I'm a great fan of English radio comedy, I think I've mentioned this before. One of the shows that can really make me laugh is "I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue". It is a weird mixture of the absurd, the obscene, and the silly. It is a panel game, but the rules are impossible, if there are any at all, and seem to change all the time. It can make me cringe and it can make me laugh out loud when I'm on my own. There also is a warmth about the programme, because at heart it has the feel of a group of friends getting together to have fun. More or less the same team created the programme for over 35 years, and managed to keep it funny and fresh.
Chairman Humph died a little while ago and I've been listening to the tributes people paid him. He played the part of the grumpy chairman, reading out his lines in a serious voice, pretending he wished he was somewhere else. He was in his eighties, but he sounded wonderful, full of humour, and very gentle. Listening to the tribute programmes means I now know a little more about him, and that has only made me like him more. I can't quite imagine the programme without him. Who else could possible explain the rules to "One song to the tune of another", quite so clearly and succinctly. Or be able to make the contestants stick to the rules of Mornington
Crescent so rigourously. And you have to admire a man, a very good professional musician, who can sit through Jeremy Hardy's singing week after week....
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