Carry On Glamping (My Radio Interview about the Carry Ons)

I contributed to a BBC radio Nottingham broadcast that took place from Meadow View Glamping and Leisure, Stapleford, Nottingham.

My reason for being there was that they wanted someone to talk about the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Carry On Camping (1969)! It came as a bit of a shock to realise that the film is fifty years old. It suddenly brought home how often and how long I have been watching this film. I recall a classmate talking about the mother-in-law being chased by a ram in the final scene the day after the film had been shown on TV. (Which might possibly have been its first TV broadcast).

Although I mention Carry On Camping in my book The Holiday and British Film (2012), I devote a bit more space to the caravan-site-themed Carry On Behind (1975). This is mainly because the chapter it appears in is loosely focused on caravan holidays, but also because I wanted to highlight Behind as it isn’t so often discussed as much as Camping.

Back to the film itself in a bit. What was most startling about my recent experience was seeing how radio is produced these days. I turned up at the glamping site to meet the presenter (Mark Dennison) and two other members of the team.

They had got into the camping spirit! Between the three of them they had slept in one of the luxurious glamping pods; a modern pop-up style tent; and an old-fashioned scouting tent with metal poles.

Everything about the way the programme was produced was deceptively casual. The presenter was holding an iPad / tablet and a microphone, and was wearing a set of headphones. A clipboard with a few notes was close to hand.

Although he could hear the programme being broadcast (music, news reports, and so on...) neither myself nor the rest of the production team could. Occasionally the presenter would chat to the rest of the team - “we’ve got ten minutes till the news, we could have another record before then...” or suddenly go into radio mode and laugh and comment on something he had heard through his headphones that we weren’t party to.

It was impressive to see how slickly the whole thing was handled. To look so laid back but to be in total control of a live radio broadcast, sitting in a chair on the edge of a field in Stapleford was an eye-opener. It also proved that studios are almost a thing of the past.

As I waited for my turn I went over a few points in my head. Then the presenter started chuckling at a sound clip from Carry On Camping that the rest of us couldn’t hear. Suddenly a few words and the microphone was thrust under me. Here are a few things that we discussed in the interview:

Would the Carry Ons work today if new versions were released? 

Probably not. Although some fans (including myself) love the films on a nostalgic level - with a tinge of guilty pleasure - much of the humour the series is based on would appear very out of context today. It would be difficult to deal in such humour without offending a large proportion of people. Thinking nostalgically, I distinctly recall kids at school playing Odd Bod and Junior in the school playground after watching Carry On Screaming (1966). The radio presenter pointed out here that there were aspects of the films that kids could enjoy as well as adults.

I spoke about how it was quite incredible that a feature film had been produced mainly around the location of a muddy field, and that no British film would ever get away with that nowadays without criticism for being cheap.

I did also say that Carry On Camping is my favourite of the series. Probably due to its simplicity and the fact that after seeing it so many times I can predict the lines that are coming up. I spoke about seeing it at the old Phoenix Arts cinema in Leicester in the 1990s as part of the annual comedy festival and how the audience applauded at the film's conclusion. This is not the only time I’ve witnessed this in the cinema, but it is a very rare occurrence.

After about seven minutes the interview was over. It was the turn of the campsite owner to be interviewed. In his interview he said that opening the site was part of a move to make Stapleford an up-and-coming area.

What an experience - to witness this first-hand, and to see how radio is produced these days.

HOLIDAY FILMOGRAPHY PART 7 (1969 - 2011)

Charles Hawtrey, Betty Marsden and Terry Scott in Carry On Camping (1969)

1969:

Carry On Camping, Adder (RFD). Produced by Peter Rogers, Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor. Comedy. Devon. Camping holiday.

What’s Good For The Goose, Tigon. Directed by Menahem Golan. Cast: Norman Wisdom, Sally Geeson. Comedy. Assistant bank manager falls for amorous teenager during seaside conference.

All At Sea, Anvil (CFF). Directed by Ken Fairbairn. Cast: Gary Smith, Steven Mallett, Stephen Childs, Norman Bird. Children. Boys on holiday cruise catch painting thief in Tangier.

1970:

And Soon The Darkness, ABPC (WPD). Directed by Robert Fuest. Cast: Pamela Franklin, Michelle Dotrice. Crime. France. Nurses on cycling holiday in France become involved with sexual murderer.

Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice in And Soon The Darkness (1970)

1971:

Carry On At Your Convenience, Peter Rogers Productions (RFD). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims. Comedy. Brighton sequence.

1972:

Carry On Abroad, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques. Comedy. Package holiday to Mediterranean island.

1973:

The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business, Sunny/Anglo-EMI (MGM-EMI). Directed by Christopher Hodson. Cast: Reg Varney, Diana Coupland, Lee Montague. Comedy. Holiday camp comedian discovers his wife is having an affair with the owner.

That’ll Be The Day, Goodtimes/Anglo-EMI (MGM-EMI). Directed by Claude Whatham. Cast: David Essex, Ringo Starr. Musical. Seaside and holiday camp scenes.

The Sea Children, Pan (CFF). Directed by David Andrews. Cast: Earl Younger, Lesley Dunlop. Children. Malta. Holiday children discover strange world beneath sea.

Summer Holiday, Pacesetter. (CFF). Directed by Philip Leacock. Cast: Ivor Bowyer, Jill Gibbs. Children. Adventures on a school holiday.

Carry On Girls, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor. Comedy. Brighton. Women’s Lib group tries to foil bathing beauty contest.

The dance class in Holiday On The Buses (1973)

Holiday On The Buses, Hammer (MGM-EMI). Directed by Bryan Izzard. Cast: Reg Varney, Bob Grant, Doris Hare, Wilfred Brambell. Comedy. Wales. Pontin’s at Prestatyn.

1974:

Swallows And Amazons, Theatre Projects (EMI). Directed by Claude Whatham. Cast: Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser. Children. 1929. Children on holiday in the Lake District play pirates.

1975:

Tommy, Stigwood (Hemdale). Directed by Ken Russell. Cast: Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed. Musical. Holiday camp sequence.

Carry On Behind, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Elke Sommer, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Jack Douglas, Windsor Davies. Comedy. Caravan park. Archaeologists cause trouble with their excavations behind a holiday camp.

1976:

The Likely Lads, Anglo-EMI. Directed by Michael Tuchner. Cast: Rodney Bewes, James Bolam, Brigit Forsyth. Comedy. Includes caravan holiday.

1977:

Are You Being Served? Anglo-EMI. Directed by Bob Kellett. Cast: John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton. Comedy. Department store personnel take a holiday in Spain.

Grace Bros. staff take off for Spain in Are You Being Served? (1977)

Confessions From A Holiday Camp, Swiftdown (Col). Directed by Norman Cohen. Cast: Robin Askwith, Anthony Booth, Doris Hare. Sex. Entertainment officer’s exploits at a holiday camp run by ex-prison officer.

1979:

That Summer, Film In General (Col). Directed by Harley Cockliss. Cast: Ray Winstone, Tony London. Drama. Torquay. Ex-Borstal boy enters swimming contest and is framed for burglary by Glasgow youths.

1980:

The Great British Striptease, Amaranth (Target). Directed by Doug Smith. Cast: Bernard Manning, Su Pollard. Sex. Blackpool. Sixteen women compete for £500 prize for best striptease act.

1985:

She’ll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas, (Pink Pyjama Productions/Film Four (Virgin). Directed by john Goldschmidt. Cast: Julie Walters, Anthony Higgins. Comedy. Lake District. Assorted women on an Outward Bound course.

1987:

Wish You Were Here, Zenith/Working Title/Film Four (Palace). Directed by David Leland. Cast: Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Jesse Birdsall. Sex. Worthing, 1951.

1988:

A Summer Story, ITC (Warner). Directed by Piers Haggard. Cast: Imogen Stubbs, James Wilby. Romance. Dartmoor. Holidaymaker recalls his youthful affair with farmer’s niece.

1989:

Shirley Valentine, Gilbert/Russell/Paramount (UIP). Directed by Lewis Gilbert Screenplay (Play) Willy Russell. Cast: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti. Housewife flies to Greece for sexual adventure.

Tom Conti and Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine (1989)

1992:

Blame It On The Bellboy, Bellboy/Hollywood (Warner). Directed by Mark Herman.  Cast: Dudley Moore, Richard Griffiths, Patsy Kensit. Comedy. Venice.

Dirty Weekend, Scimitar (UIP). Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Lia Williams, Rufus Sewell. Sex. Brighton.

