BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead

Subject: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Phillip
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 03:11 AM

There's a famous (and hilarious) recording of a BBC radio reporter watching the fleet (at Spithead, I think) and he gets overwhelmed by the beauty of it all ("Oh, all the lights!") Does anyone know his name?

I've done various searches on Google but can't track it down. If anyone has it it would be a perfect addition to YouTube, I think.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Mr Red
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 05:22 AM

The one you refer to is pre WWII and I first came across it on an American LP called "Pardon my Blooper" - I would bet CD's of it are available. Can't remeber the collectors name but it was memorable (ha!) thirty years ago. (I am only 29 now).

There are also many such bloopers like "Sir Stiffard Craps" and "The British Broad Corping Castration" by my favourite was the news reporter trying to describe, while overwhealmed by the sight of 100 ft flames "the fire at the Firestone Tyre Factory" - he never made it.

Well worth the reserarch.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Jeanie
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 05:27 AM

He was Lt. Tommy Woodruff, commentating on the Spithead Review in 1937. My parents used to mimic it from time to time - it has obviously been one of those broadcasting events that had got into the national consciousness of a generation.

I've found a recording of it here:
Spithead Review 1937

Scroll down to where it says: "Spithead Review (drunk in charge 1937)"

Cheers !
- jeanie

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Mr Red
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 05:37 AM

Isn't the 'Cat marvelous. 2 hours.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: jimlad9
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 06:14 AM

Thanks Jeanie,the Spithead review was funny but on the same page is Captains Report

I am now off to change my dampened boxer shorts !

Jim (Ex RN)

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: The Walrus
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 06:16 AM

I'm having a little trouble in downloading the "Woodruff" clip -is it the one that caused the BBC grief with the phrase "The whole bloody fleet's lit up"?

W

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Mar 07 - 09:53 AM

"by fairy lights" even!

LOL, great link!

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Phillip
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 03:05 AM

Thanks everyone!

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 03:28 AM

...being a sad b*****d, every time we see nice Xmas lights or other similar effects I always do my bad impression of Tommy W "it's like fairyland". 'Er indoors hasn't killed me ....yet.


RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST,Ralphie (Ex Beeb)
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 04:26 AM

Hello all..
A bit of background to this famous soundbite.
As a direct result of this broadcast, "Continuity Suites" were introduced with an announcer monitoring the networks output!!
Good idea, but several other funnies have slipped through over the years

Cricket in particular.

"The bowlers Holding, the Batsmans Willey"
"Botham is at first slip, legs apart, waiting for a tickle"
(and after a direct jit on a batsmans groin)...."Well he seems to be OK now, He's taking strike......One ball left"

Who says Cricket isn't fun

Cheers

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST, Topsie
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 02:49 PM

Was it Selina Scott who asked an interviewee on a morning television show whether they approved of capital punishment in schools?

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST,Ralphie
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 03:45 PM

Hey Topsie...Don't know...But I hope so!

Another famous one...(If anyone can find the clip I'd love to hear it!

Home Service Schools Prog. (Music and Movement IIRC, for youngsters)

Prim and proper schoolmarm (with piano acc)
Went something like this.
"Now children, pretend you've got some balls....
I'm going to take your balls and hide them.....
I might hide them high up in the air.....(High Piano tinkle)
Or, I might hide them low down on the ground....(Low Piano tinkle)

Now, where have I hidden your balls?..............(High Piano tinkle)

Thats right...High up.

Now, jump up and catch them and then dance around the room, toss them in the air and play with them"

At which point the pianist was carried out of the room on a stretcher!

Ah memories!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST,Ralphie
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 03:51 PM

Oh and Mr Red
"The British Broadcorping Casteration" quote was actually a tape editing excersise at the Beebs training centre in Evesham..

And it's really hard to swap "Corp" and "Cast" when using tape machines!! (You had to cut in the middle of the first "C" of each word and the out point "T" and "P" was a real bugger!!)

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 07:42 PM

" I remember falling about laughing when one of our well known newsreaders (I forget which) read an item about someone being stuck with a "Hypodemic Nurdle".

You couldn't invent these things, they just have to be real.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST,Ralphie
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 08:10 PM

Don.

