1066 and All That

I don't know if the book is as good as when on Radio. I heard the radio series with my girlfriend; we've still a little way to go. They are just repeating it. Fantastic with Joss Ackland, Eleanor Bron, Rory Bremner, John Humphrys, Ewan Bailey and Margaret Cabourn-Smith. As good as 1066 and All That!

Radio (and listen again) at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/1966/pip/archive/

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The Radio 4 series was in 4 parts. Here are the trailers / blurbs:

Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain begins with the 1920s and 1930s, when King George utters some unmemorable last words; DH Lawrence of Arabia writes Lady Chatterbox's Llama; and John Yogi Bear discovers the BBC, but finds there's not much on...

Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1940s. The French Resistance struggles to victory under General de Girl; Hitler gets stuck in a bunker with his Gerbil and John Humphrys interviews Winston Churchill...

Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1960s. Albert Einstein discovers The Beatles, while for the first time, the nation discovers sex. We take a look at the era of Flour Power; the World Cup is won by a team of men all called Bobby; and the Royal Family attempts to stay with-it by barbecuing ...


Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1960s. Neil Knock-Knock, an after-dinner joke, becomes leader of the Labour Party; Jeffrey Archer reveals he's won the Nobel Prize; Lloads of London goes pear-shaped; and John Minor stands against himself, and loses...

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Here is the book link and a few comments:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1966-All-That-Craig-Brown/dp/0340897112

Grandhi walking round India "stirring up inaction"; Jesse Matthews, unexpected victor of the 1936 Olympics; the coronation in black and white, "as colour was still strictly rationed"; British World War 2 pow's, permitted nothing but "a selection of ropes, false passports, fancy moustaches, German phrase books, a selection of pantomine costumes, a wooden horse and a couple of gliders".

My favourite characters: Alexander Gissa Bell, and, for some reason, my biggest personal laugh: "the Webbs, Donald and Daffy" (bit of an historians' in-joke, that one); most obscure pun, Admiral Duncan Donitz; and Most Memorable event: the end of Mrs Thatcherism; her "loyal ministers" have individually "told her she was absolutely marvellous, but that she'd possibly be even that a little bit more marvellous if she left and never came back. She took the hint, opting to make a dignified exit from Downing Street, howling in tears, hammering on the windows and waving a blue hankie through the back windscreen of her locked car".

Here is a quote regarding 80s music:

"...dominated by groups such as Droan Droan, Spandau Ballsup, Adam Aunt and Depressive Mode. They all danced with great difficulty and thus became known as the New Rheumatics