1993:

Bhaji On The Beach, Umbi/Channel 4 (First Independent). Directed by Gurinder Chadha. Cast: Kim Vithana, Jimmy Harkishin, Lalita Ahmed, Shaheen Khan, Zohra Segal. Drama. Birmingham women take a day trip to Blackpool.

1996:

Small Time, Big Arty Productions/BFI. Directed by Shane Meadows. Cast: Mat Hand, Dena Smiles, Shane Meadows. Drama. Includes trip to Skegness.

Gallivant, Tall Stories/BFI/Channel 4/Arts Council of England. Directed by Andrew Kotting. Cast: Gladys Morris, Eden Kotting, Andrew Kotting. Travelogue. Semi-documentary journey taken by a family around the coastline of Britain.

1999:

Hotel Splendide, Filmfour/Toc Films/Renegade Films. Directed by Terence Gross. Cast: Toni Collette, Daniel Craig, Katrin Cartlidge. Drama. Crumbling spa hotel peopled by eccentrics.

Guest House Paradiso, Universal/House Films/Vision Video. Directed by Adrian Edmondson. Cast: Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Vincent Cassel, Bill Nighy, Fenella Fielding. Comedy. Voyeurs run seaside guest house adjacent to nuclear power station.

Paddy Considine dancing at Chapel St Leonards in A Room For Romeo Brass (1999)

A Room For Romeo Brass, Alliance Atlantis/BBC Films/Arts Council of England/Company Pictures/Big Arty Productions. Directed by Shane meadows. Cast: Andrew Shim, Ben Marshall, Paddy Considine. Drama. Includes day trip to Chapel St Leonards.

2000:

Last Resort, BBC Films. Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Cast: Dina Korzun, Paddy Considine, Artiom Strelnikov, Lindsey Honey. Drama. Margate. Muscovite asylum seekers are held at seaside resort.

Dina Korzun at the Dreamland Amusement Park, Margate, in Last Resort (2000)

Some Voices, Filmfour/British Screen/Dragon Pictures. Directed by Simon Cellan Jones. Cast: Daniel Craig, David Morrissey, Kelly MacDonald. Drama. Includes seaside excursion to Hastings.

Kevin and Perry Go Large, Icon/Tiger Aspect Pictures/Fragile Films. Directed by Ed Bye. Cast: Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Rhys Ifans. Comedy. Teenage boys become star DJs and lose virginity on holiday in Ibiza.

2001:

The Martins, Icon Entertainment International/Tiger Aspect Pictures/Icon Productions/Isle of Man Film Commission. Directed by Tony Grounds. Cast: Lee Evans, Kathy Burke. Comedy. Man robs wealthy couple of holiday tickets and takes his family to the Isle of Man.

Arthur’s Dyke, Evolution Films/Quirky Films. Directed by Gerry Poulson. Cast: Pauline Quirke, Brian Conley, Dennis Waterman. Comedy. Walking holiday on English-Welsh border.

2006:

London To Brighton, LTB Films/UK Film Council/Steel Mill Pictures/Wellington Films. Directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Cast: Lorraine Stanley, Johnny Harris, Georgia Groome. Drama. Prostitute and child flee to Brighton to escape gangster.

Venus, Channel 4/UK Film Council/Venus Pictures/Free range Films. Directed by Roger Mitchell. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Jodie Whittaker. Drama. Includes journey to Whitstable beach.

2008:

Somers Town, Tomboy Films/Mother Vision/Big Arty Productions. Directed by Shane Meadows. Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello. Drama. Two boys dream of holiday to Paris on Eurostar.

2010:

Brighton Rock, BBC Films, Kudos Film and Television. Directed by Rowan Joffe. Cast: Helen Mirren, John Hurt. Crime. Brighton, 1964. (Filmed at Brighton and Eastbourne).

Never Let Me Go, Film 4, DNA Films. Directed by Mark Romanek. Cast: Keira Knightly. Drama. Includes seaside scenes at Clevedon and Holkham Beach.

2011:

The Inbetweeners Movie, Film 4/Young Bwark. Directed by Ben Palmer. Cast: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas. Comedy. Group of youths on sexual adventure to Crete.

