’s in?
‘Cos I think I’m sensing
It’s not cash that he’s now stashed away!
Tatty Bye!