Another spoonerism...

"A songle tipic"

And...

"In the Middle East, Lesbian forces....sorry, that should be Lesbanese....errr... Lebanese forces"

The list is endless!!

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Mr Fox
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 07:23 AM

A couple of years ago a local radio reporter turned the Kent County Show into something else entirely.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Spot
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 12:48 PM

Don
    That hypodeemic one was a killer..Made me badly for days with sore ribs!!

             Wonder who she was...

                        Spot

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Bonecruncher
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 08:20 PM

And don't forget Sir Trevor MacDonald's Spoonerism when announcing something about the "Kent Countryside". Naturally, he has never given permission for it to be repeated, although a contestant in a show on Radio 4 mentioned it a few days later.

Colyn.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Bert
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 09:50 PM

There was also one that went completely unnoticed.

During the Apollo 13 Mission when they were hunderds of thousands of miles out in space trying to dock the lunar module with the command module.

The announcer says "This must be the most difficult thing on earth"

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 11:19 PM

Aussie comics R&S came up with the classic sketch on clumsy attempts at "bitten on the finger by a funnel web spider"...

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: The Walrus
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 03:44 AM

My last post seems to have vanished into the ether.

There was a Radio 4 commentator who described a cricketer as looking as if he was "...sitting on a shooting stick...", well, that was what he intended before he spoonerised it.

W

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Folkiedave
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 04:22 AM

Thanks for those Ralphie.

One from TV which has always been loved and admired by Dave Bassett and Sheffield United fans.

He was describing how easily a player fell over.

"He goes down faster than my daughter".

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST,Ignoramus
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 02:56 PM

When the Jockey Club banned excessive use of the whip, commentator and former champion jockey, Willie Carson said: "A good jockey knows when he's got something between his legs."

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: johnross
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 03:32 PM

For those who like those things, here are some others:

From the CBC: Gzowski's Cricket

Several BBC goodies

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 04:26 PM

One hapless radio announcer, when introducing the great banjo player Eddie Peabody, screwed it up thus:

"Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Eddie Playbody will now pee for you..."

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: jimlad9
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 04:43 PM

During a Cricket Test Match the commentator said" Now Sobers is trying to get Botham to have a slash just outside his off wicket"


On the BBC World Service the announcer said the time now is Nine 'o' Clock Greenwich.
Mean Time here is the News.


And on BBC Radio Leeds,where the listeners often use the word 'us' instead of the word 'ours'
the news reader said at 6:00 AM GMT us troops entered Baghdad.
Sorry..."At 6:00AM US troops entered Baghdad"

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Joe_F
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 09:35 PM

Alas, the following perfect spoonerism was not actually broadcast, but sent over a newswire:

"According to usually reliable White Horse souses,..."

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: GUEST,Dave Hunt
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 11:06 PM

From the BBC - "....they came over on the Cross Flannel Cherry" - my wife and I have called it that ever since!
And a friend of ours did once say she was wearing Fishnight Tits - naturally, that's what they are always know as now!

Dave.

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: jimlad9
Date: 21 Mar 07 - 03:35 AM

A typesetter serving the last day of his notice of dismissal at our local newspaper wrote
'The Queen and her familly are staying at Fuckingham Palace for the Easter holiday'.

In the pets for sale section of the same paper they had an entry 'Pedigree Beagles for sale, Mother Crust's winner'**

And the old groaner of a joke of the Blackpool lad who having been sacked left the
company with 2 miles of Rock with 'Bollocks' all the way through it.





** We have 2 Beagles 'Drunken Duncan' and 'Saddam' and I feel sorry for anyone daft enough to respond to the Beagle advert'

Subject: RE: BS: Drunk BBC radio reporter at Spithead
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 21 Mar 07 - 08:06 AM

Effingham Palace reminds me of Great Typographical Errors Wot I Have Made:

Westmonster (Westminster)

The Dike of Cornwall (Duke)

Not making this up - and it was back in the bad old typewriter days when you couldn't just delete. I had a job in a posh antiquarian bookshop that insisted on using this VERY expensive snooty paper which you couldn't erase...   

(Why did whoever designed the Qwerty board put three vowels in a row?)