The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

Bibliography:

Gifford, (2001), Catalogue of British Film

BFI Database

IMDb

HOLIDAY FILMOGRAPHY PART 6 (1956 - 1967)

1956:

Fun on a Weekend, Carlyle. Produced and Directed by Oliver Negus. Cast: Chris and Jennifer. Children. Cornwall. Children rescue boy stranded on beach.

A Touch of the Sun, Raystro (Eros). Directed by Gordon Parry. Cast: Frankie Howerd. Comedy. Hotel Porter inherits £10,000 and has staff pose as guests to impress prospective purchasers.

Three Men in a Boat, Remus (IFD). (Novel Jerome K. Jerome) Directed by Ken Annakin. Cast: Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, David Tomlinson. Comedy. Boating holiday.

Three Men In A Boat (1956)

1957:

Small Hotel, Welwyn (AB-Pathe). Directed by David MacDonald. Cast: Gordon Harker, Marie Lohr, John Loder. Comedy. Old hotel waiter refuses to be replaced by young girl.

Not Wanted On Voyage, Byron/Ronald Shiner (Renown). Directed by Maclean Rogers. Cast: Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix. Comedy. Stewards thwart jewel thieves on cruise to Tangiers.

Barnacle Bill, USA: All At Sea. Ealing (MGM).  Directed by Charles Frend. Cast: Alec Guinness, Irene Browne. Comedy. Seasick sailor runs stationary cruise on old pier in spite of council opposition.

1958:

Next To No Time! Montepelier (BL). Directed by Henry Cornelius. Screenplay (Novel) Paul Gallico (The Enchanted Hour). Cast: Kenneth More, Betsy Drake. Comedy. Shy designer gains confidence during nightly ‘lost hour’ aboard Queen Elizabeth.

Girls At Sea, ABPC. Directed by Gilbert Gunn. Screenply (Play) Stephen King-Hall, Ian Hay (The Middle Watch). Cast: Guy Rolfe, Ronald Shiner. Comedy. Girls taken to sea on battleship must be hidden from admiral.

Further Up The Creek, Byron/Hammer (Col). Directed by Val Guest. Cast: David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd. Comedy. Lieutenant, put in charge of old frigate, is unaware that bosun is hiding paying passengers.

1959:

The Captain’s Table, Rank (RFD). Directed by Jack Lee. Cast: John Gregson, Peggy Cummings. Comedy. Cargo captain takes over luxury cruise and gets involved with widow and adventuress.

Nudist Paradise, Reissue: 1962. Orb International. Directed by Charles Saunders Cast: Anita Love, Carl Conway. Spielplatz. American art student falls for girl and joins nudist camp to be near her.

1960:

The Nudist Story, Danziger (Eros). Directed by Ramsey Herrington. Cast: Shelley Martin, Brian Cobby. Nudist camp.

The Entertainer, Woodfall/Holly (Bry). Screenply (Play) John Osborne. Directed by Tony Richardson. Cast: Laurence Olivier, Brenda de Banzie, Roger Livesey, Joan Plowright. Drama. Morecombe, 1956.

The Entertainer (1960)

No Kidding, USA: Beware of Children. GHW. Screenplay (Novel) Verily Anderson (Beware of Children). Produced by Peter Rogers, Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan. Comedy. Couple inherit holiday home for deprived children of the rich.

1961:

Ticket to Paradise, Bayford (Eros). Directed by Francis Searle. Cast: Emrys Jones, Patricia Dainton. Romance. Italy. Travel agent and tourist fall in love, each thinking the other is rich.

Some Like It Cool, SF Films. Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Julie Wilson, Thalia Vickers. Devon. Nudists.

Don’t Bother To Knock, USA: Why Bother To Knock. Haileywood (WPD). Directed by Cyril Frankel. Screenplay (Novel) Clifford Hanley (Love From Everybody). Cast: Richard Todd, Nicole Maurey, Elke Sommer, Judith Anderson, June Thorburn. Comedy. Edinburgh. Travel agent’s European girlfriends all arrive together.

A Taste of Honey, Woodfall (Bry). Produced and Directed by Tony Richardson. Screenplay (Play)  Shelagh Delany. Rita Tushingham, Dora Bryan. Blackpool sequence.

Nudes of the World, Miracle/Searchlight (Miracle). Directed by Arnold Louis Miller. Cast: Vivienne Raimon, Monique Ammon. Beauty queen runs nudist camp in lord’s grounds and appeases postmistress with fete for crippled daughter.

