Last of the Summer Wine - Roy Clarke

by Harbinger,

I tuned in to Look North a few days ago (For anyone who does not know it is the BBC's local news service covering Yorkshire and parts of the North Midlands). I generally hate to watch it, as like most regional news providers it tells you nothing of any interest. Every so often you get a fascinating story about a llama drinking in a pub, or a man who has grown a disgustingly shaped turnip. However, for once they related a story of interest to me. The end of an era, Last of the Summer Wine the longest running sitcom in the world was being axed by the BBC after 37 years and 31 series. (Honestly G.O.L.D on Sky must be devastated). For much of its tenure many people in the BBC had wanted to cancel it but it was simply far too popular, honestly who would have thought a comedy about 3 old men going through a second child hood would prove so popular. Anyhow Roy Clarke the show's writer did write a novel of the series in 1974, that in 1983 was made into a feature length episode called Getting Sam Home. Having heard of the cancellation I dug the book out having bought it for 15 p off Amazon one time.

Three Old age pensioners, William 'Compo' Simmonite, Norman Clegg and Cyril Blamire, spend the twilight of their years roaming the hills of Yorkshire and getting thrown out of the Public Library. One of their friends Sam has become seriously ill and is in hospital with only his bad tempered wife Sybil for company. Once Sam is released from hospital, he becomes a little bit morbid and asks his friends to sneak him out of the house at night so he can visit his long standing mistress (who is getting past her prime) Lily Bless'er. Unfortunately once at her house Sam dies (with a rather unsettling grin on his face) and Lily insists the trio takes him back to his wife. However, the problems don't end there for the trio as the situation escalates to absurd proportions due to their own stupidity. As with most comedic works the characters have to be just right and the trio are wonderful.

Compo, is scruffily dressed (in tatty trousers and wellington boots) and working class. Though 'working class', is a dodgy term to apply as he has spent most of his life avoiding work. Of the three he is the most childlike and confrontational of the three. Of course not forgetting his disturbing obsession with his ugly and bad tempered next door neighbour Nora Batty. He never has any money as he spends most of it betting on horses and drinking. Being very much an old fashioned Labour voter, he rather thrives on confrontations with Blamire who is his polar opposite.

Clegg, comes from a lower middle class background and was made redundant by the Co-Op after many years as a lino salesman. He generally has a strange and wry sense of humour. The philosopher of the three he often finds interests in the most mundane subjects which seems to go over the heads of the other two. He is generally quite shy and timid neither of which are labels that can be attached to Blamire or Compo. The only member of the group with a current driving licence he is occasionally forced into driving for the others, something which fills him with dread. He has panic attacks at the wheel which lead him to press every button and control in his terror to get it right.

Blamire, is pompous, and self-important with upper-class aspirations. A former Corporal in the Royal Signals, he is often overbearing and a times tries to disassociate himself from the other two (Compo especially). A staunch and unashamed supporter of the Conservative Party (refereed to by their nickname of the Tories in the book), who is proud of having been a member of the Young Conservative Party in his youth. He generally has quite sophisticated and pretentious interests which lead to Compo referring to him as a 'poof'. Unfortunately some versions of the book published after the feature length episode was shown remove him in favour of 'Foggy' Dewhurst who had replaced Blamire in the TV series due to the illness and death of the actor who played Blamire, Michael Bates. To those of us who are fans of the series this is a shame as 'Foggy' (while a similar character in many ways) ends up saying things that are out of character, as Blamire would have said them which can hurt later publications to a degree.

Roy Clarke, who wrote the series and the book is a self confessed frustrated author. You can get a sense of this in the book. I sometimes got the feeling that he was trying too hard somehow. However the characters have translated well from the screen to the book, with the added advantage that you now know what is going on inside their heads. Those significant glances and eye rolling from the series have been translated into words.

I giggled (like a school girl) all the way through this, and I hope and I pray when I get to that age I can live life to the fullest and have their mad adventures.

TTFN