Naked As Nature Intended, Markten/Compass (Compton). Produced and Directed by Harrison Marks. Cast: Pamela Green, Stuart Samuels. Travelogue/ Cornwall nudist camp.

1962:

Carry On Cruising, GHW. Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams. Mediterranean cruise.

Carry On Cruising (1962)

World Without Shame, Mistral (Gala). Directed by Donovan Winter. Cast: Yvonne Martel, Larry Bowen. Nudist. Pools winners live naked on Mediterranean island.

Jigsaw, Figaro (Britannia). Directed by Val Guest. Screenplay (Novel) Hilary Waugh (Sleep Long, My Love). Cast: Jack Warner, Ronald Lewis. Crime. Brighton.

The Punch and Judy Man, MacConkey (WPD). Directed by Jeremy Summers. Cast: Tony Hancock, Sylvia Sims. Comedy. Seaside entertainer, married to social climber, spoils mayor’s celebration cabaret.

My Bare Lady, Meadway/Notram Sewil (Compton). Directed by Arthur Knight. Cast: Julie Martin, Carl Conway. Nudist. Orpington. American war hero converts tourist to naturism.

1963:

Summer Holiday, Ivy/Elstree (WPD). Directed by Peter Yates. Cast: Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Ron Moody, The Shadows. Musical. European tour.

Summer Holiday (1963)

The Leather Boys, Raymond Stross (Garrick). Directed by Sidney J. Furie. S (Novel) Eliot George. Cast: Rita Tushingham, Dudley Sutton, Gladys Henson, Colin Campbell. Butlin’s Bognor Regis sequence.

Take Off Your Clothes and Live, Miracle/Searchlight (Miracle). Directed by Arnold Louis Miller. Cast: Ian Michael, Gino Nennan, Jenny Lane. Cannes. Nine girls and male hosts spend naked holiday searching for treasure.

Eves On Skis, Keatering (Gala). Produced and Directed by Michael Keatering. Cast: Elizabeth, Karl, Karen. Teenage London girl spends naturist holiday in the Austrian Alps.

The V.I.P.s, MGM British. Directed by Anthony Asquith. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Louis Jourdan, Margaret Rutherford. Passengers for New York stranded at London Airport.

The Reluctant Nudist, Avon Overseas (Gala). Directed by Stanley Pelc. Cast: Annette Briand, Jeremy Howes. Nudist. Spielplatz

1964:

It’s A Bare, Bare World, Antler (SF). Directed by Stanley Lang. Cast: Vicki Kennedy, Carol Haynes, Vera Novak. Nudist. Windsor. Girls persuade friends to join nudist camp.

The System, Winner-Shipman (Bry). Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow. Romance. Torbay. Beach photographer sleeps with rich holidaymaker and falls in love with her.

The Beauty Jungle, USA: Contest Girl. Rank (RFD). Produced and Directed by Val Guest. Cast: Janette Scott, Ian Hendry, Edmund Purdom. Drama. Reporter helps Bristol typist to become professional beauty contest winner.

Wonderful Life, USA: Swinger’s Paradise. Ivy (Elstree). Directed by Sidney J. Furie. Cast: Cliff Richards, Susan Hampshire, The Shadows. Musical. Canary Islands. Cruise scene.

Every Day’s A Holiday, USA: Seaside Swingers. Fitzroy/Maycroft (GN). Directed by James Hill. Cast: John Leyton, Mike Sarne, Freddie and the Dreamers, Ron Moody. Musical. Butlin’s Clacton.

1965:

Be My Guest, Three Kings (RFD). Directed by Robert Asher. Cast: David Hemmings, Avril Angers. Musical. Brighton.

San Ferry Ann, Dormar (BL). Directed by Jeremy Summers. Cast: Rodney Bewes, Wilfred Brambell, Ron Moody, Joan Sims. Comedy. Misadventures of British holidaymakers in France.

Cuckoo Patrol, Eternal (GN). Directed by Duncan Wood. Cast: Freddie and the Dreamers. Comedy. Misadventures of Boy Scouts at summer camp.

1966:

That Riviera Touch, Rank (RFD). Directed by Cliff Owen. Cast: Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise. Comedy. France. Girl reforms and helps holidaymakers thwart jewel thieves.

That Riviera Touch (1966)

Hotel Paradiso, Maximilian (MGM). (Adapted from Feydeau farce). Produced and Directed by Peter Glenville. Cast: Alec Guinness, Gina Lollabrigida, Robert Morely. Comedy. Paris. Compromising complications of couples at disreputable hotel. (Shown 1971).

1967:

Poor Cow, Fenchurch/Vic, Directed Ken Loach, Cast: Carol White, Terence Stamp. Drama. Includes scenes of both a seaside holiday and camping holiday.




Bibliography:
Gifford, 2001, Catalogue of British Film

A Little Strollette With Kenneth Williams

On a recent visit to London, between doing a bit of Christmas shopping and meeting my brother for a drinkette I decided to troll around the St Pancras area and retrace some Kenneth Williams haunts.

This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. In September 1993 I made a film with a group of friends called Extracts From The KW Diaries. It was shot on super 8 which gave the KW film a convincing retro feel, bringing life to the recreations of passages from Williams’ diary extracts from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

Scene from Extracts from the KW Diaries (1993)

For our film we visited a number of KW residences for establishing shots including Farley Court in Allsop Place and KW’s final apartment block, Marlborough House in Osnaburgh Street that is now demolished. (A photo of the latter flat, mid-demolition appears in Butters & Davies, 2008: 270). For my recent walk I didn’t have time to visit the site of every KW residence, but the following is a list of the places I did stop and photograph. I’m sharing them here in case anybody else wants to look them up whenever they’re in London. I’ve also included some screen shots of locations from my KW film from 1993 at the end of this blog post.

Starting at Judd Street off Euston Road I turned into Hastings Street. Williams lived in no. 80 Alexandra Mansions in the early 1970s where the woman in the flat below playing the piano drove him to distraction (Stevens, 2011: 253).

Queen Alexandra Mansions on Hastings Street

Argyle Primary School (formerly called Manchester Street School) on Tonbridge Street is literally a stones throw away from Alexandra Mansions. Williams stands on the roof of his old school in the Comic Roots programme and recounts his rehearsal for the school play The Rose and the Ring.

Argyle Primary School

I then walked further up Judd Street and turned into Cromer Street. Here I found Cromer House where Williams lived as a child and The Boot pub, which features heavily in Comic Roots as the location where KW recreates the communal sing-a-longs that his family took part in.

Cromer House

KW standing outside Cromer House on Comic Roots

The Boot on Cromer Street

Next I walked along Lisle Street, past the Norfolk Arms, another pub where Louie Williams used to drink with her friend Edie Smith (Stevens, 2011: 11).

Norfolk Arms on Lisle Street

On to 57 Marchmont Street where Charlie Williams had his hairdressing business and where Kenneth’s blue plaque can be seen. This blue plaque replaces the one that was unveiled on Marlborough House in 1994 by Barbara Windsor and Norman Wisdom.

Blue plaque at 57 Marchmont Street

KW's old plaque at Marlborough House (now demolished)
photo from the Guardian, 9/5/1994

I then made my way to Upper Woburn Place to see Endsleigh Court, where Williams lived in flat 817, before catching the Tube at Euston into the centre.

This was the end of my St Pancras area walkabout. However, whilst in Covent Garden I walked past Stanford’s in Long Acre – the map company where Williams had a job as a draughtsman before taking up a career in acting.

Stanford's map shop in Long Acre, Covent Garden

On Shaftsbury Avenue I also saw the Apollo Theatre. The site of Williams’ greatest stage hit Pieces of Eight. In my vivid imagination I saw that Kenneth and Fenella were once again on the bill!

The Apollo Theatre (December 2011?!)

Other places where KW Lived:

Farley Court at Allsop Place (screen shots from The Extracts From the KW Diaries, 1993)

Marlborough House in Osnaburgh Street (screen shots from
Extracts From the KW Diaries, 1993)

Marlborough House (screen shot from Extracts From the KW Diaries, 1993)

Marlborough House (screen shots from Extracts From the KW Diaries, 1993)

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Butters, Wes and Davies, Russell, 2008, Kenneth Williams Unseen, London: Harper Collins
• Davies, Russell, 1993, The Kenneth Williams Diaries, London: Harper Collins
• Stevens, Christopher, 2011, Born Brilliant, The Life of Kenneth Williams, London: John Murray
• Williams, Kenneth, 1993, Just Williams: An Autobiography, London: Harper